So this article caught my eye a few weeks ago. The title of the article is "Hillary Clinton Plots Her Next Move." Of course I had to read it, because I was thinking to myself "what next move?" It seems obvious to me that Clinton's "next move" is to write a book, fade to the background, and perhaps be reestablished at some later date as an elder voice in the party once the pain of the loss and the humiliation of losing to Trump (to say nothing of dragging the party down with her) fades. Make no mistake: Clinton was a uniquely qualified candidate in terms of her potential to lose to an opponent like Trump. She had unlikable numbers nearly as high as his, she had an overwhelming persona that made the general public feel that she couldn't be trusted, and, unfortunately, she was a status quo candidate in an unabashed change election.
If even one of those things wasn't as strongly true it is quite possible she would be in the midst of her first full week as our first female President. Unfortunately for the Clinton political machine, Democrats everywhere, and the Obama legacy, all of those things were not only true, but were dramatically reinforced at every turn by the FBI, Wikileaks, the FBI again, and the rhetoric spewed out by Donald Trump and his team. Say what you want about the man, but for someone who can't stay on topic, he sure is able to stay on topic when it comes to small catch phrases like "crooked Hillary." He can drive those points home.
And so, as I read the article, I was first astonished that the Clintons were reported to be "better understand the forces behind her shocking November defeat." "Can't they just give up?" might have crossed my mind. Then it made some sense, in terms of who Secretary and President Clinton are: they are political animals, driven by politics, and consumed by their passion and drive. So it can't be really surprising that they are delving deep into the county by county returns, and looking for an answer to how they lost an election that they should have won, against an opponent who had (seemingly) done everything wrong. This is who they are, and who they have been. Why should they change now? It is, after all, their life's work.
But that is what drives so much of this country crazy, and what gives credence to the message that helped to carry Trump to the White House. This idea that the political class is obsessed with power, and being in power, to the point that they would do anything for it. That they can't disengage from it. That they pursue it like Gollum pursues the one ring. Politics is a zero sum game, and when a real politician loses I imagine it is hard to just walk away. More pessimistically, absolute power corrupts absolutely. In that sense, I suppose that what Clinton is doing is perfectly normal, and to be expected. I'm sure that she looks back to 2008 and wonders a similar thing: who did I lose to that inexperienced nobody from Illinois. Perhaps that upset loss, which history will validate as an all time upset, should have warned her off from trying again. Perhaps it should have warned the party off, and Obama himself off, from talking Joe Biden out of it. Perhaps she is just star crossed in that sense, and it was never meant to be for her. But I wonder how much she looks back and thinks "if only."
Politics moves on, and somethings don't change. It's the GOP in control of everything now, but already things are feeling eerily similar. The Senators like Lindsey Graham and John McCain are falling in line behind Trump's nominees, after previously indicating that the same things that those nominees have said would be disqualifying for their votes. Trump is nominating a plethora of bankers to nearly every top position he can; he spent the campaign slamming Hillary Clinton for a speech given to Goldman Sachs, while he has all but incorporated Goldman Sachs into the federal government with how much influence he has given their alumni. The Republican Congress is tying their future to Trump because Trump is in power; all the "Never Trump" people are falling quickly, and as quietly as they can in line. And Trump is giving power and influence to the very people he vowed not to: the elite and the bankers, all along side the most extreme voices in the Republican Party.
But the people, particularly in the Rust Belt, seem to dislike the Clinton narrative even more (that's if they are even paying attention to what Trump is actually doing, rather than saying). And that's where stories like this, which paint the "Clinton Machine," as revving up to try to determine their next steps, can only hurt the Democrats in the short term. Hillary Clinton was a flawed candidate who was upset, improbably, twice. As hard as it is for her, it's probably time for her to go away. And, as Oasis said, "don't look back in anger." The remainder of her life will help to write history's ultimate review on her. Stepping away will only serve to improve her standing, most likely, and may give birth to a more positive narrative. It is, at least, the best chance she's got now, because clinging to the illusion of influence will likely only serve to further split her party, and to reinforce Trumps narrative of misdirection.
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