Once upon a time, national security was the trump card that Republicans could count on to win elections that might otherwise be out of reach. As recently as 2004, it was as easy as tossing out a mysterious "Code Orange" terrorist alert immediately after the Democratic National Convention.
So obviously, the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris provided Republicans with a welcome change of focus from those pesky domestic issues that would lead to certain defeat. Marco Rubio perhaps said it best this week by admitting that the tragedy in Paris could be a "positive development" for the 2016 campaign. (I guess the sheer fascist lunacy of Trump's campaign overshadowed this appalling statement?)
Well, the bad ol' days of the GOP reliably pounding the electorate with the fear hammer seem to be gone, because America trusts Democrat Hillary Clinton more than any other candidate when it comes to keeping the country safe:
A crescendo of tough talk on Syrian refugees and terrorism seems to be elevating the toughest talkers in the GOP primary -- most notably Donald Trump. But among the broader American public, the most trusted person to handle the issue is Hillary Clinton. ...
By 50 percent to 42 percent, more Americans say they trust Clinton to handle the threat of terrorism than Trump, who leads the Republican field and responded to the Paris terrorist attacks by calling for heightened surveillance of mosques and redoubling his opposition to allowing Syrian refugees to settle in the U.S.
Clinton holds a similar nine-point advantage over retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson on the issue (49-40) and an eight-point edge over Sen. Ted Cruz (48-40) in the poll of 1,004 U.S. adults. Jeb Bush fares a bit better, trailing Clinton by a three-point margin on trust to deal with terrorism (46-43), while Marco Rubio trails Clinton by four points (47-43). Those last two differences don’t reach statistical significance. …
Clinton’s position of strength in the new Post-ABC poll is perhaps more striking given it also found a record high 54 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Obama is handling terrorism, and 57 percent disapproved of his handling of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Clinton owes her edge then, to a significant share of Obama detractors who nonetheless prefer her over Republicans. Tellingly, the poll found between one-quarter and one-third of those who disapprove of Obama's efforts dealing with terrorism also say they trust Clinton over Republican on the issue.
And so we see yet again why Republicans have been so afraid of facing Hillary Clinton: She's obviously tougher and smarter than all of them and America knows it. The Benghazi hearing and the debates from both parties have only solidified that.
There is little doubt that Clinton will wallop the Republican nominee on domestic issues next November. And if she retains her edge or even ties on national security...game over. It won't even be close.
And the best part of all? She'll beat them using resolve instead of fear.
Originally posted at HillaryHQ.com