MSNBC features a lengthy and very, very interesting story on Hillary Clinton's legendary college thesis. Many people have talked about the document as the key to understanding her ideology and ruthless politics. It also examines her idol, radical Leftist Saul Alinsky, since he is the subject of the thesis.
I suspect the MSNBC piece is more of an inoculation against the true impact of the story, but there are interesting glimpses of both her and the ascendancy of the Left in America.
Here's an example that I believe still retains more than a hint of truth today:
Looking back at the 1930s, he said, “Anybody who tells you he was active in progressive causes in those days and never worked with the Reds is a goddamn liar. Their platform stood for all the right things, and unlike many liberals, they were willing to put their bodies on the line.”
Some don't buy into the idea that her college thesis is a "Rosetta Stone" for understanding the woman Hillary is now:
“It's a moronic statement,” said Hillary Rodham's thesis adviser, Alan Schechter, now an emeritus professor at Wellesley, as well as a friend and campaign contributor to Sen. Clinton.
“The notion that a 21-year-old idealist somehow remains a 21-year-old idealist their whole life — she's not a radical at all. I think she's very mainstream. She's a pragmatist. She's a much more thoughtful, cautious, careful, pragmatic person — she's been burned so often.”
I think there can be a lot of truth to that statement. I'm certainly a far different person than I was 15 years ago when I supported abortion and had far more faith in government's ability to provide solutions than I do now. What I espoused then would provide some, but little insight into the man I am today. Some of those beliefs remain, but some are more solid than ever while others have been completely thrown out.
Understanding Hillary through this thesis would depend on how much of that young woman remains in the older woman. If many of the ideas and philosophies remain, even if those ideas have "matured," it still might provide useful insight into why Hillary does the things she does.
Her actions, statements and votes demonstrate that she is still very much that "60's radical" socialist. Though perhaps she has learned to temper that perception of her with doublespeak and deception, as most socialists do.
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