# What could Hillary actually accomplish as president that will endear her to progressives **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 9, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051 "2016-10-09T13:41:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/61 "2016-10-10T02:46:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > None of that is actually going to happen though, not so much because Republicans control at least the House, but because none of that is really a priority. > > She’s the President. She’s going to fight ISIS, she’s going to handle Russia and Iran, and she’s going to balance the budget and support job creation by any means the GOP will agree with(which means targeted tax cuts and free trade), which will in turn lead to her having high approval ratings and get reelected. It really isn’t any more complicated than that. Your claim seems to be that the only things she can accomplish are things on which progressives disagree with her. You may be right–but I’m listing things from her stated positions that progressives agree with. If she follows through on her stated positions, if she fights for them, if the political landscape changes over the next eight years such that she can pull them off, these are areas where she’ll make progressives happy. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/62 "2016-10-10T02:46:53Z")
A lot less is still opposition. The only opposition to Obama’s wars that we’ve seen have come from left wing bloggers who had a lot more readers during the Bush years than they do now, and many of those bloggers are now considered cranks where before they were heroes speaking truth to power(see: Glenn Greenwald). ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/63 "2016-10-10T02:49:17Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > A lot less is still opposition. The only opposition to Obama’s wars that we’ve seen have come from left wing bloggers who had a lot more readers during the Bush years than they do now, and many of those bloggers are now considered cranks where before they were heroes speaking truth to power(see: Glenn Greenwald). Which shows that it was about deaths, for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/64 "2016-10-10T02:49:43Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Your claim seems to be that the only things she can accomplish are things on which progressives disagree with her. You may be right–but I’m listing things from her stated positions that progressives agree with. If she follows through on her stated positions, if she fights for them, if the political landscape changes over the next eight years such that she can pull them off, these are areas where she’ll make progressives happy. She can accomplish many things progressives like, as her husband did, but it’s all about priorities. Obama made many promises and in the end he had the political capital to do two of them: health care and stimulus. He was plum out of political capital by the time he wanted carbon caps and he didn’t even try to do immigration. That’s the one thing that’s been missing from her detailed plans: knowing that she can’t get them all done, which are the most important? What will be the first thing she does upon getting elected? Even with a Democratic Congress she can only do so much. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/65 "2016-10-10T06:56:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I think the region is inherently unpredictable and there’s no way to know the outcome of using force, to the point that it’s essentially random if a military action in such chaos is as likely to make it worse as it is to make it better. With that in mind I think we need to stay out – we can’t know if we’re doing good or not. You know, I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy nut, but the apparent ineptitude in the middle east for the past few decades makes me curious as to if it’s by design in a modern case of divide and conquer. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/66 "2016-10-10T11:10:59Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > You know, I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy nut, but the apparent ineptitude in the middle east for the past few decades makes me curious as to if it’s by design in a modern case of divide and conquer. I think incompetence and hubris and lack of understanding are the best explanations. Maybe it’s good for arms manufacturers, but I don’t think anyone could engineer such chaos, especially when it’s been going on for so long. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/67 "2016-10-10T17:37:59Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > No, it isn’t. > > Plenty of people opposed the Iraq War at the time Clinton voted for it. If she got conned, then she is too easily conned into going to war. That’s a bad thing. > > But she is also quite clearly a [hawk](http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/27/hillary-the-hawk-a-history-clinton-2016-military-intervention-libya-iraq-syria/). > > Plus, for the typical progressive, \*Obama \*is too hawkish. And he is way more dovish than Hillary. Passed by 297-133 House, 77-23 Senate. I guess you’re saying 23% is “Plenty”?:rolleyes: FP group? Aha, you forgot to include this then: > **[Hillary Clinton for President of the United States](https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/09/foreign-policy-endorses-hillary-clinton-for-president-of-the-united-states/)** > > A Donald Trump presidency is among the greatest threats facing America, and the Republican standard-bearer is the worst major-party candidate for the job in U.S.… \*In the nearly half-century history of Foreign Policy, the editors of this publication have never endorsed a candidate for political office. We cherish and fiercely protect this publication’s independence and its reputation for objectivity, and we deeply value our relationship with all of our readers, regardless of political orientation. It is for all these reasons that FP’s editors are now breaking with tradition to endorse Hillary Clinton for the next president of the United States…Beyond this, however, in the areas in which we at FP specialize, he has repeatedly demonstrated his ignorance of the most basic facts of international affairs, let alone the nuances so crucial to the responsibilities of diplomacy inherent in the U.S. president’s daily responsibilities. Trump has not only promoted the leadership of a tyrant and menace like Vladimir Putin, but he has welcomed Russian meddling in the current U.S. election. He has alternatively forgiven then defended Russia’s invasion of Crimea and employed advisors with close ties to the Russian president and his cronies. Trump has spoken so cavalierly about the use of nuclear weapons, including a repeated willingness to use them against terrorists, that it has become clear he understands little if anything about America’s nuclear policies — not to mention the moral, legal, and human consequences of such actions. .\* ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/68 "2016-10-10T17:43:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I guess you’re saying 23% is “Plenty”? Uhh…yeah? I mean, I wasn’t even talking about Congress. But it’s hard to think of better support for my claim than the fact that even 23% of them had the spine and foresight to vote the right way. > [@DrDeth](#): > > FP group? Aha, you forgot to include this then You think the fact that _Foreign Policy_ endorsed Clinton is an indication that she’s not a hawk? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/69 "2016-10-10T17:46:18Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Uhh…yeah? I mean, I wasn’t even talking about Congress. But it’s hard to think of better support for my claim than the fact that even 23% of them had the spine and foresight to vote the right way. > > You think the fact that _Foreign Policy_ endorsed Clinton is an indication that she’s not a hawk? Many simply voted along party lines. They are _your_ cite that she is a hawk. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/70 "2016-10-10T17:49:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Many simply voted along party lines. > > They are _your_ cite that she is a hawk. Both of those sentences are correct. Unfortunately, they fail to relate to this little debate we’re having. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/71 "2016-10-10T19:18:50Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Not the most dramatic flounce-off we’ve seen on this board lately, but it will have to do. I give it a 3.5. If you feel a need to direct snide, personal remarks at other posters, take it to The BBQ Pit. Knock it off. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/72 "2016-10-10T20:29:18Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > The difference is that the GOP congress of 1994, after having their party more or less shut out of federal power for 60 years, wanted to be seen as having accomplished things, which gave them a strong incentive to cut deals with Bill. > > The GOP Congress of 2010, on the otherhand, just wanted to keep Obama from accomplishing things, That completely ignores how much further left Obama and today’s Democratic Party, and what Hillary is at least pretending to be, is than the centrist political ground where Bill Clinton met the Republicans, who are arguably further to the right now. That’s not some anti-Democrat insult: they repeatedly denounced Bill Clinton initiatives and policies all through the primary campaign and convention as too far right. The party’s base can move left for what they think are good reasons, but that is clearly what has happened. You can’t ignore that in analyzing why they can’t agree on anything with a Republican Party that’s moved in the opposite direction, or had. Since Trump is not a conservative particularly and his (GOP primary) voters were fine with that, or even enthusiastic. Ideologically at least in theory a Trumpian GOP would have more common ground with the Democrats, for example favoring protectionism, less aversion to spending than Tea Party Republicans anyway, anti-Wall Street gut feeling etc. OTOH Trump and Trumpism isn’t necessarily centered on policy. And it’s not clear how or if Trump’s particular mix of views will be relevant after November. OTOH there may be even more intense pressure, the primary threat to sitting members, not to compromise with Clinton. An outright aim of not compromising is part of the problem, on both sides, no point in sidetracking about ‘but it’s not equal’. Most voters are highly fed up with this…but the activist voters who vote in primaries are mainly ‘frustrated’ because the other side won’t just roll over and die, not because they are willing to accept half a loaf. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051/73 "2016-10-11T04:15:15Z")
Aside from what conventional wisdom has been saying about that situation, we won’t really know for sure what’s going on until Clinton takes office. Clinton’s approach to negotiation is completely different from Obama’s. and while the Republicans have even more public disgust for Clinton than they did for Obama, privately they get along with her much better. We’ve also got a new Senate Democratic leader in Chuck Schumer, who is much easier to get along with than the odious Harry Reid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-hillary-actually-accomplish-as-president-that-will-endear-her-to-progressives/768051.md?page=3)