Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears to be back in action. Her recent increased public visibility through fundraisers, television appearances and op-eds isn’t just a coincidence: As NBC News reports, Clinton is “stepping into a role as one of the most prominent and influential surrogates in Biden’s re-election effort” — and her role is “only expected to grow in the new year.”
This isn’t exactly promising news for Biden’s already-troubling re-election prospects. While Clinton is popular with certain segments of the Democratic Party, she also has a track record of alienating progressives and swing voters in a contest against the very person Biden is likely to face in November — former President Donald Trump. Relying on Clinton as a high-profile surrogate is a risky proposition.
Clinton’s incremental theory of change and her hawkish record are more suited for an earlier era of the Democratic Party.
Clinton certainly has her assets. She’s a whip-smart policy wonk, she’s popular among women, and she has a lot of pull as a fundraiser. She’s not only well-connected among party elites and megadonors, but her ability to draw on the star power of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, for high-dollar event appearances also makes it even easier for her to rake in money for Biden. Some establishment-friendly parts of the Democratic base believe that Clinton was robbed of a chance to win the White House by sexist news coverage and by former FBI Director James Comey, and they’re fond of seeing her back in the mix, showing up on shows like “The View” to share crisply articulated objections to Trump or Hamas. While former President Barack Obama has a habit of hanging back until late in a race to start whipping up attention for a candidate — much to the chagrin of many Democratic operatives — Clinton’s early presence signals party unity and solidarity.
But Clinton also carries a number of liabilities. At this stage,…
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