End of last week, The Washington Post had a story headlined, “Clinton’s team went from nonchalant to nervous over e-mail controversy.”
An anti-Clinton video from the America Rising PAC helps illustrate, in a visceral way, why that might be. Imagine you’re a Clinton campaign staffer, and feel your guts tighten up as you watch.
The video was brought to my attention by Jennifer Rubin, who described it this way:
New AR PAC Video: “Failed Leadership” https://t.co/BTwQMc55zh Umm, pretty harsh … cause it’s true
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) August 17, 2015
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Has there been ANYONE who has come out publicly to defend Hillary’s email situation? I mean aside from attacking the people who talk about it?
Who are all, of course, part of her “vast right-wing conspiracy,” right?
Among her staff, she probably says “vast right-wing conspiracy” with the same tone with which Dr. Evil says “Austin Powers”…
I like the way The Fix called her on her sad attempt to pin the controversy on Republicans, which can’t possibly work except on the kind of blind Clintonistas who still think Obama stole the 2008 nomination:
A month or so ago in one of my comments on bradwarthen.com, I had predicted Hillary would:
1- Drop her run for presidency for “health” reasons, and;
2- Characteristically criticize one of her campaign advisors.
At this point I am relishing the odds that both come to pass!
Agree. I have felt for some time that at some point health concerns will catch up to her.
I hope that’s not true. I had rather her just fail flat out. But I keep having that thought.
Most serious opinions I’ve read say this isn’t a ‘scandal’.This could happen to any politician…
So much for Brad’s ‘bipartisanship’
“Most serious opinions I’ve read say this isn’t a ‘scandal’”
Is that right? Whatcha been readin’?
I’d love to see some people from the intelligence community try to defend putting classified information on an UNCLAS system and having the server for that system stored in a bathroom.
Hillary put our foreign policy in the crapper, quite literally. 🙂
I guess the FBI, the NY Times, and the Washington Post are all now part of the vast right-wing conspiracy.
This is just getting worse and worse. I was actually astounded that Hillary made the Snapchat joke at the Iowa State Fair.
Hello Iowa! I may have compromised national security, ha, ha! Isn’t that hilarious!
This woman is under FBI investigation, and she’s out there making jokes.
But she’s on Snapchat! She’s with it! She’s hip!
I thought of this scene from 30 Rock:
you sound like a playground bully,and maybe
One of the commentators on MSNBC that was in the crowd when she made that remark said that several high profile behind the scenes Democratic boosters were not happy at all with her comment.
Hillary Clinton is a master at flying her platform right into the deck.
Why am I not surprised that Brad puts up and supports an anti-Hillary video by a Republican PAC. I’ve heard plenty of Democrats criticize her use of the email server, including a staffer who called it a dumb move. There is plenty of money available to promote anti-Hillary pieces and campaigns. Republican and libertarian oriented groups will attack anybody they think can take or keep power out of their hands. Personal destruction and attacks are their key approach (Dating back to Harry Dent). They use wedge issues and attack strategies to win because their positions on issues are weak and often hidden. This isn’t about security. It’s about whatever will give the Republicans control over tax policy, environmental and energy policy, labor issues, education policy, and the ability to control the Supreme Court.
On a fundamental level, it’s about the hubris of someone who doesn’t believe that they have to follow the same rules as everyone else.
Compare and contrast to how Madeleine Albright handled security at the State Department:
Harry, I’m pretty sure that this is first and foremost a question of whether or not Hillary Climton is fit to be President of the United States. Her actions, her straight up deceptiveness, would themselves argue against her fitness for office. Whatever Rublicans have to say about her is of tertiary importance at best.
I would be pleased to have a tightly contested general election. I want to see strong candidates. Which is why Hillary needs to step off the stage – and quickly.
I don’t support Hillary at this point, and it’s over a number of reasons related to policy and her coziness with the Wall Street money machine. If you think this email server attack is anything other than an attempt to bring down the Democrat most likely to keep the monied interests from controlling all three branches of our government, you haven’t been watching. Benghazi didn’t float. This is just another attack angle. Remember the spurious attacks on Obama? Birth certificate, communist ties, his former pastor, myriad false health care claims, phony emails galore. What factually accurate policy statement have you heard from any Republican candidate other than Bush or Kasich? Those two are using right-wing catch-phrases most of the time out of fear of their own right wing. Brad adamantly claims to be a moderate, but constantly makes loaded derogatory remarks about Clinton and Sanders without any apparent familiarity with their actual positions on issues. Believe this. There will be somewhere near 2 billion dollars (more if necessary) spent – over half of it by spurious groups, to defeat anyone who can keep the Republicans from complete control of federal policy. If they can get you asking the wrong questions (and they have the money to do that), they don’t have to worry about the answers.
The basic difference between you and me, Harry, is that for you it’s between Hillary and someone to the left of her. For me, it’s between Hillary (or some other relative center-left type, although as The Fix noted today, it’s really late for that to happen, with Biden or anyone else) and some center-right Republican. Both in terms of my preferences, and in terms of my perception of political reality, regardless of what I want.
This makes for some cognitive separation between us, when we perceive a situation such as this.
I consider your reply a mischaracterization. I like Sanders on bank and financial regulation, income and labor issues. I like Webb on some foreign policy (occupation stuff) and criminal justice reform. I like Clinton on most health care, and Sanders on Social Security more than Clinton. I’m to the “right” of most Republican candidates on holding parents responsible for helping their kids learn good discipline. I just favor the bully pulpit over heavy-handed laws. I like Biden especially on face-to-face governance, seeking common ground, and consensus-building. If he were to run, the same groups (including Ms Rubin) would attack him as a plagiarist and gaffe master and refer to him as a “third Obama term.”
You just don’t seem to me to understand the agenda of the “center right.” There are no center right Republicans who dare to raise their heads without homage to the right-wing power-brokers.
Sure, and Democrats never mentioned anything about Mitt Romney or John McCain except specific policy disagreements. Both sides are equally adept at trashing the other side over trivial matters. Just wait until Bernie gets a little closer to Hillary – the Clintonistas will start firing away at him. There is plenty of opposition material waiting to be unleashed whomever the Republican candidate may be.
“Equally?” There’s that same erroneous argument. There’s blame on both sides, but no where near equal. What personal attacks have you seen from Sanders? Where has the Hillary “machine” been busy on issues other than policy” My biggest exasperation with Democratic candidates has been when they try to out-Republican or out-negative the Republicans. Negative campaigning has been a successful tactic to suppress voter turnout for years. Low turnout favors Republicans.
Sanders has had no reason to blister Hillary – YET.
That will obviously change if things continue and if he thinks at some point he has a serious chance to win – even Democratic talkers on TV have said as much.
you’re uninformed and should not be allowed to vote…
And, as I explained, the thing that struck me was the way this anti-Hillary video complemented the story in the Post about how staff in the Clinton campaign have gone from dismissive to nervous about the email thing. When you see it laid out the way it is in the video, you can see how they might be worried at this point.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some Clinton staffer, on viewing the attack video, thinks, “This is exactly like the nightmare reel running in my head.” But not out loud.
So, since all this was going through MY head, Harry should indeed NOT be surprised that I shared it. Of course, the way he says it, it sounds like I’m anti-Hillary, or anti-Democrat. When the thing is, I’m neutral. These are the kinds of observations you get from someone who’s not on board with any of these people…
In fact, if you look at it statistically, there’s probably an even or better chance I’ll end up voting for Hillary — if she stops screwing up, and if you believe the current polls, which show a number of unacceptable Republicans having a shot at the nomination.
That’s been my thinking from early on. But then she starts with the Queen of Darkness stuff trying to control every aspect of her universe, and well, it’s problematic. And it increases the odds on the Republican side: It makes it doubly important that they come up with someone normal, which is often hard for Republicans….
I love this video and feel a little bit sorry for her at the same time.
2008 was “supposed” to be her year and then comes Obama. So she waits her time, beefs up her resume. From 2012 until she announced this year, she was basically crowned, every pundit, every talking head said 2016 was her year. Then comes Trump and this controversy she created herself.
She’s sneaky and would never get my vote, but man what a decade for her.
Time for my guy Joe Biden to jump in…especially since my current choice (Jim Webb) has decided to enter the witness protection program. Ugh….
The vast right wing conspiracy continues to spin its webs to deceive the public about the Clintons. Given the horrors we had to endure during the last GOP presidency it’s apparent their strategy is to continue the attacks in order to deflect the public’s attention away from the failed policy of their party. And people continue to buy into it. Unbelievable.
Are the FBI and the NY Times part of the vast right wing conspiracy?
Are you okay with government officials putting classified information on unclassified systems?
By the way, if your position is: “Hillary could not have violated United States Government classified handling policies and laws” please say so up front so we don’t pretend to debate.
Video from a Hillary Clinton supporters talking points dissemination meeting:
Yes, all those vets at the Bush rally. Seriously, guys, because his brother just made a lot more of you, way too many of whom are badly maimed, homeless, jobless….
It’s pretty sad that in 2015, Hillary Clinton might be the best the Democrats can offer. She is someone that many people believe is simply incapable being ethical and honest.
and of course, that’s also obvious with someone like Donald Trump too.
Where in the world are the classy, main stream, reasonable candidates and why won’t they run?
Hillary is pretty mainstream. Just not terribly high in the integrity department.
I wish Al Gore could be elected again.
Mainstream in that she hasn’t driven a car in two decades? She has no connection to common people.
I don’t consider her mainstream. She’s not extreme by any means- but not mainstream either.
She’s not trustworthy – as really every pol- and common sense -suggests.
There are mainstream people out there. But they don’t have the money, connections, or name recognition to get anywhere.
It’s funny to see otherwise rational, smart people defend someone like Hillary so strongly. Same goes for otherwise smart and rational people trying to defend Donald Trump.
I would prefer Bernie Sanders or Governor O’Malley over Hillary but she’s still a bit better than any of the Repugs, except maybe John Kasich.
Politicians in a two-party system will never be honest or have ‘integrity’.Wise up.