Look, oftentimes I don’t really agree with Daily Beast. No shocker, right. But even a broken clock is right twice a day. So, as we navigate through this ‘Me Too’ era, which has ironically been undercut by the very side advocating for it, at least we have some people voicing what’s really on everyone’s minds regarding Bill Clinton’s address to the Democratic National Convention tonight: why are you here
Bill is yesterday’s news. Hillary is yesterday’s news. The Clinton era in American politics is over. Yet, Erin Gloria Ryan torched Slick Willy’s speaking spot, citing his past sexual misconduct allegations, the Lewinsky scandal, and yes, his relationship with the indicted and now-deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Her view is simple—and it’s one that the progressive base has been wanting to do for quite some time: turn the page. It’s a new era and embracing the voters who backed Clinton in 1992 probably won’t help Democrats win. I agree with her on that; those folks are now Republicans. Now, granted, Ryan, like many Democrats, doesn’t necessarily hate Bill Clinton; he’s just clogging the spot (via Daily Beast):
Bill Clinton is a relic, and embracing Bill Clinton weakens Democrats’ claims that they’re the antidote to Trump and his Republican party. Trump is a proud sex creep with no regard for the personhood of women, and his own power-obsessed party excuses this behavior. But Clinton’s presence reminds women voters that Democrats once excused and enabled a man credibly accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct, and that man, despite never quite demonstrating an understanding of the depth of his wrongdoing by making amends with the women he targeted, is still at center stage.
As a Millennial woman, I’m still appalled by the way the Clintons, many of their contemporary Democrats, and a largely sycophantic press treated Monica Lewinsky and Paula Jones. Clinton has also spent a suspicious amount of time palling around with Jeffrey Epstein, just like Donald Trump. Not a great PR move to have a man recently implicated in child sex crimes speak at a political convention. Either serious sexual misconduct is a red line for Democrats, or it’s a political tool to wield at their own cynical convenience.
[…]
In order for Democrats to win in November, they must energize women, young people, and people of color. There’s no winning without these demographics. They also have to remind some of the white women who voted for Trump that the Democratic party doesn’t tolerate the sort of abhorrent male shithead behavior that Republicans have with President Trump. Giving Clinton a speaking slot is a reminder of some of the ways Democrats have historically failed these populations. Giving Clinton a long leash while only allotting 60 seconds to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shows how far they have to go to understand the coalition they need to actually win.
I suppose I can see what party leaders might think is the logic behind tapping Bill to speak, again. He was president for eight years, a time that was prosperous for many Americans. Some Democratic voters still like him quite a bit, especially people who were old enough to vote for him in 1992. He’s good at raising money. Or, perhaps, members of the DNCC are afraid Bill would get mad at them if he were snubbed.
But if “drawing unnecessary attention to uncomfortable hypocrisy that the party should be wont to leave behind” isn’t reason enough to keep him away from the DNC spotlight, how’s this: Bill Clinton says a lot of things that require cleanup from his handlers. He’s a gaffe machine. At this point, his illustrious career in own-goaling has been longer than his presidency.
I wonder if he (or Killary) will get into this in their Democrat Convention speechs this week. I'm sure would be a lot more interesting then garbage we saw last night.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 18, 2020
Bill Clinton receives neck massage from Jeffrey Epstein victim https://t.co/htQUERapbK
The death of #MeToo at the hands of Democratic narrative priorities is indeed rather stunning https://t.co/dtVGxlKY8L
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 18, 2020
I mean, Epstein was acquaintances with many of the rich and powerful, including the British Royal Family. But I don’t believe Trump was ever seen on Epstein’s pedophile Island; Clinton has. And he was allegedly getting a “neck massage” by one of his accusers. Yeah, that dropped today, hours before his speech.
The fact that Bill Clinton is still invited to speak post-#MeToo movement is a joke. Democrats who approve of this, never ever lecture anyone on female empowerment ever again. Ever.
— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) August 18, 2020
The young want to move on, but Joe Biden and the Democratic Party establishment won again. They get to decide the rules, which has been to the detriment of ginning up enthusiasm for Joe. First, Bernie Sanders gave a half-assed endorsement of Joe. Then, the DNC wheeled out the loser brigade of squishy Republicans who now back Biden—all while giving them more speaking time than folks like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Oh yes, you bet that also pissed off the Democratic base. Medicare-for-All is not in the 2020 platform. So, yeah—this convention hasn’t really had a good start.
As for Bill's speaking spot with his past allegations regarding assaulting women, well, welcome to 'two separate rules: Democratic edition.' Fitting since that's been the hallmark characteristic of this family, with them playing by a separate standard than the rest of us. Oh, that and they're always hiding something, whether that be Hillary's unsecured and unauthorized email server or Bill's trips on Epstein's 'Lolita Express.'
