jimnyc
09-15-2016, 02:53 PM
Hillary Clinton faces a major dilemma in the wake of her controversial “basket of deplorables” comment: keep hammering Donald Trump on race or pivot to other issues.
Democrats are divided on the best course of action following her remark last week that “half” of Trump’s supporters are “irredeemable” and fit into a “basket of deplorables” that includes racists, sexists, xenophobes, homophobes and Islamophobes. The former secretary of State subsequently said she shouldn’t have spoken in such sweeping generalizations but stopped short of apologizing and vowed to call out Trump’s “bigotry.”
But doing so could keep the deplorables comment in the news, and some Democrats feel like she should move on.
“I think there’s a sense of disappointment that she went down in the mud and stooped to Trump’s level,” one Clinton surrogate told The Hill. “So I wouldn’t expect her to go down that road again.”
But sources close to the campaign say Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, stands behind the substance of her remarks and intends to focus on the issues of race and discrimination.
The Clinton campaign will continue pounding Trump, the Republican nominee, for running what they view as a divisive and hate-filled campaign that has galvanized the “alt-right” movement and attracted support from polarizing figures such as former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
“You won’t see some big change,” one source said.
The Trump campaign, meanwhile, has seized on Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” remark, believing it to be a game-changing gaffe along the lines of Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” remarks in 2012.
Clinton’s focus on race could help her consolidate leads among minorities and college-educated whites, although there are also risks in moving ahead with the race-based strategy.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/296031-hillary-clinton-faces-dilemma-following-deplorables-remark
Democrats are divided on the best course of action following her remark last week that “half” of Trump’s supporters are “irredeemable” and fit into a “basket of deplorables” that includes racists, sexists, xenophobes, homophobes and Islamophobes. The former secretary of State subsequently said she shouldn’t have spoken in such sweeping generalizations but stopped short of apologizing and vowed to call out Trump’s “bigotry.”
But doing so could keep the deplorables comment in the news, and some Democrats feel like she should move on.
“I think there’s a sense of disappointment that she went down in the mud and stooped to Trump’s level,” one Clinton surrogate told The Hill. “So I wouldn’t expect her to go down that road again.”
But sources close to the campaign say Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, stands behind the substance of her remarks and intends to focus on the issues of race and discrimination.
The Clinton campaign will continue pounding Trump, the Republican nominee, for running what they view as a divisive and hate-filled campaign that has galvanized the “alt-right” movement and attracted support from polarizing figures such as former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
“You won’t see some big change,” one source said.
The Trump campaign, meanwhile, has seized on Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” remark, believing it to be a game-changing gaffe along the lines of Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” remarks in 2012.
Clinton’s focus on race could help her consolidate leads among minorities and college-educated whites, although there are also risks in moving ahead with the race-based strategy.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/296031-hillary-clinton-faces-dilemma-following-deplorables-remark