Slowly but surely, Hillary Clinton is making her positions known.
And earlier this week, she came out strong on voting rights.
To my mind, Clinton’s speech on voting rights was designed to accomplish two things:
First, her speech clearly associates herself with the position the Democratic mainstream, particularly the base of African-Americans and Latinos, who are most directly affecting by stricter voter ID laws. These constituencies passionately support efforts to increase voter empowerment, voter rights and expand the franchise.
In this way, Clinton’s speech was not just the defense of actions to prevent against voter suppression by the Republicans, something that Democrats, of course, are eager to do. The speech was an effort by Hillary Clinton to associate herself with the whole notion of expansion of the franchise which can only benefit the Democratic Party and, to wit, her.
HOUSTON, TX – JUNE 4: Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (C) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) (R) applaud after listening to Nicholas Conyers sing the National Anthem before the start of the Barbara Jordan Public-Private Leadership Award ceremony on June 4, 2015 in Houston, Texas. Clinton received the Barbara Jordan Public-Private Leadership Award at Texas Southern University and in her remarks, urged swift action to restore the Voting Rights Act and replace the provisions struck down by the Supreme Court. She also spoke about the destructive impact of restrictive laws in states like Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Ohio that make it harder for voters to access the voting booth and cast their ballots. (Photo by Thomas Shea/Getty Images)
Anything that expands voting, especially such as she proposed for automatic registration at 18, will only benefit the Democratic Party and her candidacy. Efforts like these will also keep the more progressive left, which is certainly concerned about both the issue of her alleged scandals and her fealty to Democratic orthodoxy, at bay.
It was one of those things that’s called in politics a “clean hit.” No downside and a lot of upside.
