Like a mole in a hole, some things hide and pop up every so often. Then, we get to embrace or whack ‘em. It’s a fun game for all. But what happens when the game is not a game, but a landscape-killing critter wreaks more havoc than it’s worth? Well, some seemingly underground movement rearing up in New York City with signs reading Hillary for Mayor 2017 is becoming a thing. A frightening thing, in my opinion.
Not sure about you, but I prefer post-election party hubbub much like my slumber: quiet. Just when I thought the Clinton train derailed, it appears some tracking is going on in the subterranean flow of NYC politics.
She’s Back?
The words “I made a mistake” (referring to the Hillary Clinton email scandal) ring loudly. Breathtaking brilliance often is undermined by the simplest mistakes; Secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton’s errors torpedoed the nation’s soul and ostensibly hemorrhaged her presidential bid. And the other disheartening statement, “What difference at this point does it make?” bellowed in Congressional hearings does nothing to loosen the grip on my heart. For anyone to portray such a cold and callous persona in response to the four absolutely preventable American patriots’ murders in Benghazi is infinitely unconscionable and indelibly etched in American history. She was not in Benghazi, but she sure as hell has unbleachable bloodstains on her hands. Mrs. Clinton utterly lost control.
Speaking of losing control, so cocky and arrogant was HRC that she planned a celebratory fireworks display in NYC, her home base; the extravaganza was to take place 30 minutes after presidential election results were released. Jumping the gun? Inarguably, yes. Well, we all know how that went down. Unlike her presidential run, the fireworks never exploded.
Every city, town, and village has a mayor, but NYC is often set apart as its own mega-world. A perfect way to colorize this point is the NYPD’s humongous contingent of cops, which encompasses 75 different languages of varying cultures and ethnicities. That is quite a potpourri of cops to facilitate the public safety needs of the so-called “melting pot” of people in its jurisdiction. The NYPD is seasoned with diversity and exemplifies a well-done crime-fighting entity, often a model for other cop shops to emulate.
Should there be some truth to Hillary Clinton gathering momentum for a mayoral bid, she’ll have reign to run the NYPD. The question is, will she run it off the rails and into the ground?
Historically, HRC never embraced law enforcement. To some extent, she had reason. Some Arkansas state troopers did nothing to endear her to cops; husband Bill Clinton’s sex scandals, womanizing, and infidelity came to light, and a “protection detail” of Arkansas troopers not only colluded with Mr. Clinton in covering up his seemingly insatiable appetite for other women– they became the whistleblowers, blowing it wide open. “Troopergate” is what this came to be called. I give Hillary credit for holding responsible those few state cops who aided and abetted her husband’s behavior, betrayed their oath, and forfeited the public’s trust. To turn a cold shoulder on all law enforcement, however, is miscalculated angst, and lumping all cops together is undeserving.
We witnessed more of her apparent dislike for law enforcers while HRC served under former President Obama. Consistently, she stood with or spoke for families of decedents who encountered/resisted police, the results of which were nothing shy of tragic. All this before she even knew the facts behind each set of circumstances. Repeatedly, she lent her shoulder and ears to everyone but police officers. Flying in the face of law enforcement, she opened up her political door to the Black Lives Matter movement, sharing the stage with them at DNC conventions. Personally, I felt her indifference for those who don a uniform when she testified during the Benghazi hearings. Largely stoic and emotionless, the biggest rise in her tone was when she was justly grilled about her responsibility (read: irresponsibility).
Watch any official proceeding with Hillary Clinton testifying and you will witness a determinedly detached individual who insulates herself in a Teflon bubble.
I am not against supporting families who were grieving the loss of loved ones; to the contrary, I emote with and for them. I am, however, chronicling Hillary’s incessant assertions against police, often reciting her catchphrase “implicit bias” and how law enforcement is in the business of making life miserable for citizens of color. It would not be off-base to suggest that Hillary look in her implicit bias mirror as a reflection of false accusation and not as a deflection of police integrity.
Incidentally, NYC cops stand behind President Trump’s immigration enforcement directives. Current NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s sanctuary city policy is abhorred by those who hold an NYPD shield but is likely to be upheld if (dare I say it) Hillary Clinton runs and wins. President Trump made it clear he will withhold federal funds from NYC if it continues its sanctuary city campaign. Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD police commissioner rebuked the president’s executive orders. I can see Clinton following suit with sanctuary city directives, prohibiting NYPD cops from cooperating with ICE agents. I can sympathize with NYC police union ire over such ludicrous lawlessness stemming from illegal aliens being protected by liberal stances and its leadership defying presidential executive orders. There is no denying that politicizing events in NYC has been a historical factor; the NYPD police commissioner aligning with the mayor typically spells how police practices will work (or not).
Often a non-expert in law enforcement, the NYC mayor having an overall say about police protocols and what laws will or will not be enforced is absolutely counterintuitive, entirely reckless, and clearly a betrayal of NYC’s public safety responsibilities. Despite NYC’s hands-off stance regarding illegal immigrants roaming its streets, ICE agents forge on and get the job done. Whether de Blasio retains his throne or Hillary Clinton surfaces with an eye on that prize, it is reassuring that the feds are following the Constitution while others are not.
Albeit speculative at this time, the prospect of Hillary Rodham Clinton bidding for the NYC mayoral seat is nothing more than a seedling. What difference at this point does it make?
I suspect it may make a difference to the roughly 49,000-plus NYPD employees who serve the metropolitan New York City landscape—and the estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants who are hiding in plain sight.
Stephen Owsinski is a Senior OpsLens Contributor and retired law enforcement officer whose career included assignments in the Uniformed Patrol Division and Field Training Officer (FTO) unit. He is currently a researcher and writer.
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