Plantation Politics

Is Hillary Clinton running a racist campaign? Until today, I would have said, “not very.”

But that is probably because I have been in denial. Monday evening, even in the face of the looming Eliot Spitzer scandal, I found myself incredulous in the face of her unwavering ego and gall, as Clinton and her campaign staff continue to float the ludicrous idea that Obama should play second fiddle to Senator Clinton’s ambition. Dream ticket indeed!

Let’s reverse this, shall we? Hillary has more of the popular vote; more delegates; better poll numbers against the Republican opponent. Then Barack, campaigning against her, decides that he might be willing, under the appropriate circumstances, to offer her the vice-presidency. What might women and feminist groups say in response?

I’m betting they don’t thank Obama for being condescending and sexist. So: how many standards should there be, and who should uphold them? I am finally glad I am not married to Barack Obama tonight, because I cannot account for how I would be behaving right now if I were Michelle Obama. For every person who wonders how and why it is that so few black women are card-carrying members of the Let’s Make Hillary President Club, keep watching Hillary and her husband–and remember how they respond when black people or their allies are not sufficiently grateful for the privilege of basking in the Clintonian aura. Remember President Clinton and former Best Friend Forever Lani Guinier? No? Let me help you with that. Think back to the work that both Clintons did to pass the 1996 Welfare Reform Act–an act that disproportionally affected women of color. The Clintons’ combined support so outraged their former allies Peter Edelman (Marian’s husband) and Mary Jo Bane that they resigned from their positions at the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Remember Clinton’s mistaken eruption all over Jesse Jackson in the 1990′s, when Clinton thought he wasn’t sufficiently committed to a Clinton presidency?

Why should I link Hillary to her husband’s capacity to betray any black person within his orbit? Because she has spent weeks attempting to convince us that being married to the president gives her the experience to be president. In the words of an old friend, “you have to learn to take the bitter with the better.” There is a level of entitlement within the Clinton campaign that is truly amazing to behold. But she’s not entitled to my vote–or my respect.

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