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In Hillary, "Democrats Are Making Suicidal Mistake"
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2016/05/the-democrats-are-making-a-suicidal-mistakeAs a report undermines her statements about the email server, and polls show Trump drawing even, the Clinton campaign is quickly becoming a disaster.
by NATHAN J. ROBINSON
Somewhat predictably, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has become a sinking ship. All of the lessons that should have been learned after her 2008 run failed so badly (that voters’ trust in her diminishes with each word she speaks, that her campaigns are woefully poorly run, that Bill is a liability) have been ignored, as the Democrats press forward with what looks like a doomed strategy.
Things were already looking bad when new polling showed that Trump had drawn even with Clinton, or was actually beating her (something Democrats have insisted is impossible). Now, the Inspector General for the State Department has released a report that contradicts large parts of Clinton’s story about her email server, which was already a highly troublesome and persistent issue.
The report hands the Trump campaign a powerful issue to deploy against Clinton. As the New York Times reported, it has numerous damning portions:
The inspector general found that Mrs. Clinton “had an obligation to discuss using her personal email account to conduct official business” with department officials but that, contrary to her claims that the department “allowed” the arrangement, there was “no evidence” she had requested or received approval for it… Department officials told the inspector general’s office that “Secretary Clinton never demonstrated to them that her private server or mobile device met minimum information security requirements,” the report said. The report also criticized Mrs. Clinton for not adhering to the department’s rules for handling records under the Federal Records Act once she stepped down in January 2013… The rules governing emails under previous secretaries were, the report said, “very fluid.” By the time Mrs. Clinton came to office, however, they were “considerably more detailed and sophisticated,” spelling out the “obligation to use department systems in most circumstances and identifying the risks of not doing so.”
The Clinton campaign quickly released a statement arguing that the report had in fact exonerated her of wrongdoing. But even the Times, whose Clinton coverage is generally extremely sympathetic (they are the paper, after all, that went back and re-edited a news piece about Bernie Sanders to avoid making it seem too complimentary), seemed unable to stomach this attempt to twist the report’s findings. The Times makes clear that the Clinton campaign’s response to the report ranges from distortion and omission to at least one outright lie. Clinton’s statement insists that “As this report makes clear, Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email was not unique.” But as the Times replies, the report actually indicates that “Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email and server stored in her home was, in fact, unique.” Thus the Clinton campaign has responded to the report by simply pretending it says something other than what it actually says.
This is a useful exemplification of a disturbing recurrent Clinton trait: responding to criticisms that she has lied by telling… even more lies, thus causing the whole thing to degenerate further down into disaster.
58 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Isn't there a brewing kerfuffle on talk:Jimbo that you need to go attend to, Jim? 
I'm the one here supporting the actual Democratic presidential candidate, while you still continue to push the also-ran. You still have precisely 14 days to get this out of your system though, til the admins drop the hammer on the attacking of Democratic candidates.
Having lost the primary, is is the weaker candidate.
By all means keep trying though, I have plenty of time.
You can spin your way out of that however you like, but no one really cares. 
That's all we need, and your candidate have no means of overcoming that.
You can engage in endless pedantry, or you can win. I know which road I took.
It will be Hillary vs. Trump in the fall. You can do Pedant Olympics all you like while I and most others engage in the reality of the election.
Consider this the "last word". 
I will vote down ballot and otherwise will simply be a spectator, tailgating the GE in my lawn chair with popcorn and margaritas.
