My girls at local Democratic Party event, Feb 2008. Mariarosa (L) in Obama shirt; Annalisa (R) with Hillary sign.
As awesome as it might be to have Hillary Clinton be our next Secretary of State, I’d much rather she were appointed to the Supreme Court.
During the Democratic Primaries, I supported Barack Obama, for reasons described in unsparing detail already. Part of what upset me, about Hillary Clinton’s campaign, at that time (besides many of her supporters’ tasteless capitulations to identity politics which transformed some previously brilliant progressives into frothing, reactionary ideologues) had far less to do with what I saw as Clinton’s core values and more to do with her willingness to accept terrible advice. Her campaign was a trainwreck of dysfunction. Her advisors weren’t worthy of the candidate whom they were advising.
But, even more fundamentally, in terms of her candidacy for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the Office of the United States President, what disturbed me was that she seemed always to be a bit too calculating – always with an eye to the viability of her candidacy, rather than to her own core principles (which I had always believed to be essentially sound). Barack Obama was more willing to risk taking unpopular positions for the sake of the common good (most notably, with regard to the Iraq War). I’m still entirely happy I supported his campaign, and thrilled beyond measure that he is now our President-Elect.
It’s a sad thing, that people like Hillary Clinton, who are, inarguably, such trailblazers, are often compelled to continually check themselves, to make calculations as to just how much change they believe is realistic to bring about – when, with more principled positions and a commitment to upholding them, regardless of their popularity at any given time – far more significant and deeply necessary change might be possible. And of course, in addition to this kind of self-policing, an additional danger to such trailblazers is that they may capitulate to unscrupulous tactics (e.g., pandering to “hard-working Americans, white Americans,” thirteen years after dismissing working class white voters with the comment, “Screw ‘Em”) in an attempt to ensure their continuing ascendancy (even while that path may be undertaken with the sincere belief that it is in the interests of the country). I was definitely not okay with that.
However. I believe (and have never said differently) that Hillary Clinton’s core values are, indeed, progressive. And the possibility of her becoming a Supreme Court justice – very specifically – is exciting to me. This is because in that particular environment, in a position with indefinite tenure, without any risk of losing her position, I believe Clinton would be far more inclined to make decisions based on the law and her conscience than based on mere political strategy, which we (unfortunately) saw in the Democratic Primaries. And let me repeat the two most critical words in that last sentence: indefinite tenure. Clinton would be in an extremely powerful position for a very long time, and I’d feel far more optimistic about the future of the United States Constitution and the liberties it is supposed to guarantee – but which have been grossly abrogated under the Bush/Cheney regime (and would have suffered even further under – Goddess help us – a McCain/Palin regime).
Rachel Maddow, referencing hostile statements Clinton made during the Primaries with regard to Barack Obama’s foreign affairs credentials, spoke my mind tonight when she said the following about the Hillary Clinton Secretary of State possibility:
It is very easy for me to imagine Senator Clinton as a Secretary of State. It is more difficult for me to imagine Senator Clinton as Barack Obama’s Secretary of State. How would Secretary of State Clinton work in an Obama administration? She’s obviously qualified. But there is this on-the-record dispute between her and Senator Obama in the area of State Department affairs which is the area of diplomacy.
Bottom line: I believe Hillary Clinton has a long, bright political future ahead of her, whether that is continuing in the U.S. Senate (where she could become Senate Majority Leader, and/or hold many critical committee chairmanships), or whether that is in an office like the Supreme Court, or as Secretary of State, or in nearly any other position she might seek (or be sought for), now or in the future. She has much more to give, and this country needs her gifts.
