Will Monica Lewinsky Matter in 2016?

‘Monica Lewinsky’ is a name that has lived in relative infamy for the last decade and a half. In some ways, the real woman who had a brief affair with our 42nd President has fallen into obscurity, but her name and what she represents live on. The archetype of the staffer who gets involved with a powerful man is a facet in books, movies, and TV shows.

For example, ABC’s hit show Scandal is pretty overt about it; during the first episode (slight spoiler alert if you’ve been under a rock for the last two years) Olivia Pope actually invokes Ms. Lewinsky’s name. She tells a girl named Amanda who may or may have not been sleeping with the President to make herself scarce, and when Amanda insists she’s a nice person, Pope points out, “You know who else was a good person? Monica Lewinsky, and she was telling the truth and she still got destroyed.”

And that right there, that’s what Monica Lewinsky has become. She’s a symbol and a political pop culture facet. Her affair with Clinton has been, no pun intended, put to bed. He has ascended to a position as a sort of elder statesman of the Democratic Party. And Hillary has moved on too, from New York Senator to Secretary of State, to presumed Democratic frontrunner.

So why are we talking about Monica Lewinsky? Now I’m not accusing everyone of this. Mitt Romney, for example, in an interview, felt the need to emphasize that we shouldn’t bring up Lewinsky in a conversation about Hillary, stating, “On the other hand, he embarrassed the nation, he breached his responsibility, I think, as an adult and as a leader in this relationship, and I think that’s unfortunate. But I don’t think that’s Hillary Clinton’s to explain. She has her own record and her own vision for where she would take the country.”

This was after potential Republican candidate Rand Paul, weirdly brought up Monica Lewinsky to slam Bill Clinton, and by extension, Hillary. He brought up the supposed “War on Women” that has become a contentious topic between Democrats and Republicans. Within that context, Paul claimed that because Bill Clinton had an affair with a younger woman on his staff 15 years ago, that means that Republicans can’t possibly be prejudiced toward women, and Democrats are the real offenders. OK, whatever. Rand Paul can say whatever he wants about Bill Clinton. As much as I do like Bill Clinton’s politics, he was creepy toward Monica Lewinsky and their relationship was inappropriate.

But any attempt to bring up Lewinsky as a tactic to attack Hillary Clinton makes very little sense, and is quite frankly, ridiculous. And that has happened. Take this tweet by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus:

Remember all the #Clinton scandals http://t.co/IxTqPN44rC That’s not what America needs again

— Reince Priebus (@Reince) February 16, 2014

Now, Priebus could be talking about something else, I guess. As a political couple, there are other scandals surrounding the Clintons. But if someone says “Clinton Scandal,” you think of Lewinsky. And Priebus’ slam to Hillary’s campaign is poorly shielded and tactless.

So here’s the crux: say whatever you want about Bill’s affair, really, it’s fair game. But I don’t think it’s fair to imply that Hillary’s leadership may be in question because of something her husband did. She didn’t encourage him to have an affair, she didn’t get involved, au contraire, she handled the entire thing with a lot of poise and grace. To attack her for Bill’s mistakes either implies a) that she is somehow responsible, b) guilt by association, or c) that if she can’t keep her husband from straying, she’s not strong enough to be President.

There are substantive things to attack Hillary Clinton on, even as a huge fan I am 100 percent comfortable to admit that. Feel free even to attack her on the fact that she is famous mostly because of her relationship with Bill Clinton. But to analyze that relationship, to fault both for a mistake made by one is grasping at straws.

So Romney’s right, it shouldn’t be brought up. And while I hope that her competitors agree, I know they won’t. It’s a political maneuver, same as questions about Michelle Bachman’s relationship with her husband were in 2012. Monica Lewinsky is a buzzword, an easy political association. But please everyone, save the drama for Scandal.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [White House Photo via Wikipedia]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.