I get that we aren’t allowed to spike the football, for fear of offending voters whose candidate is losing. I get that we aren’t allowed to highlight the incredible obstacles Hillary has faced to get where she is today, for fear of being told we are shills, paid trolls, neoliberal, apologists, or the establishment.
But at what point can we celebrate what Hillary is on the cusp of? When do we acknowledge the shattered glass at our feet which she’s left scattered in her wake?
From the moment Hillary hit the political scene in Arkansas, from the second she stepped foot on the campaign trail for her husband back in the 1992 election cycle, she was treated as an existential threat to Republican politics. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent for the past 25 years to make you hate her (incidentally, does anyone else think this may provide some explanation for the fact that her weakest support comes from the people who have only been alive that long?). She’s been investigated, slandered, exonerated, ridiculed, and honored time and time again. But more than that — she’s worked harder and longer and more effectively than any woman in American political history.
Yet, if she were to take a bow, if we were to pump our fists at this seminal moment in history, we’d be accused of all manner of incivility.
So when would it be okay to acknowledge this profound and deeply appreciated accomplishment to millions of Americans who are voting for her to succeed where no woman has succeeded before?