Hillary Clinton, in a remarkably craven moment even by Clinton family standards, has compared the purported plight of people who voted for her in Michigan and Florida to that of Zimbabweans:
(It is wrong when) people go through the motions of an election only to have them discarded and disregarded.
We're seeing that right now in Zimbabwe. Tragically, an election was held, the president lost, they refused to abide by the will of the people. So we can never take for granted our precious right to vote. It is the single most important, privilege and right any of us have, because in that ballot box we are all equal. You're equal to a billionaire. You're equal to the president, every single one of us.
While it might be fun to show how sloppy Hillary's analogy is (Obama's the one not abiding by the will of the people? Hmmmm…), it will be even more fun to mock the people who are surprised by her latest antics. For 16 years now, the Clintons have given a long-suffering nation an education in what happens when rapacious ambition weds itself to moral bankruptcy. People with anything other than selective memories may recall that Bill Clinton's military responses to terrorism oddly corresponded with his domestic political needs. That is but one of countless examples that illustrates how the Clintons put their own interests above literally everything else.
And yet some people are surprised -- nay, bewildered -- that Hillary is acting selfishly. Steve Benen of the Carpet Bagger Report offers this take on the Zimbabwe comparison:
I'm 35, and have been following politics for quite a while, and I've never been so disappointed with a politician I've admired and respected. Yesterday's tactics weren't just wrong, they were offensive. For that matter, they seem to be part of a deliberate strategy to tear Democrats apart and ensure a defeat in November.
For several weeks, I've appreciated the fact that Clinton considers herself the superior candidate, and has kept her campaign going in the hopes, from her perspective, of saving the party from itself. But after yesterday, it's become impossible for me to consider Clinton's intentions honorable. Her conduct is not that of a leader.
What's so striking is the shamelessness of her reversal(s).
A Clinton shameless? A Clinton without honor? These things surprise Benen? I know he's only 35, but perhaps it's time Benen stop believing in Santa Claus.
