Now that Hillary Clinton’s connection to the infamous “Panama Papers” has emerged, so has the Greek tragedy that is her story — poised to become the first female POTUS, she is being undone by the very choices she was compelled to make in order to get there.
We’re all familiar with the story; her tenacious climb from Chicago to the halls of power in Washington, a resume that far exceeds that of any living politician, save for possibly Henry Kissinger: At 13 years of age she canvassed for the Nixon campaign, then went on to volunteer for Barry Goldwater in 1964; in 1965, she served as President of the Wellesley Young Republicans, but began to change her political views with the advent of the American Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, organizing a two-day student strike at the university following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King; in 1968, she attended “Wellesley in Washington,” where she assisted Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s campaign for the Republican nomination, but finally left the Republican party after attending the Republican National Convention that year, where she perceived the conservative message as “veiled” racism. Graduating in 1969, she became the first student ever to deliver Wellesley’s commencement address, receiving a standing ovation that lasted seven minutes. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that she was on her way to a stunning political career.
And she didn’t disappoint. Going on to Yale Law School, Hillary worked tirelessly, serving on the board of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action, taking on child abuse cases at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and volunteering her time at New Haven Legal Services, providing free legal advice to low-income clients. She was awarded a grant to work at Marian Wright Edelman's Washington Research Project, where she researched migrant workers' problems in housing, sanitation, health and education. She served as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children, and as staff attorney for Edelman's newly founded Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In ‘74, she became a member of the impeachment inquiry in Washington following the Watergate scandal, which culminated in Nixon’s resignation. Then, she married Bill Clinton.
Their rise to the top wasn’t easy, but there was no stopping Hillary’s tenacity. Bill made Attorney General of Arkansas, and Hillary joined the uber-prestigious Rose Law Firm, working pro bono as an advocate for children and poor families and founding the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families in 1977. Once her husband made governor in 1978, she went on to chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee. She was made the first female partner at the Rose Law Firm.
Then came the questionable Whitewater Development Corporation investment she made with her husband and investment partners Jim and Susan Mcdougall, clients of the Rose Law Firm (this ill-fated decision would later come back to haunt her during Bill’s 1992 presidential campaign, eerily similar to Hillary’s current scandals in which records have gone mysteriously missing, only to resurface years later). Then came the start of her impressive corporate connections, as she held positions on the corporate boards of TCBY and Walmart, both Arkansas-based companies that were also clients of Rose Law. She influenced the appointment of state judges, twice making The National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America (1988 and in 1991). And once Bill took office as president in 1993, Hillary was an active participant in vetting appointments to his new administration; her choices filled dozens of lower-level positions and at least eleven top-level posts.
Then came “Travelgate,” and shortly after, Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster’s suicide and the allegations that Hillary had ordered potentially damaging files — including those pertaining to the Whitewater debacle — to be removed from his office that very night. Then came “Filegate,” and the controversy surrounding cattle futures that she had traded from 1978-79, in which an initial $1000 investment produced a startling $100,000 in profits within ten months, causing some in the press to accuse her of taking bribes. As with every other scandal she was involved in, the evidence against her was deemed insufficient, and no files were ever charged against her; she won the seat to the U.S. Senate in 2000.
As New York Senator, Hillary sat on five Senate committees (Budget (2001–2002), Armed Services (2003–2009), Environment and Public Works (2001–2009), Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (2001–2009), and Special Committee on Aging). She was also a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe from 2001–2009. After the 9/11 attacks, she helped secure the $21 billion needed for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center, and she actively investigated the health issues of first responders.
But then she voted in favor of the slippery Patriot Act in 2001, and its reinstatement in 2006.
After running unsuccessfully for president in 2008, she was sworn in as Secretary of State that year. She became the most-traveled Secretary of State in our nation’s history, visiting 112 countries during her tenure. Her influence was both broad and deep.
Then came the Benghazi attack, and rumors of gun-running to Syria through the embassy.
Then came the email controversy, still currently being investigated by the FBI.
Then came the questions about the Clinton Foundation and its millions in foreign donations from countries including Algeria, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, most that were actively lobbying the U.S. at the time and who may have associated a handsome donation with furthering their respective political agendas.
And now, connections to the Panama Papers. How did she get from stalwart activist for children, women, and the poor, to a high-profile, pay-to-play politician steeped in controversy and scandal?
Or maybe that’s the wrong question. Maybe the real question is, “Would she have gotten this far any other way?”
Hillary played by the rules that were given to her; in order to ascend to power, she amassed the support that she knew she would need to face formidable opponents ensconced within the Washington machine: corporate influence, money, and friends in high places both domestically and abroad. She didn’t come up at a time when “grass roots” support was a viable choice for a serious politician. She didn’t come up at a time when the American people, tired of endless war, outrageous bail-outs, and trade agreements that enrich the powerful at the expense of the American middle class, had finally had enough, and were ready for real change.
Just when she had all her ducks in a row, the rules of the game suddenly — unexpectedly — changed. It almost seems...unfair.
I’m a woman; I have a daughter, a niece, a sister. Of course I would love to see the last glass ceiling to power for American women come to a shattering end. But at what cost?
Hillary represents everything that is wrong with our current system of government; the fact that she’s won at the game only serves to define her as someone not quite worthy of the prize.