“It’s been quite a learning experience…”

That’s what I was told by one of my left-wing media industry colleagues from inside the beltway this past week, as we discussed Hillary’s campaign, and the presidential nomination that she had just lost.

“We’ve all seen a whole new side of the Clintons in the past few weeks,” he told me, “and it was pretty ugly…”

Now, I can’t dispute that “pretty ugly” is an apt description for much of the Clintons’ campaign activity. But since that conversation last Wednesday morning, I’ve been left wondering why the bad behavior is being regarded as something new. And precisely which “new side” of the Clintons is it, that has only recently been revealed?

This may be a shock for many Democrats, but there are millions of us here in the United States - - call us “non-liberal Americans” if you wish - - who were never captivated by the Clintons and their antics (not even back in the “good ‘ol days“ of the 90‘s). The fact that their attempted return to the White House has ended in a train wreck is not particularly astounding to us. Yet, the reality that a sufficient number of Democrats have finally said “no” to the Clinton chaos is a bit of a surprise, and a pleasant one at that.

As for the rest of us, we remember Governor Bill Clinton campaigning on the dubious theme of fixing “the worst economy in forty years,” his promise of a middle-class tax cut, and his pledge to “end welfare as we know it.” We also remember the huge tax increase, and the enormous welfare expansion that he brought about (remember the federally funded “midnight basketball” programs?) within the first two years of his presidency.

And why the surprise over Hillary? It doesn’t matter that she and Bill spent the previous decade positioning themselves as “New Democrats” who embraced free trade, NAFTA, and upwardly mobile voters. It was par for the course for her to stir-up the worst kinds of class envy among blue collar workers, demonize wealthy Americans, pretend that she never supported NAFTA, and promise more trade restrictions in the future. She’s a Clinton, and the Clintons say and do whatever is necessary to accomplish the political task that lies in their path at any given moment. The rest of us have understood this for years. Continued...