Laura Barron-Lopez of the Washington Examiner reports on Democrats’ internal discussions about the party’s ongoing association with former President Bill Clinton.
Democrats don’t know what to do about former President Bill Clinton. On one hand they love and admire him; on the other they wish he’d go away.
“What I hear the most is, ‘I wish the Clintons would go away for this cycle,’” said a female House Democrat who claims to have a good pulse on the caucus. “I was sitting in the cloak room yesterday, and one of the Black Caucus members said, ‘Can’t she get the message, she needs to go away?’ So it’s both of them.”
The former president returned to the spotlight this week for his book tour with author James Patterson. But Clinton made headlines when he was asked by NBC if he would handle his 1995 scandal with Monica Lewinsky differently in light of the #MeToo movement. Clinton became defensive, saying he’s apologized to Lewinsky, publicly not privately. …
… As Democrats champion the #MeToo movement and decry President Trump’s treatment of women and his refusal to reconcile with his past, embracing Clinton during a pivotal election year is becoming untenable. Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are already mocking Clinton. If Democrats welcome Clinton on the stump, Republicans will unabashedly hammer the 42nd president and any Democrat associated with him.
