Why Hillary Clinton remains silent on the Harvey Weinstein matter

While Harvey Weinstein’s former friends and associates in both the entertainment industry and the political world are proclaiming how “shocked, shocked” they are that the super producer was a creepy pervert, twice failed Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton is favoring the world with her silence. Since Weinstein was one of Clinton’s warmest supporters, the silence is being noticed and remarked upon. Even Jimmy Kimmel has left off savaging President Trump to notice Clinton’s tendency to associate with sexual predators, her husband, and Weinstein.

Damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t

Deadline Hollywood quotes an unidentified Hollywood contributor to Democratic causes that Clinton is “damned either way” if she says something or if she remains silent. The former senator and secretary of state is still on her book tour touting her campaign memoirs “What Happened.” Thus far the Weinstein matter has not come up.

Clinton has always touted herself as a champion of women and girls, while in practice has taken a somewhat different path. Dating back to the Kathy Shelton matter in the mid-1970s and continuing through Bill Clinton’s various scandals, Ms. Clinton has been something of a rape enabler.

The interesting question that should be put to Clinton is what did she know about Weinstein’s behavior and when did she know it.

She could claim ignorance, but she has to be careful in case someone knows differently. If she admits that she knew about Weinstein’s misbehavior, then she faces fresh charges of hypocrisy and enablement, turning a blind eye to an abuser of women in exchange for money.

What if she had been elected president?

While some have speculated that the Weinstein scandal would never have come to light had Clinton been elected, in that alternate universe her presidency would have been rocked had the matter been revealed.

Clinton would have made as terrible a president as she was a candidate. A big, juicy sex scandal that did not involve her husband would have dominated the news cycle for weeks if not months.

What does Clinton do now?

Hillary Clinton cannot remain silent forever if she hopes to stay relevant in the political and policy debates of our time.

She could continue to try to use women’s issues to try to keep herself in the public eye. However, the rejoinder will always be, “What about Harvey Weinstein?”

On the other hand, Clinton could try to brazen it out, just as she has all of the other scandals that have swirled around her during her lengthy political career. She has no hope of ever achieving political power. It looks like now she has no hope of ever recovering her personal dignity.