Clinton's Rahm Ties Could Sink 2016 Bid

There’s an old Aesop’s tale about a frog that felt he had something to prove by swelling his head up bigger than an ox. Ego overriding sanity, the frog’s head eventually explodes and that’s the end of that.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign and race-based pandering is a lot like that frog’s fat head.

Ever since her embarrassing 22-point loss to Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire, Clinton has been in non-stop desperation mode to prove she’s entitled to be the Democratic front-runner.

And what does a Democratic candidate do when they are desperate? They start talking up racial injustice and all of a sudden it’s as if they’ve turned into Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. reincarnate — even if they are pasty as the Clintons.

"African American parents shouldn't have to worry that their children will be harassed, humiliated, even shot because of the color of their skin," Clinton proclaimed in her New Hampshire concession speech.

Knowing the power of the black voting bloc, she called in all of her chits last week and was “gifted” the endorsement of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC over Sanders. Without the endorsement of black leaders, Hillary is toast.

Clinton can’t afford to lose South Carolina again and she knows it.

In the 2008 primary, Barack Obama won 55 percent to Clinton’s 27 percent. Obama won black voters 78 to 19 in the state. Today, 60 percent of the palmetto state's electorate is African-American. 

But do black lives really matter to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton or just black votes?

There is a dirty little secret about Hillary that could sink her with black voters: Her ties to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

I’ve been writing about the racial tensions in Chicago for months. I’ve been imploring national Republicans to call out Hillary’s hypocrisy on Rahm. (Forget the Illinois Republican Party). 

Party apparatchiks actually endorsed Obama's former White House chief of staff for re-election despite his dismal record on the economy and crime.

Now that Hillary is aggressively courting the black vote (and at risk of losing younger black voters), this is the time for the GOP to stick this point for real.

President Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch have worked desperately to cover-up the "Rahm problem." They don't want Chicago to be ground zero for a violent national discussion on race relations.

Contrast this with the situation in Ferguson and officer Darren Wilson, who was cleared of any civil rights violations by the U.S. Justice Department. Chicago community leaders actually had to pressure Lynch to open a civil rights investigation in Chicago.

Yet just days ago, Lynch filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Ferguson for police misconduct. 

If Black Lives Matter has a bone to pick, it should be with Rahm Emanuel in Chicago. If they want to make their point, this case, unlike any other, deserves their outrage.

Hillary's criticism of Rahm has been muted too. In fact, two days after calling for a DOJ inquiry into the Chicago Police Department, Clinton told voters in Iowa on Dec. 4 that she supported Emanuel.

"He loves Chicago, and I'm confident that he's going to do everything he can to get to the bottom of these issues and take whatever measures are necessary to remedy them," she said.

In addition to a major speech on racism in Harlem today, she plans to rally in Chicago's historic Bronzeville neighborhood Wednesday as part of a national strategy to turnout the African-American vote for her campaign.

But the situation in Chicago is a powder keg, Rahm Emanuel is the match. Emanuel's year long suppression of the Laquan McDonald police shooting video has made him damaged political goods — hopefully, forever. His story has been unraveling ever since it was exposed last fall. Chicagoans are bitterly angry at Emanuel’s deception.

Right after he was re-elected last April, the Rahm-controlled City Council approved what many are now calling a $5 million "hush money" settlement to McDonald's family.

The Emanuel administration fought in court for a year to prevent the release of the dash cam video — which shows 17 year-old McDonald walking away from police before being shot 16 times.

According to a new Tribune poll, 74 percent of Chicagoans do not buy Rahm’s story about what he knew and when. His approval rating is a mere 27 percent — making him Chicago's most unpopular mayor ever. 

Even Bernie Sanders came here in December denouncing Rahm. “If the question is do I want or need Rahm Emanuel’s support for president, with all due respect for the mayor, no I don’t,” Sanders said.

But Hillary Clinton is not Bernie Sanders. Rahm is one of Hillary's biggest supporters. Not only has Rahm endorsed Hillary for President but he has bundled millions in contributions for her campaign. 

When she is asked about the Laquan Mcdonald video, what will she say?

Will she refund Rahm's contributions?

Will she denounce him, rejecting his endorsement?

If not, how can black voters believe Hillary when she says she worries about black children being shot "because of the color of their skin?"

There's nothing worse than a swelled head, especially if you are a frog.

William J. Kelly is an American producer, television and radio host, commentator, media strategist, and critic. In 1994, he ran for U.S. Congress. In 2015, he made waves when he busted the campaign finance caps in the Chicago mayor’s race. He is the founder of RevDigital, an independent TV and documentary production house. Kelly is a frequent contributor to The Washington Times, American Spectator, and others. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.