Democratic activists still not quite ready for Clinton

[webfact]

Democratic activists still not quite ready for Clinton
KEN THOMAS, Associated Press
LISA LERER, Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — Three months into Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for president, there are fresh warning signs she may be falling short with some Democratic voters whose enthusiasm will be essential to her success in 2016.

While Clinton remains the dominant front-runner for her party's nomination, new polling by Associated Press-GfK shows a drop in her favorability rating among Democrats. Financial disclosure documents filed by her campaign show the bulk of her money coming from big donors, hinting at low enthusiasm with average Americans. And she's facing pushback on her positions from some liberal activists on the campaign trail and at party gatherings.

The former first lady and secretary of state was noticeably absent from the roster of speakers expected this week in Phoenix at the Netroots Nation convention, an influential annual gathering of about 3,000 liberal activists and organizers who frequently volunteer on presidential campaigns. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a longshot rival for the Democratic nomination, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren planned to address the conference. Several attendees said the two liberal luminaries were pushing Clinton to the left but that they still had reservations about her candidacy.

Republicans have been raising tens of millions of dollars to fuel their own nomination fight, yet they have already devoted significant time and resources to damaging Clinton's image.

An AP-GfK poll released this week found her standing falling among Democrats, with about 70 percent of Democrats giving Clinton positive marks, an 11-point drop from an April survey. Nearly a quarter of Democrats now say they see Clinton in an unfavorable light.

Campaigning in New Hampshire on Thursday, Clinton brushed off the poll findings.

"I don't like seeing that, obviously," she said of the poll. "But I think people know that I will fight for them."

She added, "I'm very pleased with the support I have."

Part of Clinton's decline may be due to questions about her character, an issue Republicans have pushed as a central theme of their campaign. Nearly 6 in 10 voters said they did not view Clinton as compassionate, saying the word described her "slightly" or "not well at all." Just 3 in 10 said the word "honest" described her either very or somewhat well.

The percentage of respondents calling Clinton at least somewhat inspiring also slipped from 44 percent to 37 percent.

Even the number of voters saying Clinton is at least somewhat decisive, previously a strong point for the former New York senator, fell from 56 percent in April to 47 percent in the new poll.

"I think a lot of people are tired of Hillary Clinton and want something new," said Kristen Millnick of Washington, who was among hundreds of activists started arriving at Netroots Nation on Thursday.

Many attendees gave Clinton credit for putting forward populist ideas to expand and protect voting rights, overhaul the immigration system and prosecute rogue Wall Street traders. But they are still looking for policy details that would signal she would fully embrace the party's base on a number of issues.

"People want to believe she will go big," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. "The burden of proof is on her to show that she will go big and bold in the populist direction."

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-17

[sdanielmcev]

And the demise continues. Real question is, who else will the dems get? The Clinton machine got her out there, but the average Democrat, let alone average American, just can't stand her.

[NeverSure]

2008 v. 2.0

[daoyai]

And the demise continues. Real question is, who else will the dems get? The Clinton machine got her out there, but the average Democrat, let alone average American, just can't stand her.

Is there an alternative? Trump maybe ....god help us all, and I am an atheist.

[quandow]

Senator Bernie Sanders is the logical alternative. Hilldog is just another corporate shill. Sanders has a STERLING voting record supporting the people and has remained consistent his entire political career. Capitalism is dying throughout the world because it relies completely on the ethical behavior of those on top, and that just ain't happening. Let's vote for a rarity in Washington - an honest politician.

#feelthebern

[willyumiii]

Clinton has too many ties to big money to be trusted.

Sanders is the right alternative to Clinton.

He appears to be clean and straight forward, relying on grassroots support and not the corporations he has vowed to fight..

I am sure those who would not vote for Obama because he was half white will not vote for Bernie because he is Jewish.

And some women will vote for Hillary, just because she is a woman.

But Obama proved bigots can be beat.

Personally, I would love an honest atheist candidate over one who pretended to belong to any religion,

But it seems Americans only vote for those who pretend to be Christians.

Unless he is too biased toward Israel, Bernie Sanders would be my choice.

It is past time those trouble makers learned to support themselves.

[sdanielmcev]

Sanders is an avowed socialist. Not gonna happen. Maybe Uncle Joe?

[Exsexyman]

Clinton has too many ties to big money to be trusted.

Sanders is the right alternative to Clinton.

He appears to be clean and straight forward, relying on grassroots support and not the corporations he has vowed to fight..

I am sure those who would not vote for Obama because he was half white will not vote for Bernie because he is Jewish.

And some women will vote for Hillary, just because she is a woman.

But Obama proved bigots can be beat.

Personally, I would love an honest atheist candidate over one who pretended to belong to any religion,

But it seems Americans only vote for those who pretend to be Christians.

Unless he is too biased toward Israel, Bernie Sanders would be my choice.

It is past time those trouble makers learned to support themselves.

Completely agree with you regarding Hillary Clinton's lack of trustworthiness, not just about her ties to big money, also because she is a pathological liar. She has a history of telling bare faced lies about fictitious events in her life in an attempt to 'big herself up'. I must confess i don't know much about Bernie Sanders, although from what i have read about him he would be an interesting choice. He would offer the electorate a clear alternative to the policies of the last few administrations, lets face it when push comes to shove there is no real difference between Republican or Democrats when it comes to foreign and fiscal policies. The average man on the street gets shafted and ignored either way. Regarding Sanders taking on the big corporations, without wishing to appear overly cynical, if it even looks as if he is in with a good chance of winning and commits himself to taking them on i have no doubt that he would soon experience his 'Lee Harvey Oswald moment'.

[quandow]

Sanders is an avowed socialist. Not gonna happen. Maybe Uncle Joe?

Sanders is a DEMOCRATIC socialist. This is an important distinction. And regardless of any other politician (Dem OR Rep) they will be beholden to their corporate masters. Capitalism is dead, 'Merica is now a corporatocracy embracing cronyism. If "We, The People" don't get money out of politics, then the great democratic experiment is over,the bad guys win, and so follows the rest of the world.

http://www.dsausa.org/what_is_democratic_socialism

[willyumiii]

Sanders is an avowed socialist. Not gonna happen. Maybe Uncle Joe?

Sanders is a DEMOCRATIC socialist. This is an important distinction. And regardless of any other politician (Dem OR Rep) they will be beholden to their corporate masters. Capitalism is dead, 'Merica is now a corporatocracy embracing cronyism. If "We, The People" don't get money out of politics, then the great democratic experiment is over,the bad guys win, and so follows the rest of the world.

http://www.dsausa.org/what_is_democratic_socialism

Socialism is not really such a bad thing.

Thanks to the rhetoric and propaganda from the cold war with the Soviet Union, many, especially those Americans old enough to have lived through the cold war, think socialism is a dirty word.

It is not.

There are countries with socialist governments that are doing pretty well.

There is still a lot of baggage from the cold war, like printing "In God We Trust" on American money and adding "One Nation Under God" to the pledge of allegiance. These were done after WWI as anti Soviet propaganda and actuall go against freedom of Religion In America.

It is time to move on and look at things with an open mind.