On September 18, Hillary Clinton will kick off the book tour for What Happened, her memoir about the 2016 presidential election, in Washington, D.C. The crowd at the Warner Theatre will, no doubt, be filled with many representatives of Pantsuit Nation and other pro-Clinton factions of the Democratic Party. But, as Politico found out by talking to Democratic lawmakers and other Clinton allies, there will be plenty members of the minority party staying home on the 18th, preferring to stick toothpicks in their eyes than relive the nightmare of the 2016 elections.
“There is a collective groan whenever there’s another news cycle about this,” said California Democratic representative Jared Huffman, who added that Clinton’s tour comes at “maybe at the worst possible time.” It’s not just the distraction the book will provide from a party fighting for issues such as DACA, Huffman said, but the party fissures that could be reopened by Clinton’s critiques.
“I’ve always been a looking-forward kind of a guy,” Democratic senator Ron Wyden said when Politico asked about the tour. “I think I’ll leave it at that.” His colleague from Missouri, Senator Claire McCaskill, was even less charitable.
Asked whether she was excited about Clinton’s book tour, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), one of Republicans’ top 2018 targets, responded first with, “Beg your pardon?”
Asked again, she started shaking her head, walking away.
Some Democrats asked for anonymity in order to say how they really feel.
“I think she should just zip it, but she’s not going to,” one said. Former Clinton staffers, meanwhile, reacted to the tour by saying “Oh, God,” “I can’t handle it,” and calling it “the final torture.” No wonder some Republicans are so happy to see her back in the news.
