Look. I'm a supporter of Bernie Sanders. But unlike many folks, I recognize that Hillary Clinton is still likely to be our nominee. She has the money, institutional support, and name recognition, as well as the media's attention. I'm not sold on her "inevitability", and I also think she's less likely to be our nominee than most folks on Hillary's side currently believe. But that said, if Hillary is likely to be our nominee, then she needs to have better optics than this:
Hillary Clinton Will Interrupt Vacation to Campaign in Midwest
Hillary Rodham Clinton had planned to spend the last two weeks of August on vacation, unwinding and fund-raising on the exclusive shores of Long Island. But, as it turns out, this is no time for a vacation.
Amid concerns about Mrs. Clinton’s softening poll numbers and her exclusive use of a personal email server as secretary of state, she will interrupt her Hamptons stay next week to travel to the Midwest and try to shift attention back to her campaign message by unveiling new policy positions.
She will then return to the Hamptons, where she and former President Bill Clinton are renting a beachside estate in Amagansett that costs $100,000 for a two-week stay, and will attend several $2,700-per-person fund-raisers hosted there by her wealthy friends.
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It was the summer of 2012, and the campaigns were getting it on like Donkey Kong. Romney talked about how awful Obama was. Obama talked about how awful Romney was. But which narrative won out?
Romney attacked Obama as unable to bring the economy back to life after the Great Recession. Obama, in turn, painted Romney as an out-of-touch, ultra-rich plutocrat whose industry helped get us in the financial crisis in the first place. Much was made of his foreign bank accounts, his garage elevator, and his tax returns. Needless to say, the attacks on Romney were far more effective, and later completely vindicated when Romney said his classic 47 Percent line.
Put simply, if you're rich, you're seen as unable to empathize with the concerns of the everyday working American. That may be justified or not depending on the person's respective background - a rags-to-riches story is always inspirational, but wealth-begets-wealth (as in Romney's case) is hardly respected in this country.
Now imagine my surprise when Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the party that tarred Mitt Romney as a rich guy who couldn't care less about the common man, is acting like a rich woman who spends her vacation time at a place that most of us could never afford even if we saved up money for a decade, in between rubbing elbows on Long Island with people who can shell out $2700 like it was no big deal.
The rich should not be president. The rich should not buy presidents. The Democrats need to stand for something more than that. We're ostensibly the party of the working (wo)man. It's time we bloody well acted like it.
Earth to Secretary Clinton: We're here, y'know. And we're paying attention to the people with whom you choose to associate instead of us. Stop being such a huge disappointment. Be the nominee we all want you to be.