GOP to attack Hillary baby bonds

Washington Times:

Republican strategists say Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton"s call for giving every newborn $5,000 for education is the first major mistake in her front-running campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

They say it undermines the centrist image the New York Democrat has carefully built and, if exploited skillfully, could prove fatal in the 2008 general election.

"I'm shocked that more Republican candidates haven't taken on 'Hillary Bonds,' " Pennsylvania political consultant Charles Gerow said. "This is a layup for GOP hopefuls."

Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani is the only top-tier Republican nomination candidate to have made Mrs. Clinton's proposal central to his campaign speeches, calling it a "socialist" program that will cost $20 billion annually in an address to the Americans for Prosperity conference Friday.

He joked with the anti-spending group that "Hillary Bonds" might come complete "with Hillary's picture on them" and would cost $20 billion per year. He compared it to George McGovern's 1972 Democratic campaign promise of $1,000 to every American.

Spending has turned into a dominant issue among the Republicans, with the top candidates taking aim at each other's records. But tonight's Republican presidential debate in Michigan gives them an opportunity to broaden that attack to include their Democratic counterparts' profligate spending proposals, particularly on health care."

Rudy knows there is no better way to communicate with GOP voters than to take the debate to Hillary," Republican Party presidential campaign adviser Scott Reed said. "The strategy also masks Giuliani's deficiencies on abortion, guns and gay-lifestyle issues."

...

This is typical of how Democrats try to buy votes with your money. It also has a McGovern like quality that will remind voters how radical Hillary really is. Still, I think her real vulnerability is on the war and national security. Her attachment of MoveOn is what should be hammered. Now that we are winning in Iraq and al Qaeda is in a meltdown, her policy statements from earlier in the year when she was voting for defeat should demonstrate her poor judgment.