Green Arrow
06-30-2014, 02:01 PM
Via Politico (http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/hillary-clinton-wealth-108420.html):
Hillary Clinton is having a very hard time being rich.
After two weeks of verbal gaffes and unflattering headlines, Democratic operatives, political historians and counselors to the nation's wealthy agree that Clinton's current strategy -- acting like she's not incredibly rich and made her money the old-fashioned way -- is not working and needs to change. Fast.
"Her responses so far have come off as somewhat disingenuous, probably because she has a lot of ambivalence about her own wealth," said Jamie Traeger-Muney, a psychologist whose Wealth Legacy Group focuses on counseling the affluent, an especially busy business in the current era of hostility to the 1 percent. "It feels like there is a lot of shame in there, and that is very common for wealth holders, especially in today's climate."
It's unclear whether a super-wealthy Democratic presidential aspirant can succeed in a populist era defined by a tepid economy, flat wages and the Occupy Wall Street movement. Some Democrats argue these early dust-ups won't matter unless Clinton gets a primary challenge from the left. But the current criticism over her wealth could influence her decision to run -- and if she runs and gets the nomination, Republicans could paint her as out of touch with average Americans, much as Democrats did to Mitt Romney in 2012. There's also a chance Republicans will wind up nominating a populist, Wall Street-basher of their own, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
The article is a very good read. Speaking for myself, Hillary's anti-civil liberties stances and "poor-mouthing" have completely turned me against her. If this were still 2009, I'd be inclined to support her, but she has destroyed that the last few years.
Hillary Clinton is having a very hard time being rich.
After two weeks of verbal gaffes and unflattering headlines, Democratic operatives, political historians and counselors to the nation's wealthy agree that Clinton's current strategy -- acting like she's not incredibly rich and made her money the old-fashioned way -- is not working and needs to change. Fast.
"Her responses so far have come off as somewhat disingenuous, probably because she has a lot of ambivalence about her own wealth," said Jamie Traeger-Muney, a psychologist whose Wealth Legacy Group focuses on counseling the affluent, an especially busy business in the current era of hostility to the 1 percent. "It feels like there is a lot of shame in there, and that is very common for wealth holders, especially in today's climate."
It's unclear whether a super-wealthy Democratic presidential aspirant can succeed in a populist era defined by a tepid economy, flat wages and the Occupy Wall Street movement. Some Democrats argue these early dust-ups won't matter unless Clinton gets a primary challenge from the left. But the current criticism over her wealth could influence her decision to run -- and if she runs and gets the nomination, Republicans could paint her as out of touch with average Americans, much as Democrats did to Mitt Romney in 2012. There's also a chance Republicans will wind up nominating a populist, Wall Street-basher of their own, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
The article is a very good read. Speaking for myself, Hillary's anti-civil liberties stances and "poor-mouthing" have completely turned me against her. If this were still 2009, I'd be inclined to support her, but she has destroyed that the last few years.