The latest attack against another Democrat by Hillary Clinton is curious unless you are familiar with her past.  The former secretary of state, U.S. senator, and former first lady erupted in a tirade against Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who is running for president.  She also provided the same attack against Jill Stein as a third-party candidate.  She implicitly labeled them both as assets of the Russian leadership.  Gabbard is a major in the Hawaiian National Guard and an American asset.  One would expect Hillary to be held to a higher standard.  But then that would differ from the history of press coverage she has enjoyed throughout the years.

Clinton still believes that she won the election in 2016.  She can't accept that she is solely responsible for her loss.  Her supporters have followed her lead in resisting the presidency of Donald Trump.  With some Obama administration officials, they unleashed the Russian collusion hoax.  Despite the conclusion of the Mueller investigation of Trump, the matter morphed into obstruction of justice and now political abuse of power with Ukraine and military material support.  

But you have to go back to 2000 to remember that Hillary opposed the election of George W. Bush since he had not won the popular vote against Al Gore.  Later, the California absentee vote revealed a much closer vote, generally not reported by the liberal press.  Our Constitution's Electoral College does not seem to matter to Hillary.

So why is Hillary so focused on Gabbard?  During the 2016 Democratic primaries, the party had rigged the process against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).  It was clearly Hillary's effort to ensure her nomination.  Tulsi Gabbard found this unacceptable and supported Sanders after resigning her high-level position within the party.  Clinton carries her grudges, and this is payback. 

Maybe she is angling to run again.  She must watch Joe Biden's campaign imploding, due to his son's enrichment and Elizabeth Warren's reluctance to acknowledge a need to raise middle-class taxes to support health care funding, and see an opening she could exploit during a second round of nomination voting when super-delegates are engaged.  Can three times be the charm?  Or maybe she is planning to be the backroom power broker?  Perhaps she knew that more bad news was coming from the State Department concerning her emails?

Friday, in the usual late-in-the-day bad news dump, the State Department announced that its inquiry into Hillary's private server concluded that 588 emails contained privileged (secret) information and that 38 individuals transmitted such material inappropriately.  It is no shock that no one was disciplined in this regard, since they concluded that there was no corruption or intent to do damage to our nation.  Some Deep State operation!

In the past, Hillary has attacked women (many attractive and liberal) when they threatened her husband or her career.  So the self-styled women's advocate is supportive only when it is beneficial.  Her loss in 2016 deprived her of fundraising for the Clinton Foundation and exposed her lack of political acumen.  Perhaps this explains the lack of interest in the former presidential nominee.  She could not attract a significant following during her book tour.  Now she has to appear on podcasts to remain relevant.  The less meaningful she becomes, the more outrageous her statements will become.  After all, to the extreme Left in the Democratic Party, these comments are not sensational at all. 

It is not shocking that Hillary would attack a candidate who polls only 2% in the Democratic Party.  When you are irrelevant, it is necessary to create an issue.  Since Gabbard is not popular within the national party, she is a perfect target for an aging politico.  Politicians such as Hillary routinely satisfy their ego needs before any greater national concerns.  This is the same person who was polarizing during the 1990s and a lightning rod for the Left.

Gabbard refutes many of Hillary's past positions on foreign affairs.  She opposes the entanglements in the Middle East and calls Hillary a warmonger.  This is a shot across the liberal bow that Hillary has tried to represent.  It puts the lie to her real beliefs: using power to ensure her financial success and continued influence.  This threat to Hillary from within the family is her greatest risk.

Image: Lorie Shaull via Flickr.