Say Anything Blog

In the spring of 1993, shortly after her husband and political benefactor Bill Clinton took office as the nation’s 42nd president, Hillary Clinton delivered the commencement address at the University of Texas. In her speech, Hillary reiterated the theme that has been at the heart of her political vision from the start:

“We are at a stage in history in which remolding society is one of the great challenges facing all of us in the West.”

“Remolding society.” This is the terminology of a utopian socialist, one who seeks to remake society according to a narrow and dogmatic ideology that claims to eliminate injustice, poverty, and unhappiness, once and for all. Hillary’s ideology is an amalgam of New Left marxism and grievance feminism, the kind of unwholesome stew that is commonplace on elite college campuses.

Significantly, the term “remolding”—unlike such terms as “reform” or “renew”—reflects a sweeping rejection of society as it currently exists: family structure (too patriarchal), economic organization (favors the rich), social practices (discriminate against women and minorities), and so on. In other words, someone who believes that society needs to be “remolded” is someone who, at bottom, cannot see any good in the American way of life—and someone who, if she could, would radically change that way of life. Who doubts that this describes Hillary Clinton?

Lest anyone think that a more mature and experienced Hillary Clinton has tempered her political objective, consider her recent speech in Concord, New Hampshire, at an event over Labor Day weekend that her campaign titled “Change We Need.” In her speech, Hillary forthrightly declared: “I will bring my experience to the White House and begin to change our country starting on Day One.” That’s right: Change our country. As her official campaign website illustrates, Hillary means what she says.

Socialized Medicine

Returning to the cause celebre of her days as First Lady, Hillary’s official website proclaims that “America is ready for universal health care. Hillary has the vision and the experience to make it a reality.” Hillary’s plan for universal health care, i.e., socialized medicine, will nationalize—and ruin—approximately one-seventh of the U.S. economy. As night follows day, we will see shortages, rationing, waiting lists, deteriorating facilities, less research and development, fewer of our “best and brightest” going into medicine (and more doctors imported from third-world countries), and lower quality health care for most Americans (the richest citizens, including Bill and Hillary, will be able to obtain high-quality private care). This is what has happened in Great Britain under the National Health Service.

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Sharply Limited Energy Consumption

After the health care industry, Hillary has set her sights on the energy industry, which literally drives the economy, indeed our entire way of life. Without plentiful, cheap energy—which, despite complaints about rising gas and heating oil prices, Americans continue to possess in relative abundance—it simply is not possible to live the kind of on-the-go, high-consumption, air-conditioned lives that Americans enjoy. Where does this energy come from? It primarily (85%) comes from fossil fuels, i.e., coal and oil and natural gas. Alternative energy sources, such as hydro, solar, wind, and biomass, cannot come close to fueling an advanced industrial and technological society like ours. Nuclear power, about which Hillary says she is “agnostic,” has been neglected for so long in this country (it only supplies 8% of our total energy needs) that it cannot be part of anything but a long-term solution. The bottom line is that if we do not burn lots and lots of fossil fuels, Americans cannot continue to enjoy their high quality of life.

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“A Champion For Women”

Lastly, we should not forget that, after socialized medicine, the cause dearest to Hillary’s heart is using the power of government to enforce the “equality” of men and women in all areas of life, from the family and schools, to business and the military. The National Organization for Women has a kindred spirit in Hillary, whom NOW has endorsed for president.

Although Hillary claims to speak on behalf of all women, her brand of feminism is primarily designed for middle class and professional women who want to pursue “careers” without the hassles of children. Hence, Hillary supports an unlimited right to abortion. She supports “expanded access to family planning services, including for low-income women” (i.e., Hillary wants to encourage poor and minority women to “empower” themselves by having fewer children). She supports comprehensive child care and early education programs. She supports “a dedicated funding stream for age-appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive sex education.” And she supports “giving new parents support and training to promote healthy development for their children.” In other words, Hillary wants to make it easier for working women to eschew the responsibilities of parenting, either by eliminating children altogether or by having the government take over the duty of raising them.

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Hillary Loves The 70s

As Hillary’s campaign platform demonstrates, she seeks to return the country to 1970s-style liberalism, with its limitless faith in the power of government to create a “fair” society in a world characterized by ecological crisis, a zero-sum economy, and diminishing expectations. All of Hillary’s major domestic policy initiatives—socialized medicine, reduced energy consumption, mandating “equality” between the sexes—come straight from the Democratic playbook of that era.

This was the worldview that Ronald Reagan confronted and defeated more than twenty-five years ago. Reagan recognized that at the heart of contemporary liberalism lies a profound pessimism about the ability of ordinary Americans to manage their own lives in a responsible, productive, and decent manner. Reagan rejected this pessimism with every fiber of his being. This is what people really are referring to when they speak of Reagan’s “optimism.”

Hillary Clinton will never be mistaken for an optimist like Reagan. She clearly does not believe in the ability of the American people to govern their own lives, make their own decisions, and abide by the consequences of their actions. Turning Reagan’s famous aphorism on its head, Hillary believes that government is not the problem, it is the solution.

In 1980 the American people stood up and loudly proclaimed that they still believed in a country based on individual liberty, self-reliance, and limited government, however tattered those notions have become over the years. Hillary Clinton claims they now are “ready” for a new way. Indeed, I believe that the 2008 election will be a referendum, not on the War in Iraq, but on whether the future of this country lies in freedom or socialism. Let’s hope the American people make the right choice.