Emails making the rounds among leftist voices show former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton might not be the shoe-in Democratic presidential pick after all — many consider too hawkish and far too buddy-buddy with Wall Street.
The emails, obtained by The Hill, show a growing dissatisfaction among progressives.
The progressives have formed a group called “Gamechanger Salon,” and it’s made up of roughly 1,500 activists, journalists and political watchers who trade thoughts and policy proposals — and discuss the looming White House run.
And the general consensus is Mrs. Clinton is not their first choice.
Some of the emailers criticized her hawkish tendencies, The Hill reported. Others chided her as a Wall Street wanna-be — or at the very least, a friend of Big Business. And still others say she’s not done enough to press for climate change policy reforms, The Hill said.
“[A] Clinton presidency un-dos all our progress and returns the financial interests to even more prominence than they currently have,” wrote Melissa Byrne, an Occupy Wall Street activist, in a November 2013 email, The Hill reported.
Many more would rather see an Elizabeth Warren presidency — though the Massachusetts senator has publicly stated several times her refusal to run.
“The establishment Dems need to be punished and the best way for that to happen is for Warren to beat Hillary in the primary on a populist message,” wrote Carl Gibson, a progressive activist and Occupy.com writer, The Hill reported.
And even though some of the emails are months old, the call from the progressive camp for Mrs. Clinton to stand down her White House aspirations — if they even exist — has only grown stronger, The Hill reported.
Concerns haven’t changed, and progressives “are probably more worried at this point rather than less,” said Mike Lux, one of the website group’s active members, to the Hill.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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