Chelsea Clinton declares on The View that she’s not considering running for Congress.
Throughout the run-up to the 2016 election, I was a pretty dyspeptic critic of Chelsea Clinton — from her $1,083-per-minute speaking gig at a university, to her selection to give the keynote address at SXSW, to her awards for “Woman of the Year” and “Mom of the Year,” to her insufferable declaration that she “couldn’t care about money on a fundamental level” . . . and perhaps most of all, the endless puff pieces that kept trying to convince us that she was someone fascinating and surprising and a natural leader, and that she would still be getting this same attention and praise and opportunities if she didn’t come from a famous family. Nor did I have any patience for those pieces immediately after the 2016 election that seemed to pitch her as the next great Democratic hope.
But it’s worth noting that since 2018 or so, Chelsea Clinton has shown a recurring willingness to call out figures on the Left who are beyond the pale, from Louis Farrakhan comparing Jews to Termites to public attacks on Brett Kavanaugh’s daughters and Barron Trump. The willingness to criticize ideological allies has been in short supply in recent years.
If Chelsea Clinton ran for this open House seat in New York, she would begin with an instant name-recognition and fundraising advantage in the primary, and she would probably win in the Democratic-leaning district. But from all appearances, she has no deep yearning to run for office or serve in elected office anytime soon. She’s carved out a happy life for herself and her family, far from the realm of politics and this seems . . . wise. Level-headed. A refreshing respite from the sense of entitlement that so many famous children seem to exhibit.
I’ve urged Americans to take a break from the Kennedys for the sake of everyone (including the Kennedys), and while the younger members of the Bush family seem like nice people, the country is not yearning for the restoration of any dynasties. American politics is not supposed to be an endless war among the same half-dozen rival families, like some less violent version of Game of Thrones.