If former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is going to challenge Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party, he is going to have to attack her record. Now, there are a lot of areas to attack because Clinton has played so many roles. Some of those criticisms may seem dated and of limited relevancy to your average Democratic primary voter. Others might strike voters as echoing right-wing talking points. I don’t think that Schweitzer will make headway by talking about the Rose Law Firm, the White House Travel Office, or the suicide of Vince Foster. On the other hand, the failure to adopt a universal health care bill during the Clinton presidency is still a relevant subject, as is Clinton’s vote to authorize the war in Iraq.
Health Care policy and matters of war and national security are extremely important issues to Democratic primary voters. Another important issue is how to regulate the financial services industry. Many Democrats feel that the financial crisis of 2008 and resulting Great Recession were created in large part through efforts at deregulation that occurred during Bill Clinton’s second term in office. There is a limit to guilt by association, but Hillary also has a voting record from her time serving as New York’s junior senator. That voting record can be mined for material that shows her coddling the interests of Wall Street.
Those three issues (ineffectiveness on health care, trust on national security, and being too close to New York bankers) are the most promising areas to drive a wedge between Clinton and a party base that gives her somewhere around a 90% approval rating. So, it doesn’t surprise me that Schweitzer mentioned the Iraq War authorization in Iowa yesterday.
Schweitzer didn’t mention that the presumptive frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, voted to authorize the war as a U.S. senator representing New York in 2002.
After his speech, asked about Clinton’s vote, Schweitzer answered with a grin, “Did she vote for it? I didn’t keep track. I think there were 21 Democrats who didnt vote for it, she might’ve been one of those.”
At least in print, that remark comes off a little “disingenuous smart-ass” to me, because Schweitzer knows damn well how Clinton voted. But I don’t think it is a dated topic that people are not going to care about.
Ducking nonexistent sniper-fire at Tuzla Air Base in Bosnia? Dated.
Authorizing the invasion of Iraq to look for nonexistent Weapons of Mass Destruction? Not-dated.