A fundraiser for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign said the recent release of her tell-all campaign book hurts the Democratic party and admonished Clinton to step away from the national spotlight.
“The best thing she could do is disappear,” the Clinton fundraiser and surrogate, who played an active role at the convention, told the Hill. “She’s doing harm to all of us because of her own selfishness. Honestly, I wish she’d just shut the f— up and go away.”
The unnamed fundraiser’s harsh appraisal of Clinton’s book, “What Happened,” echoes the assessments of a number of democratic lawmakers and Clinton allies, who have bemoaned the timing of the book’s release and the accompanying nationwide book tour.
Democrats are reticent to rehash the 2016 campaign failures, fearing the conversation will only deepen divides between staunch progressives and establishment Democrats at a time when they would like to appear united in opposition to the Trump administration.
One former Clinton staffer told Politico Clinton’s book release and the resulting news cycle was her “final torture” for the party.
“Maybe at the worst possible time, as we are fighting some of the most high-stakes policy and institutional battles we may ever see, at a time when we’re trying to bring the party together so we can all move the party forward-stronger, stronger together,” Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California told Politico.
“She’s got every right to tell her story. Who am I to say she shouldn’t, or how she should tell it? But it is difficult for some of us, even myself who’ve supported her, to play out all these media cycles about the blame game, and the excuses,” he concluded.
Not all Democrats were eager to speak ill of Clinton’s book release, one strategist argued that it was likely an important step for her to get over the crushing loss.
“This was a heartfelt loss for her and the pain is unimaginable, and I’m sure this book was cathartic,” Democratic strategist Steve McMahon told the Hill.
While not all Democrats were immediately opposed to the book, fears about the book’s divisiveness were enflamed after pre released copies revealed the book delves extensively into Clinton’s frustrations with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton accuses Sanders of “causing lasting damage” to her campaign and “paving the way” for Trump’s victory and adds that sexist “Bernie bros” were partly to blame for the loss.
Clinton’s invocation of sexism to explain her defeat is in keeping with numerous statements she’s made in recent months. Clinton has attributed the defeat to sexism, Russian interference, misconduct on the part of the FBI and a host of other factors.
“I made mistakes, but that’s not why I lost,” Clinton said during a May interview.
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