Less than two years ago, Hillary Clinton was the star of the show at the Democratic National Convention. Former President Bill Clinton was an honored guest who got rock star treatment. Now that the party has embraced the #MeToo movement and even jettisoned Al Franken, there’s no room for Bill on the stage.
Some Democrats don’t even want to campaign with him.
Edward-Isaac Dovere writes at Politico:
Dems: Bill Clinton too toxic to campaign in midtermsDemocrats are looking to embrace the #MeToo moment and rally women to push back on President Donald Trump in the midterms—and they don’t want Bill Clinton anywhere near it.In a year when the party is deploying all their other big guns and trying to appeal to precisely the kind of voters Clinton has consistently won over, an array of Democrats told POLITICO they’re keeping him on the bench. They don’t want to be seen anywhere near a man with a history of harassment allegations, as guilty as their party loyalty to him makes them feel about it.“I think it’s pretty tough,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), vice chair of the House Progressive Caucus and one of the leading voices in Congress demanding changes in Washington’s approach to sexual harassment. His presence “just brings up a lot of issues that will be very tough for Democrats. And I think we all have to be clear about what the #MeToo movement was.”…Wednesday morning, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Ben Ray Luján would not answer directly whether there were any races he’d deploy Clinton to.”As we travel around the country … different candidates are going to be making requests for different surrogates,” he told reporters.
Howard Kurtz of FOX News makes an excellent point about this article by suggesting this isn’t just about Bill. Democrats are ready to leave Hillary in the dust as well:
Clinton’s history—Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick—looks far different to many Democrats in 2018 than it did in 1998, when the Senate acquitted him, or even 2016. His presence would detract from the Democrats’ ability to make the midterms about Donald Trump, Rob Porter and Roy Moore.There’s another factor, I believe, not mentioned by Politico: Bill’s presence also reminds voters of Hillary. It’s not his fault that she ran a terrible campaign and lacked his ability to spin stories and connect with voters. But ever since he ran on a 2-for-1 deal back in 1992, allowed her to make policy as first lady and backed her two White House runs, they have been politically joined at the hip.And most Democrats want to move on from the Hillary debacle.
Less than six months ago, Bill Clinton was still considered a hero by many in his party. Now that he has become a liability, they’re cutting him loose. Regaining power is all that matters to them.
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