By Monday, the Baltimore protests against the killing of Freddie Gray had seized the imagination of the country. And Hillary Clinton came out in support of gay marriage.
The two things were tied together in the story of her campaign logo.
On Tuesday, the logo — an H with an arrow pointing right — took on new life. It appeared bedazzled in rainbow colors as the Supreme Court heard arguments in a historic same-sex marriage case.
The rainbow logo was a clear tip of the hat to the LGBT community – a concession from a politician who has spent years stumping against equal rights.
The Washington Post published a recap of her evolving take on the issue. In 2000, she said, “Marriage has got historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman.”
On Monday Clinton was holding hands with the marriage equality movement. Then came the new campaign logo.
But wait, a color was missing, a color all too often missing from the symbolic rainbow.
Black.
Black for Black Lives Matter. Black for Freddie Gray. Black for Michael Brown. Black for so many others killed by police.
No black in the logo, but Clinton is taking on the issue of prisons and racially biased policing.
On Tuesday night, she spoke about Baltimore, reports The Christian Science Monitor.
Clinton said Tuesday night during a New York fundraiser that Gray’s death and the aftermath were “heartbreaking,” pointing to injuries to police officers and the burning of homes and small businesses.
“We have to restore order and security. But then we have to take a hard look as to what we need to do to reform our system,” she said.
And today, Clinton pledged to “end the era of mass incarceration.”
The era of mass incarceration, of course, was ramped up during Bill Clinton’s presidency. It was part of his get-tough-on-crime, pro-death-penalty, three-strikes-you’re-out swagger. The Democrats have embraced this platform for decades.
So Hillary now seems to want to shift away from that Democratic legacy – but only after law and order are restored.
Without criminal justice reform, can there be law and order?
