Hillary Clinton has successfully procured the Democratic nomination for being their presidential candidate. Some are calling this a historic day and one of significance in regards to women's advancement. A critical view presents another image. It demonstrates how far behind the US is in terms of being progressive. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the UK have had female heads of state before America. Other countries have already done this before, so the triumphant attitude seems to lose its impact. Third wave feminists are eager to call this a victory without examining the less than perfect political record of Hillary Clinton. Her supporters and factions third wave feminist followers have created a image based in myth of a progressive who fights for women's rights, reproductive rights, racial equality, and protecting the poor. This is false when examining her past and present actions as a senator and a Secretary of State. Clinton's attempt to use racism to win the nomination in 2008 failed and a deal was made to have her serve in the Obama administration. During her tenure foreign policy was by many observers reckless. Libya, Syria, and Venezuela became targets of US harassment and aggression. Hillary Clinton is culpable for Libya's engineered destruction. She pushed for the overthrow of Qaddafi's government, which lead to a failed state. Besides her disturbing sympathy to imperialist based foreign policy her behavior on domestic affairs is troubling. Hillary Clinton has been known to vacillate on LGBT rights, reproductive rights, and has little or no concern for civil rights. Far-right critics are merely out to do character assassination instead of debating the real issues. The alleged "scandals" such as white water and the Vince Foster affair were manufactured by the right-wing media to disparage the Clintons. There are two opposing images of Hillary Clinton. One presents her as a liberal hero and the other as a corrupt politician. This analysis is distorted, because it presents concepts that supporters and opponents want to see without examination of the facts. One must look at Hillary Clinton's life, career, and ideology to get a lucid understanding of the Democratic nominee.
Like any other individual Hillary Clinton was molded out of the experiences of her childhood. She was born in October 1947 in Chicago during the Cold War era. This is important to understand because it shaped the mindset of baby boomers.Many either sided with the counter culture of the 1960s or would later be part of the neoconservative movement in the 1980s. It seems that Hillary Clinton in her young life vacillated between two camps of political conservatism and new left liberalism. Hillary Clinton as a young person supported Barry Goldwater. This Republican senator was opposed to the Civil Rights Movement and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Great Society reforms. Hillary Clinton was a Goldwater Girl actively campaigning to get him elected. She has in the past spoke fondly of this reactionary conservative and his followers would later get Richard M. Nixon elected in 1968. After Goldwater's failed attempt, it seemed Hillary took another ideological turn. When attending Wellesly College she became active in leftist politics. This sudden change could be a person who was considering a political career in the future or became disturbed by the surrounding upheaval around her. It may never be know what her true intentions were, but she attended Yale earning her law degree.
Like any other individual Hillary Clinton was molded out of the experiences of her childhood. She was born in October 1947 in Chicago during the Cold War era. This is important to understand because it shaped the mindset of baby boomers.Many either sided with the counter culture of the 1960s or would later be part of the neoconservative movement in the 1980s. It seems that Hillary Clinton in her young life vacillated between two camps of political conservatism and new left liberalism. Hillary Clinton as a young person supported Barry Goldwater. This Republican senator was opposed to the Civil Rights Movement and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Great Society reforms. Hillary Clinton was a Goldwater Girl actively campaigning to get him elected. She has in the past spoke fondly of this reactionary conservative and his followers would later get Richard M. Nixon elected in 1968. After Goldwater's failed attempt, it seemed Hillary took another ideological turn. When attending Wellesly College she became active in leftist politics. This sudden change could be a person who was considering a political career in the future or became disturbed by the surrounding upheaval around her. It may never be know what her true intentions were, but she attended Yale earning her law degree.
There she met her future husband William Jefferson Clinton. even when she settled into married life she remained politically active. It was becoming more evident that this was a career path she was going to continue. Her husband became the governor of Arkansas in 1978 with her becoming the First Lady of Arkansas. This marks a turning point. Hillary Clinton has stated "I'm a progressive, but I'm a progressive that wants to get things done." That statement is questionable given her conservative upbringing. She did as a teenager volunteered for Richard M. Nixon's campaign for president in 1960. It has been alleged that she changed her political trajectory when hearing Martin Luther King deliver a sermon. The precise date is not known, but biographers place it between the years 1962 between 1964. People do change in their lives, but it is clear that racism and race prejudice are still part of her psyche. To be a supporter of Nixon and Goldwater was to be anti-black, pro-Vietnam war, and reversing the gains of the New Deal. During a 1992 campaign event for her husband she said " my political beliefs are rooted in the conservatism I was raised with." It has been alleged she restated this point in a 1996 interview. It seems she may try to use this conservative past to gain the votes of anti-Trump Republicans. This this may not work considering most Republicans view her unfavorably. Conservatives do not favor different races or ethnic groups in America, which makes Hillary Clinton's past more troubling. Her later life shows that these negative feeling towards certain races has not disappeared.
When her husband was elected president in 1992, Hillary sought to be a politically active first lady. She came to Washington determined to have healthcare legislation passed. This was out of concern for children and families struggling with increasing premium costs. This was effectively stopped by the Republican Party. Their victory in congressional elections in 1994 ended hopes of effective reform. While this attempt was seen in the tradition of the Great Society or New Deal spirit of American leftist policies, there were some that were reactionary. The William Jefferson Clinton White House passed the 1994 Crime Bill, which lead to the incarceration of large numbers of African American youth. The claim was that it was designed to target gangs, but they were not dramatically effected. Combined with the War on Drugs and mandatory sentencing this was devastating to African Americans. Hillary Clinton actively supported and promoted this Crime Bill speaking across they country. The video of her speaking at Keene State College resurfaced during her campaign and the language used offended many today. She called African American youth "super predators" and in a white racist fashion said "they need to be brought to heel."
These statements were made during an election year and rather than appealing to hope the Clintons chose hate. this episode was just one of many disturbing problems that came out of the Clinton administration. Welfare was reduced effecting African Americans and single mothers even worse. Aid to the Families with Dependent Children was eliminated in 1996. This major contradiction cannot be excused for a leader who claims she is concerned about the well being of families and children.The administration was also expanding US military strikes across the globe. Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the engineered destruction of Yugoslavia. Hillary Clinton just like in her youth was molded by the events surrounding her. She grew up during the Cold War in which the US had an equally strong rival. When the U.S.S.R collapsed the United States became the world's only superpower. Foreign policy was being reoriented from just containing communism to the US becoming a global hegemon. George Herbert Walker Bush referred to this reorientation in foreign policy as the New World Order. The US was going to impose its will upon various nation whether they liked it or not. No new rival the US hoped would emerge to challenge it supremacy over the globe. Hillary Clinton absorbed these convictions and they would later have disastrous consequences when she became Secretary of State. The Clinton administration expanded upon the elder Bush's New World Order foreign policy orientation, which would later give justification for America's second intervention into Iraq. The Iraqi Liberation Act called for the eventual regime change and removal of the Baathist government of Iraq. The 1998 air strikes and continued sanctions murdered many Iraqis. Children were horribly effected, but Hillary Clinton did not raise a word of protest of this policy.
Her support for feminism and gay rights are questionable as her support for racial equality. She has stated that "women's rights are human rights,"yet fails to take this concept into political action. It seems she adopts the feminist label when it advances her personal objectives. Hillary Clinton during the 1990s supported the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned gay marriage. When confronted with this during her 2016 campaign she claimed at first she had always been for LGBT rights. When it was discovered that was not true, she made a less than cogent argument that it was a different time then. She prides herself for being a feminists, but it seems unlikely considering she married a man like William Jefferson Clinton. His behavior toward women has been inappropriate ranging from alleged sexual harassment to extramarital affairs. The worse demonstration of his general disregard for women was not getting the Freedom of Choice Act passed. He claimed that be believed in a woman's right to choose and have access to abortion, but Bill Clinton's actions proved otherwise. Hillary Clinton and her husband are not supporters of reproductive rights. Hillary Clinton has articulated abortion " shouldn't be exercised, or only in very rare circumstances. " Rape and incest are not rare occurrences and to force women who victims of this to give birth is a human rights violation. Reaching out to pro-life advocates was probably a method to win the 1996 election. These were voters who would have normally voted Republican, because of their emphasis on wedge issues. Hillary Clinton even made a plea for anti-abortion advocates to collaborate with pro-choice advocates. This idea of coming together on common agreements is ludicrous when one of the parties is attempting to control and restrict the rights of women. If anti-abortion advocates had their way and made abortion illegal, the next target would contraceptives. Hillary Clinton's approach was to promote strategies for lowering the abortion rate. This seems unusual considering the abortion rate never reached astronomical levels and the US population has increased since then. Hillary Clinton has a vacillating nature in regards to particular conviction. Whatever type of women's rights she adheres to it obviously is the less just version of power feminism. This ideological branch does not concern its self about non-white or working class women. It focuses on white upper class women getting more power in society. It's goal is not equality, but to gain more white privilege for European descended women. Hillary Clinton has shown little if any concern for African American, Latino, or Asian women of the US. As the 1990s drew to a close, the Clinton White House had to deal with problems from the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Her husband's extramarital affair with a White House intern and subsequent lies about the matter caused Hillary Clinton much distress. The attacks by the Republican party, slander of the far-right media, and humiliation would have cause many people to retreat from public life. However, Hillary Clinton had greater ambitions and set her sights on becoming a senator for New York.
When Hillary Clinton became a senator for New York, the Democratic Party had fully finished its modern transformation. Like most of the country it became centre-left and functioned on triangulation. The New Democrats had replaced the Great Society Democrats. Triangulation was the political philosophy of the party. When Hillary became a New York senator another major change was about to happen. The September 11th attacks in 2001 induced the United States to attack Afghanistan and later Iraq. Hillary Clinton had only been a senator since 2000 and already was flung into a crisis. The nation was in a state of hysteria and began committing crimes against innocent civilians and countries. President Bush wanted to go to war with Iraq even though it had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks. Hillary Clinton voted for the authorization of force against Saddam Hussein. This was just as callous as it was unethical. It makes since seeing as the administration of her husband signed into law The Iraqi Liberation Act. When the Baathist government fell, the insurgency began. Hillary Clinton then distanced herself away from the war.
Hillary then made the decision to call for the withdraw of US forces in Iraq. The timing of this position change was when the country was gradually becoming a failed state. Part of her acumen is to abandon a project when she realizes it could jeopardize her political career. The position change allowed her to gain re-election in 2006. Nearly three decades involved in politics, Hillary set her sights on the oval office.
Hillary Clinton ran for the presidency in 2008. She believed it would be simple to procure the nomination, but then came a charismatic senator from Illinois known as Barack Obama. The Clinton campaign then became desperate and resorted to negativity to get the nomination. Senator Obama at the time pointed out her duplicitous behavior during the primaries. Her anger began to show as the tactics began to appeal to racism and prejudice emotions of whites in the US. When Louis Farrakhan endorsed Obama, Clinton demanded that Obama denounce him. Obama never asked or called upon Farrakhan's support. This was not official anyway considering Farrakhan said he would vote for Obama in a sermon he gave. Hillary Clinton kept this non-issue alive. Hillary Clinton even went as far as to say she just naturally would do better with white voters. This pretentious and racist attitude shows someone with deep hatred. She made an appeal to this type of pathological behavior in West Virginia. The mostly blue dog Democrats of the state favored her specifically because she was a white candidate. The former President Bill Clinton spoke in derogatory terms about Obama proclaiming " a few years ago this guy would have been bringing us our coffee."
The Hillary Clinton campaign even flirted with Islamophobia. A picture emerged of Obama wearing traditional clothing of Kenya. It was designed to instill hate and fear to work in Clinton's favor. When asked about this the Clinton campaign then made the case that Obama should not be ashamed of the traditional clothing of his ancestors. When their racism was confronted, they quickly retreated. It exposed itself again with the pastor Jeremiah Wright. The media took one sermon out of context and turned it into an issue. Obama then had to distance himself from Wright just because of a simple sound bite. While Obama's response solved the problem form the campaign, Hillary Clinton wanted to continue to use it to advance her goals. She persistently asked why Obama did not denounce Wright earlier. These pathetic and futile attempts to get the nomination resulted in her failure. It turned out Hillary was her own worse enemy. Despite her obnoxious conduct and unprofessional demeanor Obama got the nomination. There was still a problem Hillary Clinton had a huge number of supporters that could either vote Republican or not at all. This possible division in the Democratic Party could only weaken it. An agreement was reached in which Obama got her delegates, but it came at a price. It was agreed that Hillary Clinton would serve as Secretary of State as long as her followers would be cooperative. It seems that years she had been fighting and maneuvering to gain power. These years of struggle in both personal and political life had hardened her. The young idealist was no more.
Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. Her performance was less than spectacular. She had the task of readjusting US foreign policy after the blunders of the Bush administration. It is critical to understand how Iraq and the Arab Spring derailed Obama's attempt to reach out to the Muslim world. The regime changes that started with Tunisia left power voids around the region. Radical Political Islamists were taking power complicating US objectives. President Obama did not believe in unilateral intervention like his predecessor and withdrew troops from Iraq. Afghanistan was the place in which he vacillated on in terms of military involvement. The turning point was when Hillary Clinton persuaded the President to attack Libya. This would have devastating consequences on the administration and would ultimately result in Hillary's termination as Secretary of State. This action as violent as it was makes sense in her perspective considering her influences. Hillary Clinton to her own admission admires Henry Kissinger. The former National Security advisor under both the Nixon and Ford administrations is notorious for his draconian foreign policies. He was involved in the bombings of Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War, Indonesia's invasion of Eat Timor, and the coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile. Many consider him to be a war criminal for his conduct in past administrations.
US citizens should be concerned that a former Secretary of State is taking guidance from someone involved in the atrocities of the Vietnam War. Hillary Clinton clearly believes in the US being as violent and forceful as possible to maintain supremacy. During her tenure as Secretary of State she visited 112 countries and cultivated a person to person approach to US foreign policy. US foreign policy functions on the basis that countries that disagree with it must be eliminated. Hillary Clinton continued to carry out this objective directing it at countries such as Libya, Syria, and Venezuela. Hugo Chavez was targeted by the US government in 2002 when coup attempt was sponsored by America. The Bush administration had poor relations with Venezuela and under the Obama administration they did not improve. Leaked e-mails revealed that Hillary Clinton believed in undermining the Hugo Chavez government. The Wikileaks e-mails showed that Hillary Clinton wanted other Latin American countries to isolate Venezuela. Expressing friendship in public, but showing disdain in private demonstrates that Latin America can never fully trust the United States. This complicates Clinton's attempt to discuss immigration issues when she is shown to have hostility toward South American nations. Clinton's rather passive approach to the coup in Honduras shows a contradictory nature in her politics and foreign policy. Hillary Clinton expressed in the e-mails that "Chavez needed to be reigned in." This coded language is another example of her racism similar to her "bring them to heel" comments. Latin American nations in her view should be under the control of the US. Venezuela is actively resisting the United States regionally and internationally. Leftist governments asserted their independence and national sovereignty more than their conservative US supported neighbors. Venezuela will probably continue to be targeted under a Hillary Clinton presidency. Libya was destroyed and what took 42 years to build was erased by NATO bombing. Hillary Clinton at first seemed to have no particular position on Libya. She even met with one of Qaddafi's sons.
The Bush administration had taken the overture of Qaddafi's government to gradually normalize relations . Qaddafi stated that he would halt his nuclear and biological weapons programs in exchange for not being isolated. There was no reason why a positive relationship could have not continued, but the Arab Spring damaged any hope of that. Terrorist organizations were behind the uprisings in Benghazi. There were street demonstrations asking for reform who were not connected to these groups instigating violence. Al-qaeda, Ansar al-Sharia, and members of the Libyan Islamic Fighter Group began attacking demonstrators and government officials. Qaddafi was out to stop the terrorists killing the civilian population. France, the UK, and US created a false narrative that Qaddafi was killing his own people. This incorrect narrative was Hillary Clinton's talking point and the President then approved airstrikes. Rebels were armed and began invading the country. Ethnic cleansing, civil war, and chaos ensued. Hillary Clinton thought in a moment of hubris this would be a simple execution. The legitimate government could be overthrown and replaced with a compliant and submissive one. Her current concern over the e-mail controversy is due to the fact she had involvement in the assassination of a foreign leader. Qaddafi was not killed by his own people, but by terrorist organizations and the West. Imperialism and religious fundamentalism were his two persistent enemies through the duration of his rule. Upon hearing the news of his murder Hillary Clinton exclaimed " we came, we saw and he died" followed by an uncontrollable laugh.
She would later in the year visit the same rebels who would go on to turn on the US. Christopher Stevens the ambassador to Libya became the first American victim to the blowback. Libyans were already experiencing it for months with the increase in crime and violence. This was what cause the migrant crisis, which continues to paralyze Europe. Christopher Stevens was killed by a faction of rebels and the embassy attacked. This incident would later force Hillary Clinton from her position when investigations began in to understand what happened. Stevens was involved in supplying arms to rebels even though he was an ambassador. This was approved by Hillary Clinton, because she predicted sooner or later the government would fall. The year 2012 saw a string of attacks on US embassies across the region as many were frustrated with US military action. Overall, Libya and the failure surrounding will define her tenure as Secretary of State. During her leadership of the Department of State the Hillary Doctrine was formed. This policy was to make women's rights a prime objective in general US foreign policy. It goes a step further stating its an essential part of national security. While women's rights must be promoted in places where women face discrimination and oppression Hillary Clinton's motive is not altruistic. This will be used to justify intervention in numerous nations around the world. This is different from the message she spoke of in the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Women's rights promotion will be used to engage in perpetual warfare with other countries. When ever national security concepts are intertwined with human rights there will be abuse. Hillary Clinton proclaimed in a speech in 2013 " the countries that threaten regional and global peace are the very places in which women and girls are deprived of opportunity and dignity." Her speech targeted specific countries like Egypt, Pakistan, and India. This cherry picking of nations seems to be once again exposing her racism. She only briefly mentioned the challenges women face in the United States, but spent the most time disparaging nations of the East. This played on familiar stereotypes of Arab and West Asian nations as being backward and misogynist. The subtle message Clinton was giving is that the West has a duty civilize the 'barbaric" brown people. The white man's burden has now been extended to the white woman's burden.
When examining Hillary Clinton's conduct as Secretary of State it is clear what her political philosophy is. She believes in American Exceptionalism an extremist notion that the United States is better than all other nations on Earth and has the right to do whatever it pleases.Hillary Clinton views any rising power as a threat even though there is no factual basis for that. She once claimed that "the US is in an information war with Russia and China." Hillary was showing how disturbed she was with the fact that Russian and Chinese news media is gaining a right reputation compared to American news outlets. A Hillary Clinton presidency will most likely be more confrontational with Russia and China when collaboration would be preferable. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State also advocated regime change for Syria and like most in the US government developed an Assad must go policy. The increasing power of ISIS destabilized both Iraq and Syria which Hillary Clinton seemed unable to formulate a solution for. This time her attempt persuasion method on the President did not work. President Obama did not want another Libya scenario causing him issues in a second term. Hillary Clinton does favor military intervention, but under the context of multilateralism. This has been colloquially referred to as "leading from behind."Hillary Clinton's concept of smart power is to have allies do most of the labor and the United States finishes the final stages of conquest. Direct ground invasions are replaced with merciless bombings of mostly the civilian population. Responsibility to Protect is a doctrine that masks atrocities inflicted by the US and its allies against global south countries. It was used as a way to conquer Libya and will soon be directed at other countries. Hillary Clinton's overall performance as Secretary of State created a mess for the Obama administration. John kerry was selected as a replacement to fix the damage that had been done from the failure of Libya. Hillary Clinton made no progress in the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations and President Obama pledge of reaching out to the Arab and Muslim world crumbled. Even after all this Hillary Clinton still has a desire to obtain the presidency.
November Americans will go to the polls to select their next president. The two choices from both the Democratic and Republican Parties are not favorable to anyone who generally wants a solution to economic, political, and social issues. Donald Trump has virtually no experience in politics or a basic understanding of international affairs. Hillary Clinton has more qualifications and skills, but lacks the wisdom of a statesman and is prone to take reckless action. It is lugubrious that elections are reduced to the lesser of two evils. The United States at its core cannot be called a democracy if the ruling class controls who becomes the nominee of both parties. Hillary Clinton has shown vacillation in her political positions. Many progressives realize this, which explains why they gravitated to Bernie Sanders. He was able to attract younger voters to the Democratic Party. They could be easily lost or not vote at all if Hillary does not try to hold on to them. Donald Trump has mobilized large portions of the population with his offensive rhetoric. Hillary Clinton must work on selling herself if she wants to get elected. The African American and Latino vote is critical. Hillary Clinton does not mention the issues surrounding police brutality and immigration reform. These are solicitous and urgent matters effecting those communities.Hillary Clinton's promotion of women's rights seems minimal at best, if reproductive rights are low priority. She is the representation of centrist Democratic Party philosophy. The public may no longer approve of it or at least a section has rejected it entirely. The followers of Bernie Sanders will probably be an important voting block in the future. Another shift in American politics is happening and it is occurring during an election year. Voters should have a vast amount of knowledge on the people they select for the office. From what is known about Hillary Clinton she could be just as unstable and dangerous as Trump. Whoever becomes president will have to deal with a declining economy, racial tension, and perpetual wars. That is why the voter's choice is more important now than ever.
Further Reading
Sharon, Smith. Women and Socialism: Race, Class, and Capital. Chicago : Haymarket Books,
2015.
"Profile: Hillary Clinton." BBC News. N.p., 5 July 2016. Web. 31 July 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-20874451>.
"Leaked Clinton Emails Reveal Continued Efforts to Sabotage Venezuela."Sputniknews.com. N.p., 7 July 2016. Web. 31 July 2016. <http://sputniknews.com/us/20160727/1043685783/clinton-emails-venezuela-sabotage.html>.
Roller, Emma. "Can Hillary Clinton, Goldwater Girl, Win Over Republicans?"The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 May 2016. Web. 31 July 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/opinion/campaign-stops/can-hillary-clinton-goldwater-girl-win-over-republicans.html?_r=0>.
Lemmon, Gayle. "The Hillary Doctrine: Women's Rights Are a National Security Issue." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 8 Apr. 2013. Web. 31 July 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/the-hillary-doctrine-womens-rights-are-a-national-security-issue/274770/>.
Cooper, Ryan. "Hillary Clinton Needs to Address the Racist Undertones of Her 2008 Campaign." The Week. The Week, 23 July 2016. Web. 31 July 2016. <http://theweek.com/articles/567774/hillary-clinton-needs-address-racist-undertones-2008-campaign>.
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