Thing One, Thing Two with Hillary Clinton

A tripwire question for Democrats and Republicans alike

by Gaius Publius

A brief conjunction of statements from 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who is (a) rumored to want to run again, and (b) representative of what most "centrist" Democrats think, even if she doesn't re-emerge as a candidate.

Thing One: Nations, Close Your Borders

Clinton seems to want to bow to the right, once again, on immigration, by urging European nations to close their borders to refugees and immigrants:

Hillary Clinton: Europe must curb immigration to stop rightwing populists

...In an interview with the Guardian, the former Democratic presidential candidate praised the generosity shown by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, but suggested immigration was inflaming voters and contributed to the election of Donald Trump and Britain’s vote to leave the EU.

“I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame,” Clinton said, speaking as part of a series of interviews with senior centrist political figures about the rise of populists, particularly on the right, in Europe and the Americas.

Nothing says #Resistance like confirming the right-wing world view.

Thing Two: But Open Your Hearts to Hope and Values

Yet she has love in her soul for those she would have others reject:

May we all open our hearts and reach across tables today. May we all find hopes and values in common. May there be pie. Happy Thanksgiving.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 22, 2018

One way to tell a "centrist" Democrat, among the many thousand other ways, will be on immigration. Those who signal to frightened America that they "get it" about the dark-skinned foreign other don't deserve your vote, whatever else they might say about "hope" and "values."

Bonus Thing: Using Immigrant Children to "Send a Message"

In 2014, President Obama said this about the Honduran immigration crisis during which thousands of unaccompanied minors crossed the border into the U.S. (quoted here):

“Our message absolutely is don’t send your children unaccompanied, on trains or through a bunch of smugglers,” President Obama said in a June 2014 interview with ABC News.... “If they do make it, they’ll get sent back."

During the 2016 Democratic primary debates, Sanders and Clinton clashed over that policy, with Clinton defending it and Sanders opposed. About that disagreement, PolitiFact said this:

Sanders said that when undocumented children were streaming across the border, Clinton said, send them back.

That is a bit of an oversimplification. Clinton did not say they should be sent back no matter what. She set the condition that the government should first identify responsible adults to care for them. However, she expressed a preference that as many as possible be sent back. That message was part of the administration’s policy to discourage more young people from attempting the trip.

We rate this statement Mostly True.

Time, in its coverage of that debate, added:

Clinton defended the [Obama administration] policy, arguing it was necessary to send a message to discourage other families from sending their children on a dangerous journey. She highlighted her opposition to deportation raids and her calls to end family detention.

Normally, "sending a message" is associated with Trump immigration policies, but I guess not always.

The clash over immigration policy in general runs not only deep in the country, but deeper in the Democratic Party than most will acknowledge. Watch for signals about "borders" and "security" as candidates position themselves for a place in your hearts and a 2020 presidential run.

GP