Hillary Clinton decided to copy Barack Obama and forcefully back Britain’s continued membership of the EU this weekend.
Whatever could make her do a thing like that?
As for Obama, maintaining the status quo while doing the Prime Minister a favor is inherently attractive.
But Hillary has something extra in common with those who want an “In” vote for the UK.
Both she and the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign have benefited from huge amounts of funding from big corporations.
Goldman Sachs in particular stands out. The Wall Street giant paid $675,000 for the Democratic heir presumptive to make three controversial speeches to them in private.
And, in a neat inversion, the money men are now bankrolling, with an unspecified six-figure cash injection, the very public interventions of an endless parade of worthies making the case for the EU.
Hillary benefits from huge amounts of campaign funding from Big Finance, which could do without the bother of rethinking their European operations, run centrally from London, in the case of a “Brexit”.
Her time as Secretary of State may also have impacted her decision – during which time she expressed strong support for the troubled EU-US trade partnership that many left-wing Brits campaigners see as a reason to ditch the European Union.
The former First Lady’s personal closeness with staunch In figures like Tony Blair and his wife Cherie – writ large in her released emails – can also not have hurt.
She is also friends with European political figures like Angela Merkel – whom she has known for 25 years. Merkel and her allies are wedded to the EU project, which could be pushed over the brink by a British exit.
Indeed, it is feared that were Britain to exit then other Eurosceptic nations, including Sweden, Denmark and Holland could also quit, damaging its image and exacerbating its financial troubles.
Unlike Ted Cruz – who put the British right to choose at the center of his view on the issue – Hillary’s intervention prioritizes the convenience of big government and big business.
As the epitomic creature of the establishment, it was an inevitable outcome.
