It’s beginning to look a lot like 2008. Back then Hillary Clinton had been enjoying a solid lead in the polls, but quick on her heels was Barack Obama. Fast-forward eight years and we now have Bernie in a statistical tie with Hillary in Iowa and still leading in New Hampshire. Hopefully this continues and Bernie ends up winning, because I am very worried about what might happen if Hillary gets the nomination.

Before I go further, let me make one thing clear. Yes, I am a Bernie supporter, but that doesn’t mean I’m against Hillary. I think she would make a great President and if Bernie, a candidate aligned more with my views, wasn’t in the race, I would be 100% behind Clinton. 

Having said that, we can’t continue to act like the questions around Hillary’s emails might not cost us. They are still digging into things and today we get this little tidbit, which is from Fox but could still be harmful:

The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email as secretary of state has expanded to look at whether the possible “intersection” of Clinton Foundation work and State Department business may have violated public corruption laws, three intelligence sources not authorized to speak on the record told Fox News.

This track is in addition to the focus on classified material found on Clinton’s personal server. 

“The agents are investigating the possible intersection of Clinton Foundation donations, the dispensation of State Department contracts and whether regular processes were followed,” one source said.

I still believe the whole question regarding the legality of her using that private server is pretty much settled, in that she did no wrong, but I’ve had more fears over other things they might find. If this Fox report is accurate, then this could be the start of that, and that can put the Democrats retaining the White House at serious risk.

And let’s not fool ourselves. Many in the blogosphere believe that average Joe citizen follows this stuff as close as we do. The problem is that a vast majority of voters don’t take the time to dig into the actual facts. People are too busy to research, so things like memes begin to form opinions. Imagine one, “Do we want a President under criminal investigation?” Something like that will quickly form opinions, even though it may not be entirely factual, and the GOP knows this. That’s why they will keep playing this out as long as they can.

The problem also isn’t just a question of winning the White House. Voter enthusiasm is everything. If these stories continue, and I do believe they will, it will eat away at voter enthusiasm. Hillary could win the White House, but not by as big of a margin as she should. And while that is a win, it can also lead to other losses, like the Democrats retaking the Senate. 

Politics is always equated to chess, and that can’t be more true right now. We don’t really know what the Republicans are planning, but if their past record is any indication, we can expect it to be dirty. That means we need to consider two things. Are they hitting with everything now, in hopes to knock Hillary out in the primary and face off against Sanders? Or, are they holding back on something until August, and if Hillary gets the nomination, then let it out to really impact the general? That’s the million dollar question at this point, and one I’m sure people in the Clinton campaign and DNC are seriously asking themselves. 

I do want to reiterate that I’m not writing this to bash Hillary in anyway. Instead, this is raising a serious concern I’ve had rattling around in my mind for the past few months and that rattle is becoming a rumble now. While we’ve heard so many people question the electability of Sanders for months now, we need to start asking the same of Clinton. Not because of who she is, but rather who the GOP is. The most minor accident will be made into the next Watergate if the Republicans can find it. That brings us to the most serious thing to contemplate. If Hillary ends up indicted (unlikely), or under an actual criminal investigation, is she going to be electable? Sure die-hard Democrats will vote for her, including me, but will the leaners and Independents? Will it motivate the occasional voter to get off their butts on that cold, November morning, stand in line and vote for her? Those are the biggest questions, and right now I think the most likely answer is also the most troubling.