The Hillary Clinton Years – Part One

At the suggestion of a good and old friend, here’s a “what-if” story!!!!  There’s a lot to talk about – so here’s part one: 

A Nation Divided

January 20, 2017

The view from the Capitol steps was awe-inspiring.  The crowd size rivaled Barack Obama’s 2008 inaugural. It packed in from the front of the Capitol back to the Washington Monument and onto the side streets beyond.  Most were dressed in white, in honor of the suffragettes who fought for the vote. They matched the color of the President-elect’s pantsuit.  While the clouds threatened rain early, as midday approached, the sun peaked out.

A little before noon, three former Presidents took their places behind the podium.  Outgoing President Barack Obama, along with the First Lady Michelle, sat beside former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura.  Then former President Bill Clinton emerged from the Capitol, accompanying the incoming forty-fifth President, Hillary Clinton.  They smiled as they shook hands and worked their way down the stairs to meet Chelsea in the front row seats.

The 2016 election was a near thing.  Donald Trump tapped into a vein of extremism in America, and did much better than polls predicted.  And it wasn’t just Trump:  America was still a misogynist nation.  Hillary Clinton faced an uphill battle from the start as the first woman to earn a major party nomination.  

She hadn’t helped herself with the email scandal, dragged out by seven different Republican Congressional investigations.  The FBI cleared her in the summer before the election, but there could have been an “October surprise”. The Bureau discovered more emails on an aide’s computer.  FBI Director James Comey followed Department of Justice policy and kept that discovery a secret. He faced withering criticism after the election. He hadn’t revealed the discovery to Congress, and was forced from office. But no additional information was gained, and Clinton squeaked to victory.

Competence

Hillary Clinton wasn’t a great campaigner.  Her analytical mind didn’t lend itself to the campaign “pep rallying”, and unlike her predecessors, she was unable to empathize with voters.  But the one thing Hillary Clinton had, was competence.  She knew how Washington worked, even from her early days as a staffer on the House Judiciary Committee in the Watergate era.  Her years as First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State gave her insight into the system beyond any previous leader.  It was as if William Seward succeeded Abraham Lincoln, instead of Andrew Johnson.

The first test of the new administration was the still open seat on the Supreme Court.  Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow President Obama a final appointment to the Court, hoping that a Republican would gain the Presidency.  But with Clinton’s election, McConnell was faced with the prospect of holding a vacancy for four years.  

Clinton knew that this nominee would set the political tone for the entire first term.  And she was acutely aware that she was replacing Anton Scalia, the archconservative anchor of the right.  So instead of a Ginsburg or Sotomayor type nominee, the new President followed the lead of her predecessor.  She re-nominated moderate Merrick Garland, who was confirmed to the Court by a wide majority of the Senate.  A few Republicans held out. They were led by Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster, but ultimately McConnell allowed the choice to go through.

Legislation

It was the last legislative cooperation for the Hillary Clinton administration.  The Republican House and Senate passed bill after bill, trying to repeal the successes of the Obama Administration.  The Affordable Care Act was on the block multiple times, but neither house was able to reach a veto-proof majority. Americans became comfortable with the protections it provided.

Meanwhile President Clinton continued the Obama trend of governing by Executive Order.  The Dreamers remained protected despite the failure of Democratic backed legislation. And the United States became world leader in repairing the environment, following through on the goals of the Paris Accord.  Emissions standards on vehicles were increased, and the costs of automobiles went up.  The cost of gasoline went up too. Consumers found they were spending more for energy.  

Environmentally dirty energy sources such as fracking and offshore drilling were regulated out of business.  This caused higher unemployment, and strengthened the hand of Republicans going into the 2018 mid-term elections.  House Speaker Paul Ryan led his Party to an even stronger majority in the House and McConnell was able to keep his control of the Senate.  So the US had a divided government, forcing Clinton to nominate moderate judges, and strangling Administration legislative plans.

First Man

A new issue for America was what to do with a “First Man” in the White House.  Bill Clinton had to create a new role, a former President now out of command.  Hillary realized that Bill could best be utilized in foreign policy. The “First Man” spent a great deal of the first years travelling overseas.  His already established relationships with world leaders helped solidify American leadership, but rumors of extra-marital affairs ultimately caused the President to keep him back. He spent the last two years exiled at their Chappaqua, New York home.

Clinton strengthened America’s role as world leader, but also commanded greater US military involvement.  She kept the US out of direct action in Syria, but American troops were committed to protecting the Kurds in the North. A standoff with Turkey and Russian-backed Syrian troops ended in a short but decisive battle.  Russia and Turkey backed away from the confrontation, but the US lost key NATO bases in Turkey, particularly at the Incirlik airfield.  

The Clinton State Department, led by Secretary Jake Sullivan, developed a Western coalition to block continued Russian interference in elections.  With the coerced cooperation of Mark Zuckerberg and other leaders, Russian social media manipulation was cut off.  Additional Russian failures in the Middle East and the failure of the Russian kleptocracy due to strengthened sanctions over Ukraine, led to the collapse of the Putin regime.

Polarization

President Hillary Clinton was an effective administrator, but was unable to “unite” the nation.  It wasn’t helped by the continual House investigations, led by Congressmen Chaffetz and Gowdy. They scoured every Clinton Administration action for possible wrong-doing.  It also didn’t help that Congress was frustrated by Clinton’s avoidance of Congressional power through executive orders.  

Meanwhile former Presidential candidate Donald Trump found a new resonance on “Trump TV”.  The network, founded in the closing days of the 2016 election campaign, gave the New York real estate mogul a new public platform. He spoke from his Trump Tower Boardroom or the eighteenth green at his Mara-Lago resort. His signature signoff line of:  “Hillary, You’re Fired” became an American catch phrase.

The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President led to racial divisions. The election of Hillary Clinton polarized the nation even more over women’s rights.  Anti-abortion groups grew more militant as they recognized that with Garland on the Supreme Court, abortion rights were secured law.  

Growing protests and even terrorist actions occurred near women’s health clinics. Several state Governors refused to use National Guard troops to protect them, so Clinton nationalized the forces and sent them in.   Social media and television were filled with images of suburban white Americans, even children, standing face-to-face with helmeted and armed soldiers. 

All of this led up to 2020, a year of pandemic, fire, upheaval, and racial tensions. Oh, and by the way, another Presidential election.