Here's the real problem with Hillary Clinton's electoral strategy

It's called the Electoral College, and we should kill it

Hillary Clinton
(Image credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Hillary Clinton is beginning to unveil her campaign strategy, and so far there are no surprises. She's going to focus on the usual handful of swing states, and shape a platform designed to excite the liberal base. But because it differs from the way her husband campaigned more than 20 years ago, her strategy has led to outrage from the usual centrist suspects. Ron Fournier argued that this is the "wrong way" to win, since it will rule out trying to persuade moderates as her husband did in the olden days.

Brendan Nyhan responds that Clinton is just being realistic. American politics runs on hate and fear. Nobody can unite the country anymore, not when half the country loathes the other half. Combine that polarization with the Electoral College, and you have a recipe for campaigns that focus maniacally on the dwindling number of swing states.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.