How Republicans plan to turn Hillary Clinton into the Mitt Romney of the 2016 cycle

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published 14 April 2015

Republicans have not forgotten how President Obama in 2012 was able to successfully paint Mitt Romney as a silver-spoon-in-the-mouth private equity baron who could not relate to the concerns of everyday Americans. In fact, they remember it so well that they might use the same tactic on Hillary Clinton. According to Politico, GOP strategists aim to use her lucrative speaking fees and her ties to the Clinton Foundation to show that she "plays by her own set of rules and lives in a world of private planes, chauffeured vehicles, and million-dollar homes."

"She's admitted she hasn't driven a car for decades; she probably doesn't ever go into a coffee shop and talk to regular people unless it's for a staged photo-op," said American Crossroads CEO Steven Law, alluding to Clinton's portrayal in her campaign's launch video Sunday. "She really has lived the life of a one-percenter these last several years and it shows." [Politico]

It will certainly be a novel tactic for the GOP, which isn't historically accustomed to attacking the 1 percent in presidential campaigns.