Cooper's Eye on the Left: How low can she go?

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's favorability rating has fallen to a record low, according to the Gallup organization.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's favorability rating has fallen to a record low, according to the Gallup organization.

Clinton overexposed?

Not during her government-run health care plans when she was first lady, not during her lies about the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, not during her obfuscations about her email server, not during the post-2016 presidential campaign days has Hillary Clinton's favorability rating been so low.

Gallup recently measured it at 36 percent, a drop of three point since it last checked her popularity, though buried deep in its explanation was the mention that it is a "record low" since the organization first began to measure her rating in 1992.

The polling company said in a sub-headline that "Clinton remains a polarizing political figure," though it curiously added that she is no longer on the public stage.

"She has tended to be quite popular when she is no longer seen as a purely political figure," Gallup said. "Clinton's 2016 loss has largely thrust her off the political stage."

We're not sure where Gallup has looked, but the former senator and first lady is everywhere one looks with fresh takes on blame for her presidential loss, insults for President Trump and defenses for her husband's affair with a White House intern.

Even only 77 percent of Democrats have a favorable opinion of her, according to Gallup. There may be a message for her there, if she decides to take it.

Explanation needed

Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, whose Tallahassee mayoral administration has been racked with scandal, is now facing questions about lying about signing a radical manifesto.

Asked in a debate by his Republican opponent, Ron DeSantis, about signing a pledge backing an organization called Dream Defenders, he said he had "no idea what pledge he is talking about."

However, Gillum not only signed the pledge, which claims - among other things - "police and prisons have no place in 'justice'," he has talked about the group, written about it and is considered by the group's co-founder as "part of the movement."

And he just signed the pledge, which espouses socialist principles such as "by virtue of being born each of us has the absolute right to adequate food, shelter, clothing, water, health care, effective public transportation, dignified work, living wages," in June.

The organization also has referred to "our revolutionary vision," said July 4th should be a day when people "acknowledge that the independence being commemorated has not been won for the people of this land," and called for the abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gillum, as of late last week, had not said why he chose not to own up to his support of the organization.

She doesn't represent all of us

Some members of the Arizona State Troopers Association learned without ever having given their opinion that their organization was supporting Democratic U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema for the U.S. Senate. The executive board of the association, which backs the state's Department of Public Safety employees and retirees, made the decision, which prompted complaints from a number of members.

Following the complaints, the association sent its members an email poll asking if they wanted to endorse Sinema, who is opposed by Republican U.S. Rep. Martha McSally to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. They said they'd prefer the organization remain neutral.

However, the damage already had been done in one sense. Sinema touted the endorsement in a campaign ad, which has since been taken down.

The decision to endorse "displeased a number of members, including myself," said organization member and retired lieutenant Dave McDowell, who is supporting McSally.

"The troopers have spoken," a McSally spokeswoman said.

Now the voters will have their say.

Desperate measures

Heidi Heitkamp, the Democratic Senate incumbent in North Dakota who's in a close race to keep her seat, also recently was called out for making it appear a World War II veteran and a number of sexual assault victims were supporting her campaign when they weren't.

Last week, she shared a Facebook post about her meeting with Lynn Aas, who she'd met in a ceremony honoring his WWII service in France.

"Lynn is not happy that Heidi did this," the veteran's son said. "We have posted a comment requesting that it be taken down. Lynn wants to make it clear that no one from the Heitkamp campaign contacted him to ask for permission for this, and he does not want this to be viewed as an endorsement of her campaign."

Heitcamp also recently published a newspaper ad, listing the names of more than 100 people who were "survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault or rape." None of the individuals gave their consent for their names to be used, and some of the 100 had never been victims of such crimes.

"I'm furious," Lexi Zhorela, a 24-year-old hairdresser and single mother from Bismarck, told The Associated Press. "I know I'm not the only woman hurt by this." Zhorela said she had planned to vote for the incumbent but no longer would, though the senator apologized in another ad and tried to reach those whose names were in the ad.

The ad also may have violated Federal Election Commission rules by failing to include a disclaimer all campaign ads must have.

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