Highbrow Magazine - hillary clinton for president https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/hillary-clinton-president en Is Hillary Clinton the Next Barack Obama? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3863-hillary-clinton-next-barack-obama <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 03/31/2014 - 11:01</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1hillaryclinton%20%28Cherie%20Cullen%20Wikipedia%20Commons%29_0.jpg?itok=N271sRab"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1hillaryclinton%20%28Cherie%20Cullen%20Wikipedia%20Commons%29_0.jpg?itok=N271sRab" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>For quite a while it has become a foregone conclusion to many that Hillary Clinton is Barack Obama’s natural successor and the inevitable Democratic nominee in 2016. Although she was also seen as the frontrunner in the lead up to the 2008 election the sentiment was no means as widespread as it is today.</p> <p> </p> <p>Her 2002 vote in favor of authorizing the disastrous Iraq War was fresh in the minds of many Democrats and ultimately was probably the deciding factor in the hotly contested primary against Obama. These days, however, that vote is a distant memory and many Democrats, Republicans and pundits alike perhaps for a lack of creative thinking and perhaps owing to the increasingly dynastic nature of our politics operate under the assumption that the 2016 primaries are a mere formality.</p> <p> </p> <p>Even Markos Moulitsas, a prominent and influential voice within the netroots chastised Democrats eager for a primary battle in a <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/17/1278315/-The-real-primary-fight-of-2016-and-it-s-not-an-alternative-to-Hillary">recent diary</a> and proclaimed Hillary Clinton to be the inevitable nominee. To bolster his argument and cite the differences between the current cycle and 2008, he cited polls from 2007 showing Hillary Clinton with only a narrow lead compared to similar polls today that show a 62 point lead over her nearest hypothetical primary challenger Joe Biden. This poll is harrowing no doubt, though it may reflect an ignorance of other options rather then a genuinely intense commitment to Hillary Clinton. The election is still a year off and if an alternative candidate emerged they could still peel off a good deal of support.</p> <p> </p> <p>The conventional wisdom of Hillary’s inevitability is damaging because (nevermind the fact that there’s no guarantee Hillary Clinton will even run), it threatens to stifle the possibility of a genuine debate within the party on a whole variety of issues including civil liberties, drone strikes, the War on Drugs and income inequity. All of these are issues that the status quo has disappointed progressives on and if an establishment politician like Hillary Clinton ran unopposed in the primary, we can be sure they never would be addressed.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, with elections still a year away, there’s no reason to believe that a genuinely renegade candidate couldn’t emerge to offer an alternative. Many on the left would like Elizabeth Warren to be that alternative and in some ways she would be the ideal. However, she has repeatedly expressed having no interest in running for president and would perhaps do more good in the senate where she could work intricately on financial reform legislation.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2hillaryclinton%20%28whitehouse.gove%20Pete%20Souza%29.jpg" style="height:420px; width:625px" /></p> <p>There are others options, though. Enter Brian Schweitzer, former governor of Montana who first emerged onto the national scene in 2008 when he lambasted the “petrol dictators” in a fiery populist speech at the Democratic convention. During his tenure, he established his progressive bona fides. In 2005 he signed legislation creating a statewide office guaranteeing that all Montanans receive a public defender. He is also an unabashed Civil Libertarian, having signed a <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/04/02/103995/-Montana-Legislature-Bucks-Patriot-Act">measure</a> objecting to the Patriot Act as well as the highly controversial Real ID act. He is also a proponent of Canadian-style single payer health care and in 2011 attempted to pass a statewide version of it in Montana. Keep in mind that he governed as a liberal in solidly red Montana and contrast that with reactionary blue state governor Andrew Cuomo (another potential 2016 nominee), who <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/nyregion/02budget.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">implemented</a> an austerity regime extreme enough to put Scott Walker to shame. A Schweitzer candidacy is not merely the stuff of speculation either; having visited every county in Iowa, he almost certainly is laying the groundwork for a presidential bid.</p> <p> </p> <p>While laying the groundwork for such a bid he has begun to establish himself as an outsider candidate who, if he ran for president, would offer Democrats a significant alternative to the Obama administration and the country at large an alternative to both Republicans and the Democratic establishment. In a December <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/schweitzer-takes-aim_770841.html">interview</a> with the conservative <em>Weekly Standard</em>, he lambasted Obama as a “corporatist,” saying “We can’t afford anymore hard right. We had eight years of George Bush. Now we’ve had five years of Obama, who I would argue, in many cases has been a corporatist.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Schweitzer though could hardly be characterized as a neocon himself. In a November appearance on “Up With Steve Kornacki” he <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/former-montana-gov.-brian-schweitzer-if-we-cozy-up-to-iran-well-be-energy-independent/article/2539779">argued</a> that the impending treaty with Iran would allow the US to move away from close relations with Saudi Arabia and become energy independent. In a January <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/01/brian_schweitzer_interview_the_former_montana_governor_is_the_most_likely.html">interview</a> with <em>Slate Magazine, </em>he candidly articulated his opposition to the war in Afghanistan, correctly pointing out that the US backed Bin Laden in the 80s and then stated, “Six months after we arrived in Afghanistan, al-Qaida was gone. They’d left. So now, in the longest war in the history of the United States, we’re fighting someone called the Taliban—never attacked us, never tried to attack us. They live in the Stone Age. I’ve been there. Even if they wanted to attack us, they wouldn’t find a way.” Schweitzer also expressed his opposition to NSA spying and called for Edward Snowden to be pardoned, another area in which he should receive applause from civil libertarians.</p> <p> </p> <p>A Brian Schweitzer candidacy and a Schweitzer-Clinton matchup would hopefully bring to the forefront many of the fault lines within the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton would have the backing of the party establishment while Schweitzer would tap into the anger of many Progressive Democrats incensed at nearly a generation of centrist neo-liberalism, begun under the Clinton Administration and only exacerbated under the supposed “game changer” Obama as the governing ideology of the party.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/brian.jpg" style="height:625px; width:500px" /></p> <p>In an age of widespread discontent at economic inequity, when the 400 wealthiest Americans control as much wealth as nearly half the population, there is a hunger for economic populism, an economic populism that Hillary Clinton would never be able to harness. The same Hillary Clinton who formerly <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0207-34.htm">served</a> on Wal-Mart’s board of directors and has appeared at several Goldman-Sachs events receiving <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/examiner-editorial-hillary-clintons-big-paydays-from-goldman-sachs/article/2538337">lucrative</a> speaking fees. In one such appearance she reportedly offered the assembled bankers a <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/why-liberal-democrats-are-skeptical-of-hillary-clinton-in-one-paragraph/282304/">soothing message</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p>There is also a hunger for curbing the abuses of the NSA, an issue which a candidate like Schweitzer with his impressive civil liberties record would surely address in a campaign. This isn’t to say that Schweitzer is a perfect candidate by any stretch of the imagination; politicians frequently disappoint and the sincerity of any one is often a matter of mere guesswork. However, a candidate like Schweitzer would at the very least offer debate on a number of crucial issues and would galvanize progressive Democrats, to the chagrin of establishment pundits who would rather the election remain a mere popularity contest.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Joseph Mulkerin is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hillary-clinton" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hillary Clinton</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hillary-clinton-president" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hillary clinton for president</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/brian-schweitzer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">brian schweitzer</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/2016-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">2016 elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/preident-obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">preident obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/presidential-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">presidential elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Joseph Mulkerin</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Cherie Cullen (Wikipedia Commons); Whitehouse.gov (Pete Souza)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 31 Mar 2014 15:01:09 +0000 tara 4513 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3863-hillary-clinton-next-barack-obama#comments How a Hillary Clinton Presidency Would Differ From Obama’s https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2002-how-hillary-clinton-presidency-would-differ-obamas <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 08:59</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumhillaryclinton.jpg?itok=SLNbL31V"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumhillaryclinton.jpg?itok=SLNbL31V" width="480" height="238" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/news/">New America Media</a> and <a href="http://www.theroot.com/blogs/blogging-beltway/hillary-clinton-president-better-blacks?wpisrc=root_lightbox">The Root</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> The same day that President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made headlines for their first joint interview, on 60 Minutes, NAACP President Ben Jealous delighted conservatives with his headline-making interview on another Sunday news program. Appearing on Meet the Press, Jealous said, "Right now when you look at joblessness in this country -- the country is pretty much back to where it was when this president started. White people are doing a bit better. Black folks are doing a full point worse."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Also on Meet the Press, onetime vice presidential candidate, and current member of the House, Paul Ryan offered this theory regarding the current economic battles facing our country: "Look, if we had a [Hillary] Clinton presidency, if we had Erskine Bowles as chief of staff of the White House or president of the United States, I think we would have fixed this fiscal mess by now," Ryan said. "[But] that's not the kind of presidency we're dealing with right now."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Both pronouncements raise questions that have been pondered by some political watchers since the conclusion of the 2008 presidential election: Would African Americans have fared better under a Hillary Clinton presidency than under Obama (and will they if she runs and wins in 2016)?</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Does President Obama Get a Pass?</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Jealous' remarks illustrate a reality that has disappointed some African Americans, who were hopeful that a black presidency would lead to an improvement in conditions for black America. However, addressing that disappointment has been tricky, particularly for black lawmakers.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In a previous interview with The Root, the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), said, "Well, I'm supposed to say he doesn't get a pass, but I'm not going to say that. Look, as the chair of the Black Caucus, I've got to tell you, we are always hesitant to criticize the president. With 14 percent [black] unemployment [pdf], if we had a white president, we'd be marching around the White House."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Cleaver added, "The president knows we are going to act in deference to him in a way we wouldn't to someone white." Cleaver's point, that African Americans would be tougher on a white president regarding the dismal unemployment numbers that have plagued the black community, lends credence to the notion that black Americans might actually have fared better under Clinton -- if you accept the premise that a politician will address the needs of a constituency that holds him or her accountable.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In an interview with The Root, African-American radio host Mark Thompson, the host of Sirius Radio's Make It Plain, described the difference between a Hillary Clinton presidency and Barack Obama's this way: "If she had won, I think that the African-American community would have held her to a higher level of accountability and would have even demanded more and probably would have been more willing to agitate ... for its needs. "</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumobamaclinton_1.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 335px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> He continued: "The current scenario is politically, the first African-American president doesn't want to appear to show favoritism towards African Americans, and African Americans in turn don't want to harm and confront the first African-American president -- so we've pretty much neutralized each other."</p> <p>  </p> <p> African-American Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) once made a similar argument, saying that many black members of Congress were worried that their constituents would be displeased if they were perceived as being too tough on the first black president. Adding to the complexity Thompson speaks of, Obama has faced endless, unfounded criticism for allegedly being biased toward African Americans since taking office. One poll found that 31 percent of Republicans believe the president is "a racist who hates white people." Former Fox News host Glenn Beck famously called the president a racist "who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Did Clinton Lose Her Pass?</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> During their 60 Minutes appearance, Obama and Clinton intimated that part of what made their presidential primary fight so bitter is that they actually had few policy differences. When it comes to policies directly affecting African Americans, for instance, both support affirmative action.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The secretary of state and her husband enjoyed immense support and trust among the black community -- so much so that former President Clinton was once dubbed "the first black president." But their image within the black community was somewhat tarnished by controversial comments the former president made about his wife's then foe. Among them, Bill Clinton seemed to dismiss the viability of Obama's campaign for the presidency by saying of his South Carolina primary win, "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Former President Clinton also faced criticism that by shepherding policies like welfare reform, he ultimately did more harm than good for low-income people of color, who were hit disproportionately by such measures.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But the reason the question lingers as to whether black Americans would have done better under Hillary Clinton can perhaps best be summarized by a baseball analogy. In a previous interview with The Root, when asked to give President Obama a grade for handling the economy, civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson gave the president a solid B. But he went on to draw parallels between the president and Jackie Robinson.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "When Jackie got drafted, everyone who was black was a Jackie fan and a Dodgers fan," Jackson said. But he continued that after a few years, as more players of color joined the league, "we could be fans based on productivity." His point? That's where black Americans can be now with the president: judging him on results.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Unprompted, Mark Thompson mentioned the Jackie Robinson analogy, too, but for a slightly different reason. "The phenomenon in our relationship [between the black community and the president] is we are following the version of the Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson 'Don't fight back' mantra." Thompson was referring to the white baseball executive who famously coached Jackie Robinson to be a pioneer for his people by integrating the major leagues, but warned him that doing so would require that Robinson turn the other cheek -- at least in the beginning. "But that ban," Thompson noted, "was lifted after two years, and no one messed with Jackie after that."</p> <p>  </p> <p> "Enough time has elapsed that the rule has been lifted for both of us [African Americans and Obama] -- but we are both still acting on that rule," he continued. "The African-American community has been silenced out of fear of hurting the first African-American president. If it had been Hillary, we would not have been afraid [to criticize]."</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Keli Goff is a political correspondent for The Root. </em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/news/">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hillary-clinton" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hillary Clinton</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">President Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hillary-clinton-president" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hillary clinton for president</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/2016-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">2016 elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">African Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama-approval-ratings" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">obama approval ratings</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bill-clinton" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bill Clinton</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/2008-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">2008 elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama-administration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama administration</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affirmative-action" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">affirmative action</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Keli Goff</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Root</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:59:43 +0000 tara 2280 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2002-how-hillary-clinton-presidency-would-differ-obamas#comments