Ten years ago this month, the late Dennis Green, at the time head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, went on a now-legendary post-game rant about his team’s loss to the powerful Chicago Bears. Asked by a reporter why the Cardinals lost, Green replied emphatically, “The Bears ARE what we thought they were.” Truth is, Coach Green had always suspected how dominant the Bears were, but it took tangible evidence to confirm his worst fears.
It’s been the same way with how many of us view Hillary Clinton. For years we’ve suspected that she was dishonest, deceptive, duplicitous, and devious, but only recently have those suspicions been validated. Thanks to a series of books, articles, and leaked emails, we now have a more accurate depiction of how the former Secretary of State operates, or to paraphrase Coach Green, we now know “Hillary IS who we thought she was.” What follows are just a few of the many indicators and instances.
“DUPLICITY”
During the Democratic primary debates, Senator Bernie Sanders repeatedly called on Ms. Clinton to release the text of her private speeches to Wall Street fat cats. Bernie claimed that those speeches, each of which Hillary received $225,000 to make, would prove that his opponent is an advocate for the very same bankers and speculators who had caused the great recession, and cost millions of people their savings, homes, and jobs. Turns out that Bernie’s suspicions were right on the money (pardon the expression). Thanks to a Wikileak email dump earlier this month, we now know that Hillary professed two disparate sets of beliefs – one when she appeared at public rallies, and the other when speaking privately to her Wall Street buddies. Publicly Ms. Clinton claimed to be a champion of us little people, and she bragged about how tough she had been, and would continue to be on greedy Wall Street executives. Privately she was telling Goldman Sachs and other financial industry folks, that she couldn’t relate to the “struggles” of the middle class. She even suggested that the big banks should self-regulate. And, she told one group that the pressure on government officials to divest themselves of assets had become “onerous.” No doubt Hillary is a multi-tasker and can do two things at one time, but who knew she could also face two different directions at the same time.
“BERNIE BAITING”
According to the latest batch of leaked emails, Hillary expected that Elizabeth Warren would oppose her in the primaries. Instead it was Bernie Sanders who answered the call, and that caught the Clinton camp off-guard. They were unprepared for just how fast Bernie’s movement caught fire, especially among young people and first-time voters. But Bernie also appealed to disenfranchised people of both parties who were still struggling from the recession. Gradually Ms. Clinton was forced to move her public positions to the left in order to stop the erosion of her liberal base, and to the right in order to hold the middle class. She softened her position on NAFTA and disavowed her previous support for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the former of which had killed over a million jobs, and the latter of which promised more of the same. The problem is that her pandering strategy wasn’t working. But thanks to Wikileaks, we now know that Hillary and then DNC chief Debbie Wasserman Shultz were so worried about Bernie, that several DNC staffers devised a plan to smear the Vermont Senator, a man who Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta disdainfully referred to as a “doofus”. The biased DNC also scheduled primary debates for nights in which television viewers weren’t viewing. And, behind the scenes, Ms. Shultz arranged to appoint Clinton delegates to chair nearly all of the convention committees. But the leaked emails also show that in order to keep Bernie from bolting the party, Hillary “threw him a bone” by including some of his policy positions into the party platform, with no intention of acting on them after November 8. As president, she may come to regret her treatment of Sanders, who, if Dems take the Senate, could prove to be a thorn in her side as chairman of the budget committee.
“EMAIL SERVERS”
Earlier this year, FBI director James Comey concluded his investigation of Hillary’s use of private email servers to transmit classified documents. While he criticized the former Secretary of State for reckless mishandling of government materials, he did not recommend prosecution. That was then and this is now. First of all, Hillary and her minions erased over 30,000 emails which might have allowed Comey to reach a different conclusion, and second, a new batch of emails have been recently leaked which prove that Hillary and her staff ran a “pay for play” operation and tried to obstruct justice. At one point, Clinton tells her staff that Qatar is a major funder of ISIS, then turns around and accepts a $25 million donation from that nation to her family’s foundation. And, late last week another leaked email shows a disturbing $12 million transaction between Mrs. Clinton and Morocco. We also learned from other leaks that after Hillary received a subpoena for all of her emails, her Under Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy offered a bribe to an FBI agent in exchange for declassifying a key Benghazi document. The quid pro quo never materialized, but Kennedy’s attempt was criminal in itself. It’s no wonder that Hillary wanted multiple private servers in her home, away from the scrutiny of prying eyes. Unfortunately for her, collateral emails from her staff have now surfaced, giving us a clearer picture of why she sought such privacy.
These, of course, are only a few of Hillary’s many transgressions which have recently come to light. Others include her 2008 strategy to attack then Senator Obama for being a Muslim, a coke head, and for advocating gay adoptions. She also believed that the ACA would fail. And, she benefitted from having debate questions leaked to her by DNC Vice Chair Donna Brazile through TV One moderator Roland Martin, giving her yet another unfair edge over Bernie in the primaries.
If the polls don’t change over the next two weeks, Hillary Clinton will move back into the White House, this time as the most unpopular and most mistrusted commander-in-chief in history. Hillary IS who we thought she was. The question is: will she continue to be who we think she is over the next four years?
Hillary: She IS Who We Thought She Was
Ten years ago this month, the late Dennis Green, at the time head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, went on a now-legendary post-game rant about his team’s loss to the powerful Chicago Bears. Asked by a reporter why the Cardinals lost, Green replied emphatically, “The Bears ARE what we thought they were.” Truth is, Coach Green had always suspected how dominant the Bears were, but it took tangible evidence to confirm his worst fears.
It’s been the same way with how many of us view Hillary Clinton. For years we’ve suspected that she was dishonest, deceptive, duplicitous, and devious, but only recently have those suspicions been validated. Thanks to a series of books, articles, and leaked emails, we now have a more accurate depiction of how the former Secretary of State operates, or to paraphrase Coach Green, we now know “Hillary IS who we thought she was.” What follows are just a few of the many indicators and instances.
“DUPLICITY”
During the Democratic primary debates, Senator Bernie Sanders repeatedly called on Ms. Clinton to release the text of her private speeches to Wall Street fat cats. Bernie claimed that those speeches, each of which Hillary received $225,000 to make, would prove that his opponent is an advocate for the very same bankers and speculators who had caused the great recession, and cost millions of people their savings, homes, and jobs. Turns out that Bernie’s suspicions were right on the money (pardon the expression). Thanks to a Wikileak email dump earlier this month, we now know that Hillary professed two disparate sets of beliefs – one when she appeared at public rallies, and the other when speaking privately to her Wall Street buddies. Publicly Ms. Clinton claimed to be a champion of us little people, and she bragged about how tough she had been, and would continue to be on greedy Wall Street executives. Privately she was telling Goldman Sachs and other financial industry folks, that she couldn’t relate to the “struggles” of the middle class. She even suggested that the big banks should self-regulate. And, she told one group that the pressure on government officials to divest themselves of assets had become “onerous.” No doubt Hillary is a multi-tasker and can do two things at one time, but who knew she could also face two different directions at the same time.
“BERNIE BAITING”
According to the latest batch of leaked emails, Hillary expected that Elizabeth Warren would oppose her in the primaries. Instead it was Bernie Sanders who answered the call, and that caught the Clinton camp off-guard. They were unprepared for just how fast Bernie’s movement caught fire, especially among young people and first-time voters. But Bernie also appealed to disenfranchised people of both parties who were still struggling from the recession. Gradually Ms. Clinton was forced to move her public positions to the left in order to stop the erosion of her liberal base, and to the right in order to hold the middle class. She softened her position on NAFTA and disavowed her previous support for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the former of which had killed over a million jobs, and the latter of which promised more of the same. The problem is that her pandering strategy wasn’t working. But thanks to Wikileaks, we now know that Hillary and then DNC chief Debbie Wasserman Shultz were so worried about Bernie, that several DNC staffers devised a plan to smear the Vermont Senator, a man who Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta disdainfully referred to as a “doofus”. The biased DNC also scheduled primary debates for nights in which television viewers weren’t viewing. And, behind the scenes, Ms. Shultz arranged to appoint Clinton delegates to chair nearly all of the convention committees. But the leaked emails also show that in order to keep Bernie from bolting the party, Hillary “threw him a bone” by including some of his policy positions into the party platform, with no intention of acting on them after November 8. As president, she may come to regret her treatment of Sanders, who, if Dems take the Senate, could prove to be a thorn in her side as chairman of the budget committee.
“EMAIL SERVERS”
Earlier this year, FBI director James Comey concluded his investigation of Hillary’s use of private email servers to transmit classified documents. While he criticized the former Secretary of State for reckless mishandling of government materials, he did not recommend prosecution. That was then and this is now. First of all, Hillary and her minions erased over 30,000 emails which might have allowed Comey to reach a different conclusion, and second, a new batch of emails have been recently leaked which prove that Hillary and her staff ran a “pay for play” operation and tried to obstruct justice. At one point, Clinton tells her staff that Qatar is a major funder of ISIS, then turns around and accepts a $25 million donation from that nation to her family’s foundation. And, late last week another leaked email shows a disturbing $12 million transaction between Mrs. Clinton and Morocco. We also learned from other leaks that after Hillary received a subpoena for all of her emails, her Under Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy offered a bribe to an FBI agent in exchange for declassifying a key Benghazi document. The quid pro quo never materialized, but Kennedy’s attempt was criminal in itself. It’s no wonder that Hillary wanted multiple private servers in her home, away from the scrutiny of prying eyes. Unfortunately for her, collateral emails from her staff have now surfaced, giving us a clearer picture of why she sought such privacy.
These, of course, are only a few of Hillary’s many transgressions which have recently come to light. Others include her 2008 strategy to attack then Senator Obama for being a Muslim, a coke head, and for advocating gay adoptions. She also believed that the ACA would fail. And, she benefitted from having debate questions leaked to her by DNC Vice Chair Donna Brazile through TV One moderator Roland Martin, giving her yet another unfair edge over Bernie in the primaries.
If the polls don’t change over the next two weeks, Hillary Clinton will move back into the White House, this time as the most unpopular and most mistrusted commander-in-chief in history. Hillary IS who we thought she was. The question is: will she continue to be who we think she is over the next four years?