Fox News Starts a Draft Hillary Clinton Movement for 2012

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:00 pm

In the biggest sign yet that Republicans have very little confidence in their own ability to defeat Barack Obama in 2012, Fox News has started a not so subtle draft Hillary campaign. Tonight on The O’Reilly Factor guest host Monica Crowley declared, “She is totally running,” without a single fact to back up her claim.

Here is the video courtesy of Media Matters:

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Monica Crowley declared that, “She is totally running.” And then she falsely claimed that, “She has not discouraged this. She has not put a damper on any of this.” Panelist and talk show host Mike Papantonio claimed that, “Among Democrats that Obama had as his stronghold, he’s losing that 2008 base because they were progressive left Democrats. They think Obama’s moving too far to the right. They are upset with Obama. They’re looking for a change, because here you had a guy who promised change, that’s what he ran on, and now he hasn’t delivered that change. Hillary gives them that option.”

This Fox News speculation is completely wrong. Hillary Clinton has told anyone who will listen that she is not interested in running in 2012. Here is Hillary in October of 2009 on the Today show flat out rejecting the notion of a 2012 run.

Clinton has also said no to 2012 every time in every interview where the question has been asked. Since she became Secretary of State Mrs. Clinton has ruled out any run in 2012. However, the truth has not stopped the right wing blogosphere and now the Wall Street Journal and Fox News from dreaming. Pete DuPont wrote an op-ed in the WSJ laying out six reasons why Hillary should challenge Obama in 2012. The problem with the speculation on the Right is that it is based on a false perception of Hillary Clinton. By all accounts, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have a good relationship. The wounds of 2008 are healed. Jonathon Alter devotes a chapter to the Clinton/Obama relationship is his book The Promise.

Hillary Clinton might retire as Secretary of State after Obama wins reelection, but she is not going to challenge him. Mrs. Clinton is still in debt from her 2008 run, and if she would challenge Obama in 2012, there would be no money out there for her. It is simply unrealistic to think that she would abandon her position as Secretary of State to take on the political suicide mission of facing Obama in 2012, but Republicans desperately need Hillary Clinton to challenge Obama, because they don’t have a candidate who can defeat him. The right is dreaming about the potential of facing Hillary Clinton instead of Barack Obama in 2012, but what they don’t understand is that no one in the Democratic Party has the stomach or desire to revisit the 2008 Democratic primary again.

The Democrats are united in a way that the fractured GOP can only fantasize about, and they know that unless Hillary Clinton wants to reopen old wounds in 2012, they don’t stand a chance of winning the presidency. Don’t believe the right wing rumors. Hillary Clinton is not running for president in 2012. If you don’t believe me, just watch any interview where she is asked about 2012 and you will hear it for yourself. This rumor is a pathetic attempt by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to fracture the Democratic Party ahead of 2012, so Republicans can keep dreaming about that match up with Hillary Clinton because it won’t happen until 2016 at the earliest.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association