With 2016 in their rearview mirror, it seems that Democrats would want nothing less than Hillary Clinton dusting off her running shoes for another swing at the White House in 2020. But, according to New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin, that's exactly what she's doing.
Apparently, Clinton is launching a new group called "Onward Together," which ostensibly would be geared toward opposing Donald Trump every step of the way. Clinton is already meeting with deep pocketed donors and forming a board of directors. But every dollar given to Hillary's organization is one dollar that doesn't go to other Democratic politicians. Goodwin writes:
Her cadre of unemployed hangers-on must be thrilled to have a new slush fund, but most Dems are probably thinking, “Haven’t we suffered enough?”
With the party demoralized and divided, and holding the fewest number of elected seats in a century, Clinton’s return will likely prolong the misery. While she’s a media magnet, she’s also a political dead end, having lost two presidential runs and ceded the future to the Bernie Sanders socialist wing.
It’s hard to imagine her as the party’s savior, yet, instead of going away quietly, she’ll be competing with its candidates for money and attention. Anything she gets will come at the expense of new leaders and ideas.
Of course, this is the best news for conservatives who are hoping that a Republican can maintain the Oval Office for eight full years... especially since the former Democratic nominee seems to still be stuck in the same ole blame game. During a recent Women for Women event, Hillary showed that she has not suffered any attacks of self-reflection over the loss:
Full of finger-pointing and excuses, she was, as usual, devoid of any concession about her own shortcomings.
She has shifted the entire email scandal, which she created by deciding to use a private server and lying about it to the public, to the shoulders of Russian hackers and FBI Director Jim Comey. To hear her tell it, she was an innocent victim of their skulduggery.
During her speech, however, she accepted "absolute personal responsibility” -- right before blaming everyone in the world plus the ever-so-ubiquitous misogyny. Goodwin goes on to explain that this new organization fits a pattern:
Raising and controlling money is Step One to her comeback, a step the Clintons have mastered. A Democratic operative once described them this way: “Fish gotta swim, and the Clintons gotta raise money.”
That was after they had rented out the Lincoln Bedroom, allegedly sold presidential pardons and turned the family foundation into a money-printing press.
The Onward Together venture would fit the pattern, with self-promotion and private-jet perks guaranteed. By vacuuming up bags of cash and deciding who is worthy of it, she would be in a strong position to control the party.
Politico's Matt Latimer echoes this prediction: "...the former secretary of state is doing everything she needs to do to run for the White House one more time. If she finds a path to do so, she will take it."
Image Credit: Gage Skidmore on Flickr