Charles Krauthammer predicted Wednesday night that Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton would have huge problems trying to win over far-left Democrats, in large part because the base simply doesn’t believe she genuinely holds their point of view.
Krauthammer said on Fox News that the left base for Democrats is flocking to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and said that wouldn’t change just because of a few token attempts by Clinton to move to the left.
“And she has been headed left on just about every issue as a way to stem the tide,” he said on Fox News. “It is not succeeding. And in part it’s a matter of trust because I don’t think the Democratic left base believes a word she says when she changes her positions and heads leftward.”
Many political observers initially discounted the viability of Sanders’ presidential bid. His avowed “democratic socialism” was thought to be an impassible hurdle in garnering significant support, even among Democrats, and especially when pitted against Clinton.
But Sanders’ anti-establishment rhetoric struck a populist chord, and he has spoken to huge crowds of supporters over the last several weeks. “What this political revolution is about is transforming the United States of America,” Sanders declared to a crowd of over 27,000 earlier this week.
This week, Sanders beat Clinton in a poll for the first time ever, besting her 44-37 in a Boston Herald/Franklin Pierce poll of New Hampshire, the nation’s first primary state.
