Susan Rice and How Washington Works

Dirty politics stalls, but won't end, ambassador's career

It’s been a busy week for me here in Washington.  The week started off with an all-day session focused on protecting our democracy and the right to vote. The next day was spent focusing on the Michigan Right-To-Work legislation that was introduced, passed and signed into law in the blink of an eye.  Next up was a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the school to prison pipeline, which robs our communities of so many young, promising people who may just need a little help.  And yesterday, I spent the better part of my day visiting Senate offices along with some of the Black Women’s Roundtable, to discuss the treatment of Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice by Republicans.  Shortly thereafter and much to the dismay of many, she withdrew her name from consideration for nomination.  This was all in a week’s work.  It’s this work that I hope will allow me to continue to build a solid foundation here in Washington that will help me far surpass my wildest ambition.

No political news outlet worth its salt will let Ambassador Susan Rice’s self-removal from consideration for the position of Secretary of State slide under the radar.  Immediately after the 5 o’clock news yesterday, my father called me asking why she had “quit” as he put it.  In his mind, she all but had the position.  Like my father, many others thought that she would in fact be nominated.  But if she had been nominated, there would certainly have been some people who would have done everything in their power to make sure she was not confirmed.  Unfortunately for us all, they didn’t even wait until the nomination process began before starting the vetting process and putting her on trial, in some senses.