I have often been critical of Hillary Clinton. My concerns, the more I think about it, stem more from Bill Clinton's actions than with Hillary's. Especially with regard to welfare reform, NAFTA, and Mandatory Minimum Sentences reformed by both Bill Clinton and our current Vice-President Joe Biden. Clearly these three actions had a more devastating effect on the working and lower classes. Then, of course, there was the Defense of Marriage Act.
To me these are no brainers. The Defense of Marriage Act is likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court very soon. Welfare reform has been nothing short of a disaster, being nearly impossible to receive benefits unless one has children. Also, the amount received under Temporary Assistance hasn't changed since 1996. Can anyone really be expected to pay rent with $380 a month?
Then there is that beast of a legislative giveaway known as NAFTA. Since the implementation of NAFTA, millions of jobs have been lost and possibly billions or more have been lost in tax revenue. Even more has been lost since the further Free-Trade agreements that have been implemented since then. And now the Trans-Pacific-Partnership being negotiated by President Obama.
None of this however, is Hillary Clinton's fault. These decisions were not her own. It's very easy to place blame on the wife of a former President for that President's mistakes. Hillary herself, though, can only be faulted for that which she HAS had a say in. Such as her vote in favor of the War in Iraq.
If we are to criticize the woman, then let us criticize her for what she has done. I would love to see a competitive primary. I would love to see Elizabeth Warren run for president, or Martin O'Malley, or Bernie Sanders. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like we are going to have a competitive primary.
But as far as I'm concerned, Hillary Clinton has done nothing to deserve my consternation. She was a strong women's rights advocate, she has been a force against poverty for those without a voice, often in third-world countries and primarily through the Clinton Foundation which has done much to protect those oppressed and starving across the world. And for that I owe her an apology, I was too quick to judgement.
I have often been to the left of most in the Democratic Party, but there are some realities to which I have had to come to terms with. For one, Hillary Clinton's big money donors. I have often been critical of her for accepting donations from Wall Street, foreign countries and other big donors. But the fact of the matter is, with the Koch Brothers planning on spending near a Billion dollars on the 2016 Presidential campaign on Republicans, it's going to take a tremendous amount of money to drown out the voices on the right. Perhaps the only Democrat capable of doing this is Hillary.
After all, where will our great nation be if a Rand Paul or a Scott Walker becomes president? We are only just recovering from the worst economic downturn in almost a century. With inflation at a sluggish 0.7%, we are at a tipping point. Either we could fall back into a deflationary trap, or with a little government spending and continued, loose monetary policy, we could be on track to have one of the strongest recoveries in decades.
Even now, some of those who had given up on looking for a job entirely are returning to the workforce. (Hence the .1% uptick in our U3 Unemployment rate) We are just starting to see rising wages and even Walmart, the quintessential low-pay employer, has announced a raise for its employees.
What we need now is a strong, politically adept leader. Someone who knows all of the ins and outs of politics, someone who has made strong political connections over the years and someone who can get things done. At this point, I now am beginning to see that Hillary Clinton might just be that leader. Her political connections are second to none. Her willingness to say what needs to be said (when she isn't campaigning that is) might be exactly what it will take to lead us out of this period of stagnation caused by Republicans holding our nation hostage.
So what I suggest is this, Hillary, jump into the game now! Don't let Republicans set the narrative before we get a chance to have our say. Even as I write this, Republicans across the nation are trying to co-opt the Democratic message.
They are doing it by talking about income inequality and wage stagnation. (All of which points mostly to Republican intransigence in Congress) Instead, Republicans are quickly mobilizing around a message, blaming President Obama and Democrats for these issues.
And how about this for 2016, a Clinton/Warren ticket to sweep into the White House! I know it won't be easy, but if anyone can do it, it's Hillary. And who better for a running mate than Elizabeth Warren?