Efforts by the GOP to delegitimize and disqualify Hillary Clinton continue apace with old and retooled personal attacks that are both offensive and absurd, and probably politically ineffective, at least with voters not already aboard the Republican pleasure cruise/three hour tour.
An article on Buzzfeed (I know) by Andrew Kaczynski relates some details of an upcoming interview for UK TV with Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager for the 2016 GOP presidential nominee. Mrs. Conway’s comments are ridiculous. Is she trying out new material, to see what sticks? Maybe, but I think she is on the wrong tack.
Here is just one of her many obnoxious statements:
You think you would know who Hillary Clinton is if she wasn’t married to Bill Clinton, prove it.
Well, that’s just farcical. We can’t ‘prove it’ of course, and by asking, Mrs. Conway indicates that she is not really discussing in good faith. And to the larger point she is trying to make, I call BS. In fact, I’m not sure we would know Bill, were it not for Hillary.
An article from the Arkansas Democrat (Sunday, October 19, 1975, p. 17) makes this very point, in a round about way.
Clinton was married last week to Hillary Rodham, another UA law professor whom he met while both attended Yale Law School. Taking care of his marital status removed what many thought to be a political obstacle for Clinton. He is considered a sure bet to run for office in 1976.
That aside, Hillary Rodham had a professional life before she married Bill Clinton. There is no reason to believe that she would not have continued to make a difference without him. What she has done is pretty significant. Compare and contrast the job titles of HRC and two popular Republicans, before they all became presidential nominees. Just for emphasis, HRC’s stints as first lady (of Arkansas and of the United States) have been left out, though I believe she did good, important work in those positions as well.
Hillary Rodham Clinton - Lawyer, United States Senator, Secretary of State
Ronald Reagan - Actor, Union President (Screen Actors Guild), Governor
2016 GOP nominee - Businessperson, TV personality
The idea that a woman of achievement got there because of her husband? Please. I may be incorrect, but I do not believe this line of attack will go over well with the voters Kellyanne is trying to reach. Women who have worked hard to accomplish things, both big and small in their lives, in whatever sphere, do not want to hear this nonsense, and they will hear it loud and clear.
But wait you say, Hillary and Bill are married, they are kind of a package deal. Ok. That brings us to this gem:
“Her husband’s problem was that he had casual relationships with other women.” Conway told British interviewer Matt Frei. “Hillary’s problem is she has a casual relationship with the truth.”
Attacking a person because of their partner’s infidelities, to further an attack on their honesty. No. This is a losing approach, especially coming from the campaign of a serial cheater. I suspect it fails on several levels. Consider for example, that voters, especially women but certainly men as well, may actually see two people who have worked through the difficult times, and remain together, committed to one another, after 40 years of marriage. Not whatever gross caricature Mrs. Conway was trying to draw.
Some pundits are saying that Kellyanne Conway was brought in, in part, as an expert on outreach to women, a voting block the GOP is not winning in this regatta. But, I do not believe that she, or anyone else, can right the ship.