Hillary Clinton’s Book Doesn’t Matter.
And that could be a great thing for Democrats.
Is this really the best use of our very limited time before the 2018 elections?
With less than a year until 2018 campaigns get into full swing, it’s time to admit that, for good or bad, 2016 is a distraction. All the lessons and the history are things to work around the best we can, but they cannot be the focus of our conversations. We must separate the last year and a half from what we must change from what needs to be done. If we can do that, we will make huge leaps forward. Both in terms of policy and in cooperation.
Hillary’s book, “What Happened,” is only a divisive conversation that inevitably dead-ends in anger.
In the past few weeks, the topic of the 2016 primary and subsequent campaign has re-surged into heated discussions in the media, the Democratic Party, its left-wing, its allies, and its theoretical-allies-but-mostly-critics (at least presently). It is an inflammatory subject that comes in waves, but has finally begun to ebb as we focus on issues and the bigger picture.
Clinton’s book has stoked the coals of resentment and indignation and here we are: arguing in tweets, comments, and in the media. It has taken our focus away from building consensus and reforming the Party into something that is more open and accepting. It weakens our attempts to resist against Trump’s agendas and fighting for progressive topics such as Medicare-for-all. We have returned to the same old tired back and forth talking points. It’s a draining and fruitless waste of breath.
But here is a controversial opinion: conversations beyond learning our collective lessons are nothing more than distractions from the work that has been done and needs to be done.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign and book, and are irrelevant to the present efforts to oppose Trump and support America’s middle-class.
Arguably, despite her efforts, experience, and massive popular vote dominance Hillary herself has become a minor figure in the evolution of the American left. If she wants to put herself back into a position of influence by supporting popular and bipartisan issues such as single payer healthcare, that is one thing. This book tour certainly isn’t that.
Unless she makes the move to motivate her allies, loyalists, and supporters, it is time to respect her post-loss choice to remove herself from the efforts to resist Donald Trump. His party and his administration are focused on dishonest policies that aim to undermine nearly every part of the average American’s life. Secretary Clinton opted to decompress in the woods and write a retrospective over her second campaign. This was the best choice she could have made. It’s understandable, and she earned it it. Frankly it allowed the fights over the Party’s internal leadership to be somewhat constructive. Much more so than if she remained front and center, which is ironic given the majority of this article.
We can respond to her with respect (or anger), and learn from the 2016 primary, without dwelling and obsessing over the details (too much). If we are going to get to work building a future that promote the driving forces of American prosperity: small businesses, the middle class, and organized labor. We have to accept the truth that we need to work together.
In order to do that we must take a position that is uncomfortable and difficult: Hillary Clinton‘s campaign, book, and publicity tour, no longer matter in regards to what is happening right now.
It’s not topical or constructive, at least not in terms of an ongoing internal effort to find common ground. Until she steps back and realizes it herself, we must take the hard road of putting her out of our minds.
If we can do that, Clinton supporters and Bernie supporters will come together and accomplish great things. We can inspire the biggest voting bloc, non-voters, to finally begin to participate. If that happens — when people vote — we all win.
