If Democrats thought Hillary Clinton would prove to be bulletproof, a new CNN/ORC poll says they might want to think again. Despite all the bravado she’s shown regarding questions about missing emails, secret servers, and questionable donations, the first chinks in the Clinton armor are beginning to show. More people view Clinton unfavorably today than at any time in the last fourteen years.
The survey, conducted at the end of May, reports that 57 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Clinton when it comes to her honesty. That’s a significant change since March, when only 49 percent of Americans thought she was not trustworthy. Clearly, the (largely unanswered) questions about her dubious dealings have had an impact on her popularity.
While Clinton still comes out on top in head-to-head matchups with the GOP field, those margins aren’t as striking as they once were. And when you consider how much more name recognition Clinton has than even the most prominent Republicans, the numbers look downright dismal for Democrats. When facing Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker, Clinton’s lead is within the statistical margin of error. Walker, notably, has not even officially announced his candidacy.
To say Clinton has had a tough couple of months would be an understatement. Even the liberal press has begun to scratch their collective heads over her steadfast silence. The job of a candidate may not be to sit down for interviews, but there are too many questions in the air for Clinton to avoid them without repercussions. Americans want to know the truth about the emails, the truth about the Clinton Foundation, and the truth about the Benghazi attack. The longer she goes without addressing these scandals, the more these poll numbers will likely plummet.
Making this worse, it’s not as if America is just being introduced to Clinton. By this point, voters should have made up their minds about whether or not she is honest and trustworthy. To see this kind of movement in the polls, it shows that these scandals are not just “right-wing conspiracies” without substance. Clinton is getting an easy ride from the mainstream media (of course), and yet she is still suffering from these unresolved issues.
On the other hand, polls that move this quickly can move just as quickly in the other direction. This is no time for complacency. As the head-to-head matchups prove, Clinton’s success or failure may come down to the GOP nominee. If Republicans make the tragic error of nominating Jeb Bush, Clinton may be able to survive her scandals after all. If Republicans get behind a candidate with principles (and without the baggage that Bush’s family history entails), we have a real chance of taking the White House next year.
In the meantime, it is incumbent on every conservative to keep asking questions about Clinton. Keep planting the seeds of doubt. Don’t count on NBC Nightly News to do it, because they won’t. America deserves a president they can trust and Clinton cannot be that president. Let’s make sure the voters know that before the election and not afterwards. Let’s nip this one in the bud.
