Hillary doesn't know what the phrase "being civil" means

Hillary Clinton declared in a CNN interview:

“You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about,”

She went on to say:

“That’s why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and/or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength.”

Her words reveal worlds about what Democrats mean when they talk about civility.

First note that Democrats have been calling Republicans Nazi's, homophobes, and racists for years even when the Democrats controlled the Senate and the House so either Hillary and her ilk think that vicious baseless smears are being civil or history proves that even when the Democrats have power they're not civil.

The second thing is to note that Hillary is saying that being uncivil, i.e. rude and obnoxious, is showing strength.  Aside from the fact that that is clearly a patriarchal chauvinist male interpretation of civility real people know that true strength is shown by civility.

If one is sure of one's arguments, i.e. if the arguments for your position are strong, then reasonable people are glad to engage in polite and civil discussions because they are confident they will win.

On the other hand when the arguments for a someone's position is weak they are more likely to resort to name calling, i.e. being uncivil.

The third thing to note is to ask what are Republicans destroying?

Republicans reduced tax rates which reduces how much of our money the government, and hence the politicians, get to spend so if that's destroying what Democrats stand for that means that Democrats stand for taking more of your hard-earned money and spending it on what they want to spend it on.

Republicans have stopped forcing religious institutions to cooperate in providing abortions so if that's destroying what Democrats care for that means Democrats care for forcing people to go against their deeply held religious beliefs.

Republicans have put pressure on North Korea and made progress in reducing the threat that North Korea poses so if that's destroying what Democrats stand for that means that Democrats stand for a militarily strong North Korea.

Republicans are against forcing people to support gay weddings, as opposed to providing goods and services to gays in general, so if that goes against what Democrats stand for that means that Democrats stand for demanding that people of faith bow their knee to the leftist belief that marriage should be redefined.

Republicans stand for stopping Iranian terrorism and keeping them from ever getting a nuclear weapon which means that Democrats care about ensuring that within 10 years Iran will get a nuclear weapon.

Republicans stand for stopping illegal immigration so if that is an attack on what Democrats stand for that means that Democrats stand for open borders.

Republicans stand for the rule of law; i.e. that the law is applied to everyone no matter who they are.  If that is an attack on what Democrats stand for then that means that Democrats oppose the rule of law and think that certain people should be above the law.

Republicans stand for a Supreme Court which interprets laws as those laws were intended by the people who wrote and passed them. If that's an attack on what Democrats stand for that means that Democrats stand for an unconstitutional Supreme Court which makes up laws.

Republicans stand for free speech even speech that they don't like.  If that's an attack on what Democrats stand for that means that Democrats stand for censorship.

Republicans stand for honest people being able to buy guns so if that's an attack on what Democrats stand for that means that Democrats stand for keeping honest people from having guns.

Republicans stand for the idea that power flows from the people not from unelected government employees so if that goes against what Democrats stand for it means that Democrats stand for the people being ruled by the Deep State.

The fourth thing to note is that the production of clearly false smears to attack Kavanaugh, the claims that Trump is clinically insane, and the on-going lies about collusion are hardly the example of what any honest person would call civil.  

We know that Democrats agree these things aren't civil because when a few right wing extremists kept declaring that Obama wasn't a US citizen, a charge which has more support than any of the lies that the Democrats have been pushing since the election, the Democrats made it clear that they didn't think that was civil.

Finally note that Democrat's have either supported or only grudgingly condemned the use of actual force against Republicans. Antifa is accepted in most Democrat circles even though they use violence to silence speech they don't like. A Democrat tried to murder multiple Republican Congressmen and the media buried the story after a day or two.  You've probably never even heard, because the national media didn't cover it, that a Democrat tried to murder Congressman Swalwell's Republican opponent.  Oh if you get your news from somewhere other than the #FakeNews media you'll remember that Swalwell was the guy who mocked Republican Susan Collins for complaining that she was getting death threats.  If using actual violence is in Hillary's mind the Democrats being "civil" she clearly has no idea what the word really means.

And Democrats are quite open about supporting the harassment of Republicans in public; driving them out of restaurants for example.  While it's not violence like the attempted murder of Steve Scalise it's still hardly civil.

The reality is that to a Democrat Republicans are "civil" when they role over and do what ever the Democrats tell them to do.  Effectively what Hillary is saying is that unless the Republicans obey the Democrats the Republicans aren't being civil.  Which is why it's clear that to Hillary civility means Republicans surrendering.