When a rattlesnake bites a person taunting it, which one is to blame?
The analogy to present circumstances is imperfect: a rattlesnake isn’t morally at fault for biting. The GOP and all its alt-right companions is nothing if not morally culpable. Just the same, it is as inherent in the nature of the GOP as in the rattlesnake to act the way they do. (It sadly took Obama five years to learn this and stop negotiating with himself.)
And Hillary Clinton is the taunter. For nearly 30 years, Clinton and been bitten over and over again by the snake. Yet, over and over again, she persists in the same behavior that turns GOP overreach into scandal that ends up tearing her down and our interests along with her. From Whitewater to “Emailgate,” Clinton’s instinct is to hide stuff that doesn’t need to be hidden and – when busted – to dig deeper and cast a web of petty lies that further enrage and empower the rattlesnake.
Imagine that Clinton decided while secretary of state to use a State Department server for her email. Imagine if a year and a half ago, she came out within a day and said, “Wow, that was a real error in judgment on my part. Here are the keys to everything.”
Instead, she pretended it didn’t happen, she lied about circumstances around it. As recently as late summer this year, she stood up in front of the country and claimed that FBI Director James Comey had exonerated her of bad behavior. (He had declared her breaches unindictable, but was unflinching in condemning what she did.) It wasn’t until September that she could bring herself to simply say, “I’m wrong. I’m sorry.” At which point, who could possibly believe her sincerity?
This latest imbroglio almost certainly has zero legal implications or connection to public policy. It doesn’t matter. Decades of Hillary Clinton’s behavior have so undermined her credibility that we don’t stand a chance of simply laughing this latest turn out of existence: it will be on the front pages nonstop through November 8.
We still need Hillary Clinton to be elected. And – after she is – we know the GOP plans to waste millions of dollars and hundreds of hours to investigate everything from her secret plans to kill babies to how she ties her shoes. But we can also count on her to react each time by making everything worse. We have seen no evidence at all that she is capable of learning from her past mistakes and, so, we know she will continue making them.
Now, I know some readers will condemn me for criticizing Clinton at all in this time of political crisis. Sure, we have to do whatever it takes to win. But just as I have no tolerance for GOP evil, so do I have none for Clinton hagiography on the establishment “left.” (“Left” is in parentheses here because many of these folks are military hawks and Wall St. apologists.)
Oh for a progressive leader who has an ounce of common sense and enough humility to learn from mistakes on the way becoming an ever-more-effective leader. We don’t have that this year. Will we ever again?
©2016 Keith Berner
