By Charles D. Ellison
One of the most entertaining conversations you can ever have about governance in America is the difference between politics and policy. Many folks have trouble separating the two; most will just lump them together. And it’s comical to watch the stares of disbelief after explaining that while policy is what shapes our lives, politics are the games you play to get us there.
Susan Rice offers a solid example of how political deals are cut. Her recent self-withdrawal from consideration as the next Secretary of State carries with it the scent of shit so atrocious that one’s gut figures this was the end game all along.
Ultimately, all parties involved get what they want. The right gets to spill a little blood after getting mouth-fisted from behind like a b-rated Freddy Krueger flick. The left can orchestrate a fake chorus denouncing the toxic state of Washington. Keeping it one hundred, though, everyone in Washington is swimming in the aftertaste of a grand deal, even Rice herself.
While the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and one of the most influential Black women in the world is under fire for some manufactured Toy Story narrative about misleading a war-weary public about what happened in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, her reason to bow out is probably what’s misleading. Obviously, the decision wasn’t sudden. But, her reference to being a “distraction” from the president’s second-term agenda offers tasty political nuggets and clues. It’s naïve to think Rice didn’t factor into those suddenly quiet, one-on-one fiscal cliff discussions between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner.
Unfortunately, we’ve ended up with yet another nasty and very public beating of a Black woman in the zeitgeist. If it’s not Rice, it was Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) battling a cloud of ethics charges (which she eventually beat); or it’s Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) getting pummeled into the political graveyard by ethics probes and financial ruin; or, it’s the sad story of Shirley Sherrod, who only got a phone call mea culpa from the president while Prof. Henry “Skip” Gates got a whole beer summit at the White House; or, there’s Soledad O’Brien possibly losing her coveted top-of-morn CNN slot to make room for mainstream cable’s newest favorite “girl next door”; and, more recently, local meteorologist Rhonda Lee gets instantly canned for responding to an offensive Facebook comment. The list keeps growing, Rice only the latest in an unending string of publicly bruised Black women.
While pundits will give you the softball analysis on how Rice got burned, here are 7 hard-to-swallow reasons why she ended up getting played:
1. A Black President and a Black Secretary of State Would Have Been Too Much Black.
This is where it all spins out like Public Enemy’s paraphrased Malcom X sample on “Bring the Noise.” Imagine: the top two global representatives for the most powerful nation on the planet being Black. Even after re-electing the Black President that would’ve been “too Black, too strong.”
2. Susan Rice and the Fiscal Cliff are not Mutually Exclusive.
In fact, they’re just as married as a Las Vegas shuttle wedding. Republican Congressional leaders are on the losing end of a lost fiscal cliff battle that will end up with higher taxes, some defense cuts and probably little done on entitlement reform. They know it; the entire conservative movement knows it. But, President Obama needs dealmakers like House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to stay put so he can get deals cut on a number of upcoming agenda items. To help them keep their jobs, and to manage potential GOP primary threats to other Members who like their Capitol Hill gigs, Rice is the sacrificial offering. Republicans can go back home to pitchfork mobs in their states and districts who want revenge for Obama’s win. They get the sister’s head on a stick.
3. Less Bullshit for the President to Deal With.
We all know that’s it’s the President’s job to deal with the bullshit we don’t want to deal with. But, that doesn’t prevent him from eliminating a little along the way. As much as President Obama dug Rice, he really wasn’t into her that much. Her nomination hearings would have been trench warfare: from constant questions about a small arms fight in Libya; to hearing subpoenas of administration officials; to a potential filibuster that would have locked up the Senate and kept Obama from passing needed legislation. Rice just ended up being a risk he wasn’t willing to take. And, it’s not like progressives will give him a hard time because they were already opening up on her about everything from her hands-off approach on Rwanda genocide in 1994 to personal financial stakes in a U.S./Canadian oil pipeline that she would have had to authorize as SecState.
4. John Kerry Worked Some Quiet Magic.
Come on: you can’t tell me the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who is also on the short list to become Secretary of State, didn’t – at the very least – give a head nod to the hit. Kerry’s handlers bristle and fume at the thought their boss helped Senate Republicans like John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and others. But, the Senate is a chummy place where its Members get to know each other on a first name basis. Kerry has been hungrily eyeing the SecState gig since 2008, burning at the fact Hillary Clinton beat him to it. He was already strangely quiet as Rice was getting clocked from all sides. Yet, he’s the Chair of the Committee that would’ve held the nomination hearings. Now, Senate Republicans are promising he’ll sail through the nomination process.
5. Susan Rice: Fall Girl for Hillary Clinton 2016.
Rice just took it on the chin and in the stomach for the wife of her former boss Bill Clinton (remember: she was Undersecretary of State for African Affairs back in the ‘90s). Which is a big signal that folks are paving Hillary’s pathway to the White House should she decide to run for president in 2016. The funny thing about the Benghazi issue is that we spent more time talking about mangled talking points during a Rice talk show run than we did about the actual tragic event itself. Briefly, Clinton offered to take responsibility – since, well, she is the Cabinet member who, quoting from the State Department website “ … develop[s] and implement[s] security policies and programs that provide for the protection of all U.S. Government personnel (including accompanying dependents) on official duty abroad.” But, after all this noise, the public incorrectly assumes Rice – who’s simply a United Nation’s rep for the U.S. – has jurisdiction. By 2016, candidate Clinton won’t have to deal with Benghazi since the White House let the school bus roll over Rice on that.
6. John McCain goes to Foreign Relations.
Did you notice how the former geriatric Republican presidential candidate snaked his way over to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with little fanfare? McCain is like the prison snitch who wants a reduced sentence. Leading the full Monty charge against Rice, the AARP cover model really wanted Foreign Relations all along, perhaps needing a new platform to spout grumpy, nonsensical platitudes from. Of course, this would have made a Rice nomination hearing extremely entertaining and downright annoying. But, his old seat on Senate Armed Services was getting a bit weathered – plus, still wanting to stay in the Senate, McCain didn’t feel like dealing with the political heat of overseeing defense budget cuts while living in a state that relies heavily on military spending and open bases. With the military about to draw down, McCain wants to get in on the real action: world affairs.
7. Republicans really want Kerry’s Senate seat.
Here’s the deal: Kerry gets the SecState gig, and he’s all good with his GOP Senate buddies flipping his open Senate seat. The Benghazi/Rice episode was one of the wackest, weakest, most wag-the-dog faux scandals in recent political memory. But, Rice stood between that seat and an added Republican in the Senate. She was in the way. With Kerry bound to leave, the GOP can up its numbers on the Senate side since conventional wisdom predicts that outgoing Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who just got whipped by Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), will be the most favored contender for a special election. It all works out, everybody gets a taste.
CHARLES D. ELLISON is a political strategist, insider and analyst with over two decades of expertise. He’s Washington Correspondent for the Philadelphia Tribune and host of “Showdown” on SiriusXM 124, Thursdays 7-9pm ET. He can be reached via Twitter @charlesdellison. (Warning: the views expressed don’t reflect conventional wisdom).
