Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton attempted to exact a little revenge on a one-time ally who has since turned into a bitter rival.
But the move may have actually helped that rival to raise money instead – a humbling reminder of the rapidly diminishing powers of the once-feared Clinton machine.
The latest drama began when Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, was tapped to lead the Housing and Urban Development Department under President Joe Biden, kicking off a battle among Democrats to replace her.
The two leading candidates so far are former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner – a vocal backer of Hillary’s rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-V.T. – and Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown.
Hillary made it clear she’s very interested in this race by making an endorsement this week.
And she chose Brown.
“Shontel made history as the first Black woman to chair her county Dem party, and she’ll work to help her state and our country recover from COVID,” she tweeted.
What she didn’t tweet, however, is even more telling.
Hillary, who is fairly active on Twitter, hasn’t tweeted another direct endorsement of a congressional candidate since the 2018 midterm elections.
That must’ve had casual observers wondering: Why now? Why this specific race in Ohio?
This is not a seat with a lot of drama; whoever wins the nomination will essentially win the special election given the district’s 30-point lean toward Democrats, according to the Cook Political Report.
But there could be something else going on here: resentment.
Turner is a former Hillary supporter, one who was even part of the “Ready for Hillary” effort that was up and running before she even announced her 2016 presidential ambitions.
Here she is seven years ago:
I’m Ready for Hillary. Are you? #Hillary2016 — RT and ask your friends to join @readyforhillary: http://t.co/4uXSSKei9P
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) November 17, 2014
But by 2015, Turner wasn’t “Ready for Hillary” anymore.
She worked on Sanders’ campaign instead, one of the opening salvos in what would become one of the most bitter and divisive presidential primary seasons ever.
“It came down to some soul-searching,” Turner told The Hill in 2016. “It was actually my husband who said, ‘Baby, I think you should give Sen. Sanders a look. I believe he’s your candidate, because he has the same righteous indignation you have. He stands up for people the way you like to stand up for people.'”
Turner’s current effort has secured support from much of the Sanders political machine, including the activist group People for Bernie and Sanders acolyte Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
I am honored to have the support of @AOC. I look forward to working together to build a democracy where no child goes hungry, no worker earns a starvation wage, and where every business respects our planet.
It’s time to build an America as good as its promise 💜✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/GHJNM0RoEF
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) March 22, 2021
If Turner’s comments from 2016 are any indication, Hillary’s latest snub didn’t sting.
“All of the things I’ve accomplished, the Clintons were nowhere in it,” she told The Hill at the time. “So for me to cower in the corner and live in fear about what they may or may not do, that’s not me. My fate is controlled by the Almighty, and they are not the Almighty. They may have some influence on this Earth, but they are not the Almighty.”
It also didn’t hurt her financially.
In fact, it may have helped: The Washington Examiner reports that Turner had her best fundraising period of the cycle after the Clinton snub, raising six figures in just 12 hours.
If she continues toward the nomination and wins the seat, Turner may turn out to be an even bigger problem for President Joe Biden than the Republicans in the closely divided House of Representatives.
Last year, she compared voting for Biden to “eating a bowl of s**t,” so she’s anything but a safe vote for the president’s agenda.
Any victories in the House, however, are likely to be short-lived: Most analysts believe Republicans are primed to take control over the chamber after next year’s midterm elections.
— Walter W. Murray is a reporter for The Horn News. He is an outspoken conservative and a survival expert.