Posted on 06/17/2003 11:07:36 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
I have a confession to make that will, no doubt, disillusion many of my fellow conservatives. I don't hate Hillary Clinton. Try as I might, I just can't muster sufficient vitriol to attack her or her new book. Don't get me wrong. I disagree with Hillary on most public policy issues and have frequently criticized positions she has taken over the last 10 years. I was terribly disappointed when she won the New York Senate seat. I was glad to see her leave the White House and hope she never comes back, certainly not as president. But that's about as far as it goes.
I suspected I was out of step with my ideological soul mates on the Hillary question when I turned down a chance to debate Living History on television last week. Usually, I can be counted on to debate almost any subject, any time, any place. Granted, I was worried more about my own reputation than Hillary's when I passed up the invitation. I didn't want to look catty, which is inevitable when one woman goes after another. What's more, I hadn't even laid eyes on the book, which seemed to me essential if I was going to criticize it.
But the real test of whether I am a true Hillary-hater came when I ran into her a few days later on Capitol Hill. I was alone in an elevator in the Russell Senate Office Building on my way to visit another senator when, suddenly, the thing screeched to a halt mid-floor and reversed track, taking me to the basement of the building. Before I could get my bearings, the doors opened, and two Secret Service agents stepped in, followed by the junior senator from New York, wearing her now-trademark pastel pink pantsuit.
We exchanged pleasantries, with her asking the perennial Washington question, "What are you doing now?" Roughly translated, this means: "You used to be (a) important, (b) famous, or (c) the subject of some scandal or gossip. So, are you collecting unemployment checks, or have you managed to land on your feet despite everything?"
This wasn't my first personal encounter with Hillary. Just before Bill Clinton's inauguration as president in 1993, I had dinner with the about-to-be First Lady at the Clintons' gabfest, "Renaissance Weekend," in Hilton Head, S.C. I've never figured out why I was invited, much less why I was seated at Hillary's table, along with a number of other people who ended up in the Clinton administration, including fellow Republican and Reagan White House alumnus David Gergen. During dinner, I found Hillary personable, though wary -- as much of job seekers and influence peddlers as of potential adversaries. Ten years later, having achieved power of her own, albeit with a bitter complement of public humiliation, Hillary Clinton seemed more relaxed and cheerful.
But the real surprise wasn't how Hillary behaved, but what I felt, which was pretty much nothing. My blood pressure didn't go up. I didn't feel any anger or resentment. I didn't harbor ill will. Where was all the pent-up animus any red-blooded conservative was supposed to feel in the presence of our archenemy, I wondered.
Frankly, I've often thought that conservatives might be partly responsible for Hillary's success. Conservatives and liberals are locked in a weird, symbiotic dance with Hillary. By demonizing her, we've elevated her importance and encouraged liberals to rally around her. And there is no question that all the vituperative attacks on her book have increased sales.
In truth, Hillary Clinton hasn't been nearly the wild-eyed radical some predicted she'd be if elected senator. From a policy standpoint, I doubt she'd be a worse president than John Kerry or Howard Dean or John Edwards, or any of the other Democrats running. But I'm betting we'll never find out. In the meantime, I'll wait to pick up a copy of her book when it hits the remainders table at my local bookstore.
Linda Chavez is President of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a TownHall.com member organization.
©2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
It kind of sucks doesn't it? As I have said before, I do not have even a tiny bit of faith in the American voters. No one hopes I am wrong more than me, and if I am wrong, I will do cart wheels half way to Cucamonga.
In other words, you are an underachiever. I definitely hate Hillary more than Bill. I trust her less than Bill. Hillary evokes a sense of pure unadulterated evil. I have never had a single good thought related to Hillary. She is evil, she is the enemy.
Bull crap. I don't hate Hillary, but it is no time to attack conservatives who have a gripe on her. Either you are for or against the terrorists. BULL SH!T! This guy is an idiot.
'splains a lot this stupid PC rant. Power to the individual, down with the people.
I am more along the Christopher Hitchens line of thinking, which is not hating Hilary but holding her in contempt. I do hate what Hillary stands for, though. And she would be a worse president than Edwards of Kerry.
By the way, Linda should realize that she may not hate Hillary, but Hillary no doubt hates her. The senator has a grudge list a mile long, and cannot wait to get her revenge on anyone who opposed her.
regards,
Excellent point! If GWB nominated her for a Judicial appointment, I guess Hillary would give her a thumbs down.
Yes. But only after a massive meal of baked beans, sauerkraut, brocolli and cabbage. Chased with a bottle of soda, for that little kick.
She wants to know where all the WMD is. Well, I'll shows her, all right. ;)
Well, yes, that too. Throw in voter fraud and the idiots out there, and it is a bad deal all around.
As do I, therefore we have her way covered. I detest that communist he-she!
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