The same folks who hate Hillary Clinton hate Nancy Pelosi. And had these people been around in the 1930 and 1940s, they likely would have hated Eleanor Roosevelt.
Some others responding to this question offer their own opinions, which, of course, should not be confused with facts.
One writer on this page suggests that Hillary Clinton "rode to fame on the coattails of her husband." Of course any such conclusion is the perfect example of sexism. It assumes that a woman has no accomplishments independent of her husband.
Hillary Clinton graduated with honors from Wellesley College where her commencement address was featured in Time (June 13, 1969) and Life (June 20, 1969).
After graduating from Yale University School of Law, she went on to work for the Child's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her article, "Children Under the Law," was published in the Harvard Educational Review.
In 1974 she was a staff lawyer of the House Judiciary Committee during its consideration of impeachment charges against Richard Nixon.
Please keep in mind that all of these things above occurred BEFORE Bill and Hillary got married.
In 1978 President Jimmy Carter appointed her to chair the Legal Services Corporation Bureau. a federally-financed independent body that distributes legal aide funds.
In 1988 and again in 1991, she was named on of the "100 Most influential Lawyers in America" by the National Law Review.
Of course, Hillary was twice elected to the United States Senate before serving as the Secretary of State.
Anyone who asserts that "she rode to fame on the coat tails of her husband" is either ignorant of Hillary's achievements or hopes that her readers are. Considering her popularity as First Lady of Arkansas and her effectiveness as an advocate for her husband in the 1992 Presidential election, it's fairer to say that Bill was elected on the coattails of his wife.
Someone wrote,
"I ... hate when people get into positions of authority simply because of who they're related to."
Of course this is a strange comment considering the number of political leaders we've had who have a family connection. When it's a man (Franklin Roosevelt's connection to Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Kennedy's connection to John Kennedy, George HW Bush's connection to Prescott Bush, George W. Bush's connection to George HW Bush, Al Gore, Jr. and his connection to Al Gore, Sr., and Mitt Romney's connection to George Romney), it seems acceptable. But let a woman have a connection, then somehow she's not a true feminist and getting a free ride. Talk about a double-standard.
Another bizarre complaint is that Hillary stayed married to her husband. It's funny that we've gotten to the point where people who stay together to repair a damaged marriage are the ones who are criticized. Perhaps that critic prefers those politicians who trade their wives in for younger models, sometimes more than once.
Then we have Benghazi brought up. Let me re-post a news item that might be appropriate here:
"House Report Finds No Attempt to Mislead Over Benghazi
November 22, 2014
By Taegan Goddard36 Comments
“A House report on the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, concludes that the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. military responded properly and that Obama administration ‘talking points’ were flawed, but didn’t find that administration officials attempted to mislead the public,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The two-year-long investigation by the Republican-led House intelligence committee is the latest congressional probe to examine the attacks, and its conclusions deflate allegations suggesting misconduct by the Obama administration.” Well, if Benghazi doesn't work anymore, how about Whitewater?
A ten second google search would reveal what I posted below: that both Bill and Hillary Clinton were cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
Well, if Benghazi doesn't work anymore, how about Whitewater?
A ten second google search would reveal what I posted below: that both Bill and Hillary Clinton were cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
" Whitewater Probe Clears Clintons of Criminal Wrongdoing
Sept. 20
By Peter Dizikes
Independent counsel Robert Ray today filed his long-awaited report on the Whitewater investigation, clearing President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton of any criminal wrongdoing.
The official report, sent by Ray to a three-judge panel, is not expected to be finalized for several weeks. But Ray released a six-page statement today that concludes neither the president nor Mrs. Clinton intentionally violated the law in the botched Whitewater real estate deal.
"
So let's return to the question: Why do people hate Hillary Clinton?
Notice most of the anti-Hillary posts don't focus on her views on taxes, immigration, the use of the military, the minimum wage, or health care. They don't talk about her votes in the US Senate. They don't refer to her performance as Secretary of State.
They just attack her as a woman whose life meant nothing until she got married and that she has tried to keep her marriage from failing. They cite scandals for which Mrs. Clinton has been totally cleared by Republicans.
The hatred, personal and irrational, is on display here. I'm grateful for the folks who were kind enough to demonstrate it.
From the Left:
- She's very close with Wall Street.
- She's only recently had her "Come to Jesus" moment with regard to foreign intervention, populist economics, social justice, gay marriage, and a number of other issues.
- There's something disturbing about having the wife of a former president competing against the son and brother of two others. It reeks of oligarchy.
- She's raised an enormous amount of money, and that means wealthy people have a lot of influence over her.
- She's very wealthy herself, and this isolates her from the issues that affect most Americans.
- She's very weakly pro-choice.
From the Right:
- She's been made into a boogeyman since the beginning of Bill Clinton's presidency, and a fair number of people believe she's ordered murders and coverups.
- She supported socialized health care way before it was cool.
- She's pro-choice.
- She supports Obamacare.
- They're convinced she covered up something about Benghazi.