Chelsea Clinton's Mother-In-Law to Run for Congress

While Hillary hesitates, Marjorie Margolies is taking the field. But the family fears that the move could backfire for Bill’s wife.

As the mother hesitates, the mother-in-law makes a move. For Chelsea Clinton, the surprise came from Marjorie Margolies, husband Marc Mezvinsky’s mother, who made her intention to run for Congress in 2014 official.

At the Clinton house, all eyes are on Hillary: what to do or not to do in light of a 2016 presidential candidacy the entire country considered inevitable. But Hillary continues to falter, taking her time, making and breaking battle plans and organizing teams of advisers. Marjorie must therefore have thought it was best to move forward immediately and get as much exposure as possible, while anticipating the announcement by the far more popular Hillary Clinton.

On the other hand, Margolies is not new to Washington. She was elected to Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1992, but was not re-elected two years later as a punishment by voters for happening to be too Clintonian. More particularly, the liberals in her constituency did not appreciate the vote she gave in favor of Clinton’s deficit reduction plan that involved drastic spending cuts. While the extreme loyalty to the choices of Bill cost her the seat then, Marjorie is back in the office and aims to recapture the same Pennsylvania district in the congressional election in November 2014.

Playing the “bond card” always pays off, now that her relationship to the Clintons and the Democrats is familiar. It will pay off even more if Hillary stops hesitating and heads for the White House. Ken Smukler, the political advisor for Chelsea’s mother-in-law, confirmed that there was an active electoral campaign and that the birth of the group called “Marjorie 2014” in early May had marked the beginning of fundraising efforts. The only thing missing is the official announcement. Chelsea, who was involved in a humanitarian project in Cambodia on behalf of the Clinton Foundation, prefers not to comment, though it is easy to imagine she would have spoken with Marc, whom she married in 2010. The question is whether Chelsea — but especially Hillary —was aware of Marjorie’s intentions. The rumors in Washington suggest the Clintons may not like excessive public exposure of the family, fearing negative repercussions for Hillary. Could it also explain the reason Bill Clinton has disappeared completely from the political news scene?