Hillary Clinton’s recent rhetoric on immigration shows she has an eye on 2016 and won’t be afraid to move left in order to appease the progressive base. As Martin O’Malley has criticized the White House and Vice President Joe Biden cheered on protesters of the White House’s stance, Clinton has tacked left in order to lessen the contrast between her and her potential rivals.
Just six weeks ago, Clinton told Christiane Amanpour that children coming to the United States from Central America “should be sent back as soon as it can be determined who responsible adults in their family are” because “we don’t want to send a message that is contrary to our laws.” Now, Hillary has changed her tune – telling Fusion’s Jorge Ramos that Congress should not amend a 2008 trafficking laws to expedite deportations of arriving minors and even invoking the term “refugee” when describing the children coming from Central America.
As Hillary’s policy positions continue to shift in the wind, this is another example of something that has dogged her with voters throughout her career: seeming disingenuous and overly political.