by Peter Flaherty
For once, Rush Limbaugh was wrong. Contrary to his oft-made prediction, Hillary Rodham Clinton officially entered the U.S. Senate in New York on February 6. To understand how Rush could be wrong and why Hillary would get into such a mud wrestle, it is necessary to understand what really motivates her.
I believe that much of what has been said and written for the last eight years about Hillary, by friend and foe alike, is simply wrong. In my 1996 book, The First Lady: A Comprehensive View of Hillary Rodham Clinton, I argued that Hillary is not the liberal idealist that her supporters say she is, nor is she the left-wing ideologue that critics believe her to be.
Flaherty Attacked
Boy, I did catch an earful on that later point. On talk show after
talk show, conservative callers disagreed. I tried to explain that Hillary
is something worse than an ideologue. At least ideologues believe in something.
I argued that Hillary is motivated instead by something more dangerous, a pursuit of status, manifested in the pursuit of power. I detailed how this need for status was present her whole life, but how it accelerated after marrying Bill Clinton. Betrayed spouses have competed with, and sought revenge over, their mates from time immemorial.
I guess this sounded to some like I was making Hillary out to be a victim, even though my book concludes the opposite. Hillary became aware that Bill was unfaithful to her even when they were engaged, yet she went ahead with the wedding anyway. She knew what she was getting into.
Since 1996, a slew of other Hillary bios have come out, most of which still miss the point. (The worst is by David Brock who buys into the liberal analysis of Hillary as an idealist.)
Flaherty Vindicated?
The events of the last three years have confirmed my analysis, especially
Hillary’s Senate run. Her problem is that her husband is President
of the United States. In order to trump him, she must be elected President
herself. The New York Senate seat is but a stepping-stone to bigger
and better things.
Because her motivation is something more powerful than ideology, she does not shy away from the certain brutality and tumult of a New York Senate race. She is willing to risk the humiliation of loss, because she is already humiliated by Bill Clinton. I predict she will campaign with an endless energy and cunning. Her campaign will not hesitate to violate the law if that is what it takes to win.
Hillary and the Left
For the record, I have never argued that Hillary is not a hand-maiden
for the left. In fact, my book contains the most complete account of her
involvement with left-wing causes and activists found anywhere. There’s
a whole chapter on her reign as head of the Legal Services Corporation
(LSC). Much of the information was drawn from NLPC’s extensive files.
Left-wing organizations and movements are Hillary’s base of operations. They are important to her because they have provided a network of support apart from her husband. They allowed her to cultivate a separate identity so important to a betrayed spouse who stays in a marriage. Should Hillary be elected, she will dutifully champion the left-wing agenda on the floor of the Senate.
Hillary the Chameleon
But it is important to consider the real Hillary. In high school, she
was a Goldwater girl but under the influence of a liberal minister.
At Wellesley College, she campaigned for Democrats Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey but also served as President of the Young Republicans and attended the Republican Convention.
At Yale Law School, she kept up her grades but edited a pro-Black Panther journal and interned for a revolutionary lawyer.
In Arkansas, she was supportive political wife or modern career woman, depending on the year. In 1992, she was feminist hero, but after the defeat of health care she became Traditional First Lady. What’s next? It might be Senator Hillary. Someone this driven, just may win.
EW