Journey Home

Suddenly sucked into the vortex of writing about politics, my reaction is to back down. It was hard not to pay some attention to Hillary Clinton’s campaign launch in Iowa last week. After all, people have been talking about it for years and there was pent up Hillary demand.

She’s on to New Hampshire now, so brief respite and on to other things.

Not quite. It is noteworthy that the D.C. paid punditry and lobby industry was out attacking and criticizing Clinton almost immediately. Heritage Action for America sent a fundraising request on announcement day last Sunday.

“If her campaign gains momentum, political consultants may encourage conservatives to compromise their principles to sound more like Hillary,” according to the email. That’s dog whistle for something I don’t understand, except they seek to raise money to support their work.

Without doing much besides launching, Hillary for America already has momentum, so Heritage may be too late.

That said, it’s time to return to more engaging topics like gardening, cooking, worklife and advocacy.

Out in the country good stories get circulated. I don’t mean Liz Mair’s self-described “incendiary” piece on Hillary Clinton, or other tales of paid punditry emanating from inside the D.C. beltway and nearby Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

Here’s one that circulated earlier this week as an example:

FARMER: I’d like to see Hillary Clinton again.

ME: I thought you caucused for Obama.

FARMER: I did, but I met her. Did you hear my story about that?

ME: No, I didn’t.

FARMER: Well a friend invited me to the Democrats annual barbecue and I was in the rope line. I can’t recall whether I had just shaken Hillary’s hand or was waiting my turn. Up came George McGovern and I said, “I don’t suppose you remember me, but I ran your campaign in San Francisco.”

MCGOVERN: Of course I remember you.

HILLARY: Well I ran your campaign in Texas.

FARMER: Yeah, but we won.

I don’t tell the story as well as the farmer, but a couple of things are important.

First, who thought Hillary would be so competitive on a personal level after being a first lady and U.S. Senator? Contrary to what some people say, Hillary made a strong effort in Iowa during the run up to the 2008 caucuses. Even I got an invitation to meet her personally in a small group setting. Some of my best friends and neighbors supported her and got involved in politics—some for the first time—because of her campaign. While there is the famous memo, what gets forgotten is she disregarded the advice.

Second, it was the reforms of the Democratic party after the debacle of the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention that brought us the Iowa caucuses in their present form. McGovern had a hand in those reforms, and Jimmy Carter was arguably the first presidential candidate to leverage them in 1976, beginning with his appearance at the Iowa State Fair. There are still some Harold Hughes for President backers in our county who can tell the tale of what went on to bring about the changes in the Democratic party.

And finally, Hillary is a fighter. This link to an excerpt from the Benghazi hearings shows what kind of fighter Hillary Clinton is. Most readers have seen it before. Of the national Democrats traveling Iowa presently, Jim Webb, was Born Fighting and established an exploratory committee. Elizabeth Warren is a fighter, but is likely not running for president. Not to be dismissive of other hopefuls, but that’s it.

There are other great stories circulating in rural Iowa. I hope to have an opportunity to tell a few more.

I spent most of Sunday working with people without Hillary Clinton on their mind. People going about their lives without a care for politics, or any perceptible interest in it. That is the new normal, and it has been the norm for a while.

Later in the day, I had a conversation about Hillary’s announcement to run for president and the other person said, “I’m not sure it’s a good idea because she is such a lightning rod.”

She is, I said. But look what has happened with Obama. There is an active movement to de-legitimize his presidency by impeding anything he has done or tried to do. Any Democrat who runs for president will experience the same thing. “What else is Hillary going to do?” I naively said.

“She could practice law, she could work at the Clinton Foundation, she could write another book, there’s lots she could do.”

“Well she’s decided to run,” I said. “and there’s no stopping her now.”

If you don’t think Clinton can hold her own, think again and watch this segment of the Benghazi hearings posted on YouTube by ABC News.

In a little noticed Sunday afternoon tweet, John Podesta, chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign posted this:

Helping working families succeed, building small businesses, tackling climate change & clean energy. Top of the agenda. #Hillary2016

— John Podesta (@johnpodesta) April 12, 2015

That he mentioned climate change as a priority in a 140 character micro blog  indicates the importance of addressing the climate crisis. Both politically, and in the real world where the economic effects of climate change are being felt by almost everyone I know whether they recognize it or not. How this plays out over the campaign remains to be seen, but it’s early, and Democrats are expected to own the issue. The Mad Hatter’s tea party of the Republicans is expected to continue denial to their detriment.

Because Clinton is a prominent public figure we know a lot about her and there is much to like and dislike. That seems okay because a perfect candidate—one who matches our shopping list of desired qualities—does not exist. What matters more politically is she is a woman.

During a recent conversation about the 2008 Iowa caucus someone recounted a story about a group of local Democrats who caucused for Obama. The upshot was “rather the black guy than a woman.”

Since the 2008 election, some of them bought into the bullshit about Obama, according to the story, and changed their voter registration to no preference. They aren’t coming back to the Democratic party any time soon.

Within the microcosm of a precinct the departures may be good for Hillary during the caucuses, but the attitude is not good for our lives in society. In the whisper campaigns that go on in Iowa, being a woman will make a difference, and not always in a good way.

I’ve made my preference for Jim Webb known publicly, and there are not a lot of others in that or any camp at the beginning of the run up to the Iowa caucuses. If Webb decides not to run, or if Hillary wins the Democratic nomination for president, I will support her more than I did Obama after the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The simple truth is a lot is at stake and Hillary’s combative strength will be needed if progressive ideas are to gain prominence in our country.

As I wrote on Saturday, caucus season in Iowa has begun.