Hillary Clinton has the whole nation guessing: Will she? Won’t she?
Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, and wife of former president Bill Clinton – keeps political observers watching her every move to determine if indeed she will run for presidential office in 2016.
But there is yet another poignant question – if she doesn’t run, then who will the Democrats put up instead? Has the party of sometimes disarray groomed any one else for the public to consider as a stand in?
Some of the ‘young pretenders’ oft times mentioned include: Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren (2012-present) – who is no wallflower, and has taken on Republican opponents with relish. As she navigates the is-she-isn’t-she-an Indigenous-(Native)-American controversy, the married former law professor continues to smash Wall Street fat cats and push her “progressive” agenda for working and middle class families.
Vice President Joe Biden, a somewhat popular career politician. The married father of four children was a candidate for U.S. President in 1988 and 2008. And the former attorney (1968-1972) was elected to the U.S. Senate from 1972-2008. He knows the political ropes.
Some say New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo (2010-present), has been parlaying his political career for the 2016 presidential run forever.
Somewhat media -shy/nervous, the divorced father of three girls was Attorney General State of New York from 2006-2010, and Secretary U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 1997-2001.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (2006-present), has his eye on the White House prize too. Married with two children, he was the former attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Working in the hallowed halls of governement is nothing new to the Harvard alum, and one time Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at U.S. Justice Department (1994-1997.)
Other Democrats include; Brian Schweitzer former governor of Montana (2004-2012); Mark Warner, Governor of Virginia (2002-2006), and current U.S. Senator from 2009-present. He, too, ran for the president in 2008.
There are Green Party, Independent and Liberal candidates too.
And then there are the Republicans’ such as household notables; New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Rand Paul, Governor of Texas Rick Perry, Senator Marco Rubio, former Congressman and 2012 U.S. Vice President candidates Paul Ryan and Rick Santorum.
Clinton is internationally known. Of course – since she travelled the world as U.S. Secretary of State (2009-2013), got to New York from Washington to become U.S. Senator (2001 – 2009), and she was a candidate for U.S. President in 2008.
Now living in Chappaqua, upstate New York, Clinton – an attorney – used to work with the Children’s Defense Fund, and she was the co-founder of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
“Hilary Clinton was poised to shatter the ‘glass ceiling’ in 2008 and could have been president had Obama not stole her thunder,” said political activist George Onuorah. “So as she readies for a second attempt with ‘Hard Choices’ for herself and the Democratic Party, considering in politics anything goes and a day may seem like an eternity.”
Onuorah, author of ‘The Political Diary of A Rising Son,’ continued, “My political conjecture is nobody but only Hilary Clinton knows. That said, I am sure that within the Clinton clan and circle the conversation is ‘Should She Run and Why Not?’ At the end of the day, many intangibles must be factored in the equation. The Democrats have hard choices to make about the candidate they select. Republicans are not exactly throwing in the towel as you can see from their pronouncements and endless obstructionism in Congress. My fear is that American election is often cyclical with parties taking turns after consecutive tenures.
If Hilary Clinton does not run, others like Vice President Joe Biden, Andrew Cuomo and Elizabeth Warren are names that come to mind. There are a few other seasoned and savvy Democrats who are equal to the task of leading this nation.
On the Independent side former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg can be a moderate and formidable candidate that will attract progressive votes and pro-immigration voters.
Election politics like the weather are sometimes very difficult to predict with any accuracy. Only time will tell.
As “Clinton” – the certainly unendorsed musical gets set to bring up issues all the Clintons (Bill and very pregnant daughter Chelsea) would prefer not to be raised again (Monica Lewinsky, Jennifer Flowers, Paula Jones et al) – the Run Hilary Run machine is moving into second gear.
Frenzied is what it is going to be.
“We’re living in a time of real political angst,” said Hillary Clinton, as she ponders her run for office. “There’s a lot of work to be done, and I believe it’s going to come down to people demanding that those who hold public office start making evidence-based decisions again.”
So does that she means running? No?
While the average Joe and Joanne on the street – or even Jaheim and Jahlissa aren’t invested too much in the conversation and the avid speculation just yet, other people across the nation are Hillary 2016 T-shirt-wearing, button-selling, book-hawking, spiel-spilling individuals eager to bring others under their red, white and blue umbrella.
Among those who did not want to respond to a question about the possibility of Clinton running and/or Black folks response to it – was a host of politicians including: Mayor Bill de Blasio, just re-elected congressman Rep. Charles Rangel, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and State Assemblyman Keith Wright.
No matter…the buzz – or hum still exists.
But, some say Hillary doesn’t want to run. They speculate that she would rather be in one of her many homes looking after her soon-to-be-born first grandchild – or just resting from the intense public glare which has followed her morphing from: a nerdy college student; to political wife of the Arkansas governor; to the “First Lady” of the United States; to the globetrotting Secretary of State; to the possible Democratic candidate to become the first female president of this nation.
“Six years is a long time, when she was running against Obama – that was her time,” said Brooklyn-based educator Caleef Cousar. “She had the momentum. But who knows now? She would be 69 when she’d take office if she won. I am not sure that she could carry the white male vote.
“She was prepped and ready to run against Barack Obama in 2008.The machine was behind her, and she had the white woman running against a Black man game plan, and when she realized that she was losing, she resorted to that tried and not-to-be-trusted staple of crying, like this Black man was being mean or threatening her. The Democrats might be in trouble because they have not really presented a feasible alternative.
“On the surface, many people in the Black community may identify with Hillary Clinton, because similar to Black people she represents an oppressed demographic of people, women,” said Salim Adofo, National Vice Chairperson of the National Black United Front. “However, when we go beneath the surface many people still see her representing the same institutions that benefit from the mass incarceration, economic exploitation, and social degradation of Blacks nationally and internationally.”
As she promoted her new book “Hard Choices,” (whose sales numbers reportedly are very disappointing), Clinton told a San Francisco audience that her run for office – should she decide to do it, would be “to advance the roles and opportunities of women and girls.”
She noted, “I have a set of experience… and for my entire life, I’ve been an advocate for people who need a voice, need someone in their corner,” adding, “I’ve been on the front lines of all kinds of issues… I believe I have the skills and experience to do the job.
Meanwhile Republican Johnny Rhoda, chairman of the 2nd Congressional District, told U.S. News that as for what locals think of former first lady of Arkansas running for the White House, “Nobody has any affection for her. The majority don’t.”
The website ReadyforHillary boasted, “She’s fierce, she’s funny. She’s focused and she’s a fighter. As a girl who asked questions and challenged limits, as a woman whose lifetime path opened opportunities for others, as an admired, accomplished woman living in the public eye — Hillary Clinton speaks with a powerful and compassionate voice, unwavering and hopeful in her vision of a stronger and better world.”
Then there are those who still take offense to the debacle that was the “fake” tearing up in New Hampshire as she stumped for votes in a campaign where she was losing against then candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
In 2008 in Fort Worth, Texas, Clinton slammed Obama saying, “His entire campaign is based on one speech he made at an anti-war rally in 2002…I give him credit for making the speech but the speech was not followed up with action, which is part of a pattern we see repeatedly a lot of talk and little action. As they say in Texas all hat and no cattle.” The gloves were off.
Bill Clinton said everything but the n-word almost. As the campaign was slipping away from the Clintons, decrying the media/general public love affair with the bright ray of “hope,” with “Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.”
Well Obama won. Twice. They all kissed and made up. Kind of. Obama made Hillary the Secretary of State sending her to the Middle East and Europe and far flung places that the mainstream American media mostly ignored.
And as for Bill, he began publicly aiding Obama, helping out on the campaign with robo-calls and pseudo sage political advice.
So now we have 2016, and here comes a book, “Blood Feud” by Edward Klein, stating that in May last year, Hillary Clinton charged that Obama was “incompetent;” and her husband reportedly said, “I hate that man Obama…more than any man who ever lived.”
“I am concerned about Hillary Clinton’s judgment because of her failure to classify Boko Haram as a terrorist organization while she was Secretary of State,” said Mutale Nkonde, Founder Nkonde & Associates. “I wonder if she had done this, whether the 234 gjrls would have been kidnapped and if this group would continue to terrorize people in Northern Nigeria?
“This, and the racially charged remarks her team made during the 2008 Presidential Election and the mandatory sentencing laws enacted during her husband’s Presidency makes me wonder how good another Clinton would be for Black America.”
It would be a hard slog and Hillary could garner a lot of support mainly from the women who feel that their time has come under her banner.
While agreeing that the nation is “ready” for a female commander-in-chief, First Lady Michelle Obama has stated emphatically that she would not seek the presidential ticket, disappointing those who could see her as the right fit – popularity, plus wisdom and a certain understanding, speaking in Parade Magazine, she stated that as for Hillary, “She hasn’t announced anything, so I’m certainly not going to get ahead of her.”
Activist Reverend Tarharka Robinson, founder of the Brooklyn Anti-Violence Coaltion has no doubt. “Hillary Clinton is ready for the run. Her experience in both foreign and national policy qualifies her for the job.”
“A resounding yes,” smiled activist Reverend Herbert Daughtry, National Presiding Minister of the House of the Lord Church. “I think Hillary Clinton is the best candidate. I think she has the experience, the intellect, the courage, the toughness, the compassion, and the vision. I believe she would be good for people of African ancestry. When she ran against President Barack Obama, I wondered, out loud, if we would receive more from Hillary than from Obama. It did raise a few eyebrows. Looking back, I am still not sure that we would have gotten more from Hillary than we have received from President Obama. Of course, from President Obama, we were/are the beneficiaries of symbolism, and that’s important, too; but, in regards to substance – well, that’s another question.:
So come the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton would be approaching 70, with a brand new grand baby. And super pacs supporting her or not, the Republicans and the emboldened Tea Partiers would be chomping at the bit, and relishing the opportunity to find an ideal candidate for them – and run against her. Either way it will be a hectic political year.
Will she? Won’t she? If not….who?