Just as Gloria Steinem's snarky comment about young women supporting Bernie Sanders because their boyfriends like him turned into an educational moment about the realities of the women's rights movement, so Hillary's inexplicable praising of the Reagans for opening a national conversation on AIDS (What is HRC & her staff smoking?!) is educating a younger generation about the early years of the scourge.
An 11/14/03 article by Michael Bronski gives an excellent overview of how the Reagan White House actually did respond to AIDS, which first came to the public's awareness in the early days of Ronald Reagan's presidency. It also underscores what I believe - that the president's reluctance to confront the horror was rooted in politics, not religion. Whether due to faith or political expediency, the public silence of both the president & First Lady was shocking, even at at the time.
Why Hillary came out with her inexplicable praise of Nancy Reagan as an AIDS activist - when she turned her back on Rock Hudson, a longtime friend of both Reagans - will be one of the great political mysteries of all time. It certainly will rank on one of the biggest goofs. At least it is having the unexpected benefit of educating the public about a health catastrophe & civil rights battle that happened before their time.
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