Hillary Clinton’s unfavorability ratings reached the highest point in eight years this summer, according to a Gallup poll.
As of July 24, 46 percent of those surveyed saw her as unfavorable. Her main competitor, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, is doing much better with a 20 percent unfavorability rating.
Granted, more people know Clinton than Sanders, but you can see the lack of support for Clinton among her followers. Sanders’ supporters, on the other hand, have an excitement in their eyes that translate into a 28,000-people rally.
Clinton’s largest rally couldn’t break 6,000 attendees.
Her lackluster support and negative favorability ratings can be attributed to her aloof and condescending campaign.
Clinton thinks she’s going to win the Democratic nomination for the White House in 2016. If prominent Democratic party leaders had it their way, there wouldn’t be a primary, and they’d crown her as the candidate.
She declined to speak at the Netroots Nation conference and the Iowa State Fair this summer, suggesting that she views the primary process as a formality. As such, her campaign comes off as a light-hearted joke, rather than a race for the highest office in the U.S.
Clearly, she doesn’t have much getting in her way to secure the nomination. Her challengers are the man who said all lives matter at a Netroots Nation conference, a democratic socialist, Jim Webb and a guy who made switching to the metric system one of his platform.
So, instead of talking policy with supporters, she avoids questions about controversial issues like the Keystone Pipeline or free trade. She already has the de facto nomination — why risk it by taking principled stances?
Instead of speaking on the issues, she works to create a persona as a relatable middle-class grandmother. This comes off as awkward at best and condescending at worst.
This woman was secretary of state, a senator, the First Lady of Arkansas and the First Lady of the U.S. Clinton is not relatable to anyone. She’s a fierce Democratic Beyoncé, and she needs to own her status as one of the most powerful women in the U.S.
She’s at her best when she’s a no-nonsense leader. My favorite memory of her is in 2009 when she defended reproductive rights as secretary of state.
Rep. Christopher Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, asked her a question regarding the government’s role in supporting access to safe and legal abortions.
She responded by promptly and tactfully ripping him to shreds like the queen she is.
“It has been my experience that family planning and proper medical care brings down the rate of abortions,” Clinton said. “Keeping women and men in ignorance and denied the access to services actually increases the rate of abortions.”
Clinton then reminded Smith she created a program to combat teen pregnancy as First Lady, and the rate of abortions decreased during that time.
“I’m sad to report that after an administration of eight years that undid so much of the good work, the rate of the teenage pregnancy is going up,” Clinton said.
She unmercifully tore down anyone who tried to make her look bad. She owned her power, and it worked.
I know the rule of thumb for presidential campaigns is to be the candidate people would drink a beer with. Clinton can’t be that candidate. She survived so many political battles and is an established public figure at this point. Nobody will be fooled by her approachable act.
Hillary Clinton is the Beyoncé of the political world, and the thing people love most about Beyoncé is the fact that she owns her power. Beyoncé knows she’s one of the best performers in Hollywood, and she doesn’t try to act like something she’s not.
Clinton takes beautiful jabs at her Republican competition and the media via Twitter, but she never talks policy with them. She focuses on her e-mail controversy or her pantsuits.
Clinton is one of the most established politicians in Washington. I don’t want to grab a drink with her. I want her to destroy her Republican opponents. I want her to use her power to bulldoze progressive ideals into actual laws, and she has the credibility to get it done.
Her campaign is condescending because she doesn’t use her power. If she’s not using her power to help push for the rights of marginalized Americans every day, then she’s perpetuating the oligarchy America has become.
Don’t try to have a beer with me or try to be my friend. You’re Hillary Clinton; we will never be friends. It just won’t happen, and I’ve accepted it. But you can push to make America one of the most progressive countries in the world.
Cody Sibley is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Opelousas, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @CodySibley.