That's Our Hillary

Hillary wants to make life fair!

Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined a broad economic vision Tuesday, saying it's time to replace an "on your own" society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity.

The Democratic senator said what the Bush administration touts as an "ownership society" really is an "on your own" society that has widened the gap between rich and poor.

"I prefer a 'we're all in it together' society," she said. "I believe our government can once again work for all Americans. It can promote the great American tradition of opportunity for all and special privileges for none."

That means pairing growth with fairness, she said, to ensure that the middle-class succeeds in the global economy, not just corporate CEOs.

"There is no greater force for economic growth than free markets. But markets work best with rules that promote our values, protect our workers and give all people a chance to succeed," she said. "Fairness doesn't just happen. It requires the right government policies."

One hopes, and expects, that this nakedly socialist rhetoric is to be taken about as seriously as Bush's occasional flirtations with libertarianism. Oh look, the article actually mentions specifics:

Beyond education, Clinton said she would reduce special breaks for corporations, eliminate tax incentives for companies that ship jobs overseas and open up CEO pay to greater public scrutiny.

Clinton also said she would help people save more money by expanding and simplifying the earned income tax credit; create new jobs by pursuing energy independence; and ensure that every American has affordable health insurance.

If that's all the government a blue-team presidency gives us, I'm not exactly going to plan a move to Estonia - though I'm very curious as to how she intends to "expand and simplify" the EATC.

The Democrats are mistaken if they think their current electoral momentum, such as it is, is due to a resurgence of people wanting more massive government "fairness" initiatives. All the people who voted for Bush because they hated Gore and Kerry are still out there, and they haven't changed their opinions about HillaryCare. They've changed their opinions about Bush.

If this kind of rhetoric makes it past the primaries, they're going to wonder where their votes went - even if Bob Shrum isn't running the campaign. Luckily, I'm pretty sure this is typical "race to the base" type stuff; just a primary season tactic, timed to take attention away from Obama's health care plan. To Hillary's credit, she avoids numbers.