Taibbi discusses Shattered, the book about the 2016 campain

[lollycunt]

There is a critical scene in Shattered, the new behind-the-scenes campaign diary by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, in which staffers in the Hillary Clinton campaign begin to bicker with one another

Comments

[rainbows_]

I'm biased as well too! I wouldn't describe Clinton as "evil". I think this is where diversity, not only of gender but politics is really important. Hillary is (probably) the most well known female politician, understandably some women feel very connected and protective to her. If only she wasn't the only well known female politician, what if she ran against a female Bernie Sanders? I think the more well known female politicians we have, the less that sexism/misogyny will have an impact as women in power will become more normalized.

With the whole "It's her turn" and "America is already great" a lot of that is just really bad messaging and branding. "It's her turn" is a great slogan for people who already support and like her, not so great for people who are on the fence. This also ties in with the fact that her + her campaign couldn't figure out/articulate a clear vision of why she should be president and what her vision for her presidency would be.

lol pic.twitter.com/0QCCgu5o3n
- robbymookisafraud (@garbagekate) April 20, 2017

because she could never articulate why she should be president, she never won over the electorate, the authors repeatedly suggest pic.twitter.com/4VO9XGRf12
- robbymookisafraud (@garbagekate) April 20, 2017

"In truth, Clinton’s 2016 campaign failed for most of the same reasons her 2008 campaign did: a disorganized staff struggled to define a clear and persuasive message for their unexciting establishment candidate.

Clinton’s campaign, as Allen and Parnes render it, was a disaster before it even began in 2015. Just like when she ran against Barack Obama in 2008, Hillary was widely viewed as an establishment candidate, and her campaign struggled to put together a coherent message. Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau was brought in early on to punch up Clinton’s Roosevelt Island campaign-launch speech in June 2015 but left almost immediately, saying that the operation resembled that of John Kerry’s failed 2004 campaign: “...a bunch of operatives who were smart and accomplished in their own right but weren’t united by any common purpose larger than pushing a less-than-thrilling candidate into the White House.” The solution to Clinton’s persistent message problem was to bring in more (always Clinton-adjacent) speechwriters and strategists. Only Clinton could have known for sure why she wanted to be president, but she chose to let others decide for her. As one anonymous aide told Allen and Parnes, Clinton simply didn’t have a reason for running besides continuing the establishment politics of her predecessor."

From:
In which I read Shattered and despair at the incompetence of the Clinton campaign https://t.co/JKZGWReXhg
- Alex Nichols (@Lowenaffchen) April 21, 2017

[hikerpoet]

"What if she ran against a female Bernie Sanders?" I get you. Part of me really really does. As I've mentioned in here before, if he won the primary I would've enthusiastically voted for him. Some consider Warren the female Bernie Sanders and she's my senator and there is a lot I love about her. I also agree with much of the criticism: "She's a limosine liberal!" "She was a Republican until her 40s!" "The Cherokee stuff is REALLY problematic" "She eventually enthusiastically supported Clinton, so we're going to jump off that ship" (Okay, that last one I don't sympathize with so much). And there are many others besides her, I know, who I would also be really happy to vote for. But right now I'm feeling really disenchanted and...I'll believe it when I see it. I'm in my 40s and I'm REALLY skeptical about it happening in my lifetime. I really am.

Even though I really admired him too, I'm skeptical Sanders would've had it in the bag, and if he did, whether it would've been for the right reasons. (What he's been saying about choice this week, and for years, is REALLY problematic. As much as I do love him.)

I do think it is beyond management and messaging, and I don't think it is ALL sexism...part of me thinks we've just got to be ready to play the game...but I'm not ashamed of admiring Clinton while being realistic about her flaws.