Hillary, Can We Talk?

Dear Hillary,

You and I go way back.  All the way back to our meeting last May, when I was entirely undecided and checking out every democratic candidate who happened to be passing through the area looking for campaign contributions.  I paid a pretty penny to be among about 500 people to hear you speak in a hotel ballroom that day, and I was impressed with what I saw. 

I had my doubts about you before and after, but that day, you convinced me and the Republican woman sitting next to me that you could do this, that you were ready to take on the world.  I was honored to shake your hand, and it made me tear up a little when you walked in the room. It sent a shiver up my spine to think that we might just have a woman in the White House for the first time ever. 

I also got to see a different side of you, when your motorcade rolled by while I waited at the light to get out of the parking lot.  I saw you smile and wave at an elderly man at the bus stop.  The man did a double take, as though he couldn't believe his eyes.  There you were, not just any California mom riding in an SUV, but possibly the future leader of the free world, one of the most recognizable women in the world.

Somewhere along the way, you lost me.  Actually, your campaign lost me.  As a woman and a mom, I want to believe that my son's generation will grow up in a world where women are given an equal and fair opportunity to fulfill their potential and their dreams.  Your presidency could do that, and inspire a whole new generation of girls to think big, not be afraid to put up a fight, and take their talents as far as they lead them.  Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to mark my ballot in your favor, mainly because I see that kind of inspiration coming from the other camp.

I'd like to speak to you know woman-to-woman, mama-a-mama, and tell you what I'd tell you if I were your campaign manager.  As a mom, I just can't help myself when it comes to giving unsolicited advice.

Here's my 8-point plan for you:

1. Let people know who you are and why these issues are important to you.  Why do you care so much about healthcare?  Do you read stories like Kyla's and feel sad or angry, or channel that into action?  How would your healthcare plan help Kyla's family?  Be specific, but not so far down in the weeds that you lose people.  I love that you're a policy wonk, but seriously, people need to know only two things: what you will do and how we will pay for it.
2. Talk about how proud you are of Chelsea.  You raised an admirable daughter, and even if she does work for a hedgefund, she's smart and articulate and has avoided many of the pitfalls of growing up in the spotlight.  You should take credit for that.  As moms, we want to know that our kids will turn out alright, no matter what life throws at them.  Let us in on the secret.
3. Play nice.  We know that there is a difference between you and Barack.  Nitpicking his speeches or calling his campaign a "fairy tale" doesn't just demean him, it demeans the millions of people who work for him and believe in him.  It won't make them like you more, it will just piss them off and make them work harder against you.  If you're elected, you'll need their help in electing a Congress that will help you pass the legislation your plans call for.  If they're mad, they'll stay home on election day and you'll be stuck with the same problems Bill had with a Republican-controlled Congress that shut down the government.  And we know what kinds of bad things happen when the government shuts down, don't we? 
4. Send Bill out of the country. Bill's done some great work with the Clinton Foundation. Send him on a trip to Africa to deliver AIDS medicine and tell him to come back in December.  He's not helping.  He thinks he's running for a third term, and people need to know that you are running the show.
5. I grew up in Ohio, and there are some things you should know about the people there.  Ohioans are the salt of the earth.  They are friendly, but guarded.  They won't invite you over until they know for sure you won't run off with the silver.  After they do, they'll be loyal to you until they die.  Talk to them about job creation and healthcare, but whatever you do, don't mention raising taxes. Apologize for all those free trade votes that sent their jobs overseas.
6. I lived in Texas for eight years.  Texans are friendlier and more open. They are smarter than they let on. They are so proud of their state it's almost pathological.  Try the barbecue.  Talk about the future of NASA, immigration reform (but not that ridiculous wall), and Texas.  Be sure to mention that Texas is the greatest, most wonderful, most fantastic state that God created, and that it was once its own country.  Remember the Alamo, and keep it holy.
7. Reach out to bloggers and online communities.  We are legion, and we carry more influence that your pollsters can measure.  We've tried to reach out to you, and we got to talk to your best friend's assistant.  We want to talk to you, or have you join us when we have our big grrl power BlogHer meeting in July.  It's what all the cool kids are doing.
8. Stop listening to Mark Penn. He's like Karl Rove in Democratic clothing. Start listening to Mandy Grunwald. She gets it.

You may be wondering why someone who voted for Obama would be telling you this.  It's because I have doubts about him, and because I haven't counted you out yet. 

However, if the end is near for your campaign, I want you to go out with your head held high and your dignity intact.  You're a trailblazer, and how you leave the trail will be important for those who follow you, maybe someone like PunditGirl, or one of CityMama's darlings.

Take care, Hillary.  Good luck in Ohio and Texas.  It's like my mom used to tell me, "Just do your best, and let the chips fall where they may.  I'll still be proud of you, no matter what."

Cheers,

Glennia

Comments

[Amy@UWM]

Awesome advice, Glennia! If she had done all of what you suggest from the very beginning of her campaign, I might have considered voting for her too. Couldn't agree more on point #8. The thought of having someone like Mark Penn as a White House adviser just makes me shudder.

[PunditMom]

"Stop listening to Mark Penn."

Amen. I have been saying that from the start. Penn, and the other white guys who are really running Hillary's campaign are hurting her. Yes, she has her women around her, but I've heard they're not really the ones running the show. Penn and the others also think it's going to be Bill in a third term -- and that's truly been the problem with Hillary's campaign all along.

[Stefania/CityMama]

Glennia for president!

[honglien123]

Great advice Glennia! Although I think no matter what she does the media will not side with her when they're adamant that having the first African American president is more important than having the first female president. I'm not sure she has any chance of getting across the things in 1 and 2 without people accusing her of using other people's suffering to further her agenda or playing the gender card. What chance in hell did she really have of winning by playing nice when her words are considered racist in news articles that just mention they were racist, paraphrase to their own ends. (I'm talking about the, "Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act. It took a president to get it done.") Especially when Obama's comments are given a free pass because he was "joking". (Obama's “I would have to investigate more Bill’s dancing abilities, you know, some of this other stuff before I accurately judged whether he was in fact a ‘brother,’” If anyone else said that they'd be crucified. Think Joe Biden and his opinion of Obama as a good looking and well spoken man, because you know, Joe was just being racist there.) It's not right, but it's politics. Obama can say whatever he wants about Hillary, but it doesn't work the other way around. He can be a black man, but she is not allowed to be a woman. She's not allowed to be emotional because then she's being manipulative or soft, not allowed to be angry or tough, because then she'd be too hard. This bias was set early in the race and I don't see it ending no matter how cleanly she runs her campaign from here on out. Especially not when I open my news reader this morning to find an article listing "Hillary Clinton's Whitewater Ties" with the lastest development in 2001 as a recent article published less than two hours ago.

[Donna]

Beautifully stated, Glennia. I hope someone in her campaign in monitoring the bloggers. She would do well to listen to your advice.

[pamela]

Wow Glennia, you really expressed much of what I have been thinking. Seeing Hillary so furious at Obama made me dislike her, not want to support her. Love the point about Chelsea.

[Julie Pippert]

Amen to 3, 7 and 8!

From your blog to her ears!

[Lawyer Mama]

Love, love, LOVE this post! You hit all the nails on the head. We need to know Hillary's story and be spoken to as equals.

[jaelithe]

Great post, Glennia. I when I think about how some of Hillary's staffers have helped botch her campaign, I vacillate between feeling serious sympathy for her, and thinking, Sweet Merciful Heavens, if she chose this campaign staff, what sort of cabinet would she appoint?

As a long aside, actually, honglien123, what Joe Biden said was this:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

It wasn't the fact that he said Barack was articulate and nice-looking that got him in trouble. It was the fact that he implied Barack was the FIRST African-American candidate EVER to be articulate and nice-looking. (Not to mention "clean," which is really just an odd thing to say about someone, period.)

I don't think Joe Biden meant to sound racist, and Barack Obama, who of course knows Senator Biden well given they work together, did not actually seem to take offense-- Joe Biden is actually notorious among fellow Senators for tripping over his own tongue-- but I can see why the press seized on that moment, because the quote actually sounds pretty bad. Imagine if Biden had said, "Hillary Clinton is the first woman who is articulate." That would not have ended well for Senator Biden, either.

Honestly, I think people were more concerned about racist undertones to remarks Bill Clinton made than they were about Hillary's poorly chosen words about the civil rights movement. That comment Bill made about South Carolina was really out of line, IMO.

[xiaolinmama]

I am So with you Glennia! You rock!

[Kristen]

I agree that it would be great to hear Hillary's story, but quite frankly, it seems as though we've only cared about a candidate's story in this race thanks to Obama. I think clearly she's had to step up the personalization of her campaign because of him.

Did we really care about Al Gore's story? About his relationship with his kids? It just didn't seem like it was as important.

Is it because she's a woman so we want desperately to connect with her?

Oddly (or really, not), I have connected with her. Her solutions are inspirational to me. I don't need her to rally me with her talk about change for this country.

She says it in the realistic ways she's going to make changes. And that is extremely reassuring.

Honestly, I think it's too bad that she has to go and eat barbeque, talk about Chelsea, and share her story. But that's how a lot of people make their votes in this country.

It's too bad that her stance on the issues aren't enough.

[Glennia]

Kristen, your points are well taken. I think that the reason the story is so important in this election is that it is a primary, and 90% of their positions on the issues are aligned. We didn't care about Al Gore's story mainly because the party chose him as the nominee and the primary was a foregone conclusion (says she who voted for Bill Bradley). Plus, Gore was VP, so his credentials were not at issue. Normally the race is decided by Iowa and New Hampshire, but this time around, we all have a say in who the nominee is (superdelegates notwithstanding).

In this primary, I'm just glad we're not voting for the lesser of two evils, but the better of two betters. As a Democrat, I would have loved to vote for either one of them in any contest in my adult life, since Carter-Reagan in 1980. My point here is that if Hillary wants to turn the tide, she can't use the same old playbook. Bring out the swiftboating (if you must) when you have the nomination, but it's going to backfire in the primary, particularly against a candidate who is apparently made of teflon.

[honglien123]

jaelithe, I would agree with your opinion regarding Bill Clinton's words if he were the only person who said them, but a number of people had said them when Obama won South Carolina as well. Regarding Joe Biden, I meant that the intent was not to be racist just as the Clinton's words were never intended to offend. The whole issue of intent and actual racism is one that is talked about a lot and while sometimes intent doesn't matter at all when damage is done. Like pornography it's one of those you know it when you see it sort of things. Myself and many others didn't see it, but that's just our opinion.