Crying Me A Patti

It has been with shame that I have read the tears of ink spilled over the firing of Patti Solis Doyle from her position atop the management of the Hillary Clinton campaign. The fact that she was the first Latina commanding a presidential run seems to have led some members of La Comunidad to believe that her ousting constitutes some sort of affront - one to all Hispanics, and also a personal slap in the face to their leaders. Let's set it straight right here: That's like saying (as Maureen Dowd lucidly argued), that if Hillary Clinton does not make it to the White House, it will be a failure of the whole female gender, not of the candidate.

Such hand-wringing versions of Ms. Solis Doyle's departure have appeared in places like El Diario, the country's main Spanish newspaper, which in Tuesday's editorial affirmed that Solis Doyle was "a fall-person" for Clinton's current streak of losses. To make a case for Patti, El Diario deemed even necessary to use her personal story ("the daughter of a Mexican immigrant who worked as a janitor in Chicago"), finishing the tango by comparing her to an African American or Latino factory worker, who - the old saying goes - is "last hired, first fired."

Does the fact that she is a Latina have anything to do with her discharge? Until when are we waiting for people to be guarded and protected just because they've come from the other side of the tracks? In case El Diario (or State Senator Rubén Díaz, Sr. and Assemblyman José Peralta, who also tore their clothes over the case) do not realize it, this is a political campaign - if you fail, you are out. As is normally the case in politics, someone -- most likely the one in charge -- has to pay the price of failure, even if the guilt is shared. (And, yes, Díaz and Peralta are right in saying that the male Clinton has his role in the Hillary debacle, but was he the campaign manager? No.) The bottom line here is that Solis was not fired for being Latina, but because she must have done something wrong as campaign manager if the former frontrunner is trailing behind a first-term Senator whom she regularly calls "inexperienced."

Apart from those cold but undeniable electoral results, if we believe those who know Hillaryland from the inside, Solis Doyle (who used to call herself "the queen bee," said that the voice of Hillary spoke though her mouth, and had a thing for watching daytime soaps in her office) has enough reasons to explain her failure, particularly disastrous financial management. No need to cry over her, Mi Gente -- if her story fits so perfectly in the clichés of the hardworking immigrant, and she rose from la nada to the highest spheres of politics, she has enough strength to take this blow and rebound.

Once again, Messrs. of El Diario, Messrs. Díaz and Peralta: to compare successful professionals like Solis Doyle with factory workers or to try to exculpate them from evident failures does nothing for Latinos, other than eternally typecast us as the weak ones, those who need to be helped to move up and can't really compete. I simply don't know for how long are we going to be blind enough to keep insisting in the myth of the Monolithic Latino -- all the same, all connected. It's the worst possible "favor" that can be done to that enormous diversity of people (me included) who check "Hispanic" in official forms -- disrespecting us all in turn, including those who really make ends meet as factory workers.

Comments

[SamThornton]

The press release on the Hillary Clinton website announcing the Doyle demotion (http://tinyurl.com/2zwwep) offers no explanations. The points the announcement makes are of the "change" itself and what a sort of Kumbaya moment this was all concerned.

To say that the press release was disingenuous is an understatement. While it would probably be naive to expect any greater transparency from any political campaign in the wake of a major internal shakeup, the Clinton campaign hasn't even made a cosmetic stab at trying to appear transparent. It's a strictly, "It's done. Deal with it. Screw you." moment.

Why does this remind me of the entire Hillary campaign?

[OpEdna]

It may not happen in my lifetime, but I can't wait for the day when the race, gender, and sexual orientation of politicians and political operatives is ignored, and they are judged solely on their performance.

Yes, Patti Solis Doyle was a Latina. Yes, the Clinton campaign went south on her watch. Was it solely her fault? No. But when you start losing a race, you don't retain staff to prevent yourself looking racist, sexist, etc. You shake things up so that you stand a chance to win.

Political operatives know that they build their credibility based on wins, not losses. Patti was smart to get out when she did. Being at the helm of a losing campaign would not bode well for her political future.

Yes, Latinos should be proud that Patti held the highest ranking in one of the most important political campaigns of our time. It was a major step forward. But we can not call her departure racism or snubbing Latinos, even if Patti had been flat out fired. Campaigns are either won or lost. There is no gray area. Every political professional knows their candidate's performance can make or break them.

[parisblues]

Why is it that, instead of celebrating the diversity in our party and the quality of the candidates we have to choose from, Democrats have suddenly become neurotically hypersensitive? If you support Hillary Clinton, you're a racist. If you support Barack Obama, you're a misogynist. And now the Clinton campaign is anti-Latino? Sheesh. (Who will be the next to pitch a hissy fit -- South Pacific Islanders?) We need to grow up and calm down, people! Stop paying attention to the media-hyped soap operas about whose campaign said what about whom. The other side is exploiting our infighting to plot the way to a Hundred Year War.

[cthomp7280]

Hillary and her camp have turned many a voter off to her candidacy. Debating policy and addressing the issues is one thing, but wrenching up trivial and personal attacks are outside the scope and will not work this year. I would think that a woman would not fall victim to openly portraying herself as petty, catty, nitpicky, and nagging. Most of Clinton's arguements are natured assuch and remind most voters of a woman who needs to have the last word and must be right at all costs. Take the high road Hill and campaign for yourself, not against Obama.

[JGatsby]

Thanks for this article. This kind of identity politics that judges people on their race, gender, or whatever is just wrong. Equality means that people should be judged on their merits and hired or fired accordingly.

[hopeless277]

The freedom to fail and be held accountable for that failure is a basic tennant of democracy. It is also, as you correctly pointed out, a test of true character and strength. It is through our failures that we will eventually suceed. Believe me for I have failed many, many times.

[HowardRoarke]

Can't have it both ways.

Can't push
"First woman president is a victory for all women!" on one hand, and
"Firing the first latina campaign manager is no big deal" on the other.

[westview]

Mrs. Solis Doyle was not fired from the campaign, she was demoted, but still holds a well padded job because she is a loyal friend of both Clintons when a man would have been fired outright. All of this happened to Ms. Doyle for mismanaging a huge amount of money, not answering calls from workers nationwide, and then not reporting serious issues to the top when that information would have made a crucial difference for Sen. Clinton. That mismanagement has led to Clinton working much harder than she should have had to and getting tagged with Doyle's incompetance. I agree with this author that this person is a not good example for America's hispanic community to hold up as a wronged employee.