The New War on Hillary - Newsweek

[applegrove]

The New War on Hillary

Newsweek (left); Jonathan Torgovnik for Newsweek
Old Habits Die Hard: Hillary-hating is a longtime tradition for some. Ms. Clinton in September 1991 (left) and this month

By Jonathan Darman and Mark Hosenball
Newsweek

June 18, 2007 issue - "Some grudges just don't die. In the 1990s, David Bossie worked tirelessly as an investigator for Rep. Dan Burton's government-reform committee. Burton was a top-echelon antagonist to Bill and Hillary Clinton, leading wide-ranging investigations of Whitewater and campaign finance. All the digging didn't amount to much: six years after the Clintons left the White House, Burton is a little-heard-from member of the minority party and Hillary Clinton is the front runner to be the Democrats' nominee for president in 2008.

But Bossie is still working away. In recent months, he has returned to investigating the Clintons, this time for a tough documentary scheduled for release in theaters this fall. One of the documentary's key potential audiences: a new generation of voters who don't remember the old Clinton wars. He points out that someone who is 18 today was "4 years old when the travel-office scandal broke." These young voters, he predicts, will be hungry for Hillary dirt, new and old. "There's an enormous market for Hillary Clinton information," he tells NEWSWEEK. Other inveterate Hillary hounders agree. R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr., the editor of The American Spectator who has authored multiple books on what he sees as the Clintons' sins, says there are "active research teams" looking into the New York senator. "They're out there," Tyrrell tells NEWSWEEK. "I get calls all the time."

If Clinton is worried about the new dirt-digging efforts, she isn't showing it. When two much-anticipated biographies dropped into bookstores last week, her campaign dismissed them as "old news" and "cash for rehash." Indeed, while the books provide detailed, often harsh, accounts of Clinton's White House and Senate career, they lack sexy details about Hillary, her husband and their marriage.

For all the charges through the years, none has ever stuck. Arguably the most-investigated woman in contemporary American life moved from tabloid target in the White House to winning a Senate seat in one of the nation's most contentious states. It's her resilience and capacity to survive and thrive against all comers that partly fuels the haters' fury.

........SNIP"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19140629/site/newsweek/

[Nikki Stone1]

1. So if the base doesn't bring her down, the general election will?

Great....

:eyes:

[applegrove]

2. I think she has handled the latest two books really well. She is already

so investigated. I think kinks in her armour only serve to humanize her.

[Nikki Stone1]

4. Let's hope so

Whether she wins the primary or not, the last thing I want is to sit through another year of Whitewater allegations (for the umpteenth time) and Monica jokes.

[lyonn]

10. Not a Big Hillary fan here, but...

The more the bunch from the impeachment era hack on her the more defensive I feel. They are pure scum. Bernstein's book appears to be real trash with info that Hillary already talked about in her book. She has character that the repubs only dream of. My take is that she does have a good grasp of foreign affairs. She understands the health care problem, etc. I plan to re-read her book. When it first came out I was more into her views on the world and how she viewed it. Didn't get too excited about her childhood, etc. My concern now is whether, in the meantime, she has become beholden to the corporations???

[greyghost]

34. I'm not a big...

Hillary fan either but the more they attack her the more she becomes a lock to win it all.

May whatever god they believe in help them if she becomes president.
She is smart enough to have them destroyed FOR her and she will.:evilgrin:

[sendero]

58. I agree..

... I'm NOT an HRC fan, I hope someone else gets the nom.

That said, the public sees this ridiculous vendetta for what it is. I don't think this stuff hurts her any more, only the wingnuts believe it, and merely makes her look above the fray.

I really think that, except for the drooling 30% idiot-contingent, this attack crap is starting to piss people off.

[Fredda Weinberg]

3. The Lilliputians didn't bring Bill down, but they tried mightily

I prefer to see Hillary as battle-tested. We know the skeletons in her closet ... it's what's in the other candidates' that worries me.

[Nikki Stone1]

5. Anyone's closet in particular?

?

[Fredda Weinberg]

8. I don't know Barak Obama well - I feel more comfortable with

someone who's been through the right wing cabal with her dignity intact.

[ShortnFiery]

6. She's not Bill and down she will come, either within the primaries or the GE.

"I prefer to see Hillary as battle-tested."

In addition to being burned-out by the coveted use of WAR analogies, I prefer that HRC would just kindly *go away.* I'm totally through with the thought of either a Clinton or Bush Dynasty within OUR Executive Branch. :shrug:

[Fredda Weinberg]

7. A spouse does not a dynasty make ... and I've seen nothing about

Chelsea going into politics.

You may be burned out, but I'm impressed by the way Hillary's managed her profile in the Senate ... remember those who thought she couldn't work well with others? The consensus in my state is that she's done a good job and enjoys popular support. We don't want her to *go away*, thank you.

[ShortnFiery]

17. America was partially founded due to ROYALTY demanding perpetual rule.

America SHED ROYALTY when we declared independence - that includes dynasty and political royalty. Yes, HRC is part of the Clinton Dynasty.

However, continue to shove HRC down our throats in order to make her the nominee. That is a sure way for the Democratic Party to lose The White House, i.e., she's a lightening rod.

[ElizabethDC]

18. If the founding fathers were so against having members of the same family elected president

they probably would have put it in the Constitution. After all, with John Adams and John Quincy Adams both holding the presidency, it wouldn't exactly have been an unheard-of concept in the U.S.'s early years.

[ShortnFiery]

19. It doesn't make it right. So many Americans are sick of both The Bush and Clinton families.

HRC will either lose in the primaries or in the general election, but the American People are SICK of these families ruling the White House. ;)

[ElizabethDC]

21. Well, if they're sick of it, then they can vote against them

but don't speak for all of the American people. I know plenty of people who would love to have another Clinton in the White House and, God help me, I know plenty of people who would love to see Jeb Bush as President, too (these aren't the same people, obviously.)

[ShortnFiery]

25. I hope you learn that I'm right in the primaries, but if you have to learn in the general election

perhaps we can PURGE the "DLC corporate loving elements" out of our beloved Democratic Party once and for all? The foregoing is the only upshot to what many of us believe, heart and soul, is the inevitable. :(

The DLC has selected our Democratic Presidential nominees since Bill Clinton first ran. There will NOT ever be another "big dog" and I wish that those who are not in love with Corporate Rule could reach that realization during the primaries? :shrug:

[ElizabethDC]

27. Well, that's a totally different argument from the dynasty argument

are we talking family dynasties or political dynasties? Are you against electing Hillary because she's (legally)related to someone who was president, or because of the DLC? I realize you can hold both positions, but they're separate lines of argument, IMO.

[ShortnFiery]

29. No, I won't split hairs with you. We each have our views. n/t

[loyalsister]

64. It seems that the comfort level has never run high

There was reluctance to elect John Q. Adams. That was one of the closer elections in history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election%2C_1824

[Fredda Weinberg]

24. You feel I'm shoving? You may be too sensitive for politics

I'll take another eight years of Clinton ... and without an heir apparent, this will be the end of the lineage. I don't know about you, but to me, they were always a team and I always felt she was the stronger member.

A lightning rod? Again, I don't know about you, but I consider that invention one of the great civilizing influences, freeing those of us who choose to live in urban centers from fear of lightning-started fires.

The rod is meant to take multiple hits - and remain standing. A great metaphor for someone who's already proved her critics underestimate her - remember the predictions about her run in NY?

[ShortnFiery]

26. I'm sick of dynasties and I'm not alone. You may be too shameless in deflecting attention? ;)

[Fredda Weinberg]

32. I can be shameless when my personal interests aren't involved

I didn't enjoy handing out flyers when Hillary first ran for Senator ... but there I was, at the Puerto Rican day parade, Gay Pride day - had to be done. We could help get her elected, but she had to lower her profile, work well with others and earn the respect of my state's electorate. Her re-election demonstrated that her aspirations are in accordance with our own.

You're certainly not alone, but your opinion represents a minority where Hillary has served well. That should carry weight, even among those who fear her adversaries.

[ShortnFiery]

36. Then you must be part of The Investor Class - They are destine to be well served by Rs and HRC. n/t

[Fredda Weinberg]

57. Nope, I work for an honest living n/t

[William769]

23. There goes that meme again.

:eyes:

[ShortnFiery]

28. It's an honest appraisal that can not be denied. It is far from a cry in the wilderness. n/t

[William769]

31. It's a meme and it's shit, plain and simple.

But then again thats all that some people have to offer.

[ShortnFiery]

35. Oooh, use the derogative term "shit" ... how very elegant of you?

:eyes:

[William769]

48. Why thank you.

I call it what it is.

[ShortnFiery]

49. You're welcome. You do call it what you THINK it is ... IMO, you think wrong. n/t

[William769]

50. Well Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

[ShortnFiery]

52. another Pearl of Wisdom?

Bravo. :eyes:

[William769]

53. Yep,

You look so cute when you roll your eyes. :rofl:

[aquart]

30. Thanks for the RW talking point.

Job well done.

[greyghost]

37. She lacks...

Bill's charisma but she more then makes up for it with her intellect and ruthlessness. In short, she will destroy ANYONE in her way.

[ShortnFiery]

38. Oh, another WAR anology for HRC ... "She will destroy ... she is battle tested" Arrgh! n/t

[greyghost]

41. Battle tested?

You obviously haven't paid attention to this lady. She has always been the BALLS of the outfit.:evilgrin:

[ShortnFiery]

45. Her swagger disgusts me. As a former Army Officer I did not have to exude testosterone and

boisterous "male-type" aggressive behavior to glean respect.

I was part of the "Hillary, our First Lady" fan club in the nineties. However, this *lady* has morphed into a distasteful and somewhat warmongering persona that I can NOT even compare to the HRC I knew in the 1990s. :thumbsdown:

[Toots]

63. You remind me of an officer

There was not a one that was trustworthy IMO They all lived by the code of CYA and if you think you were respected by your underlings with the attitude you have you must be a close relation to Bush*. You share the same mentality, IMO Your arrogance is unbelievable..

[jefferson_dem]

61. Agreed. The public is "so over" the Booossh-Clinton dynasty...Time for new leadership.

:bounce:

[Totally Committed]

9. I resent being lumped in with "haters" from the 90's just because I have legitimate concerns

about Mrs. Clinton. Her "resilience and capacity to survive" has underpinnings of support from K-Street, the DLC, lots and lots of corporations, and other quarters -- all of which I find disturbing and objectionable.

I have genuine concern about her positions on war vs. peace, poverty vs. wealth, and feel she comes up with these positions, not because of a moral stance, but out of her ambition to WIN, sometimes at all costs. Her willingness to triangulate to the Right, and go for fellow Dem's throats leads to a distrust that I can't shake. And, having Bill, a former POTUS out as a whip amongst the people is just not right. Traditionally, no former POTUS has endorsed or campaigned for a candidate ahead of the primaries. This concerns and offends the democrat (small "d") in me.

It's obvious who the MSM wants us to "nominate", and I just refuse to go there with them.

TC

[election_2004]

11. New York is one of the "most contentious states"....???

Yeah, because we all know how easily social conservatives are elected statewide in New York...
:sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

12. Dan Burton? Man, that name strikes a chord among Hoosiers!

Burton has quite a long rap sheet in shady deals. He sure has a lot of room to talk about other people.

[JNelson6563]

13. I used to be a BIG Hillary fan

My not being a fan anymore has absolutely nothing to do with the reich-wing hate-campaign against her. She lost me with her IWR speech. I felt personally betrayed. Heartbroken.

She's yet to win me back.

Julie

[Bitwit1234]

14. Again and again the reason republicans hate Hillary and Bill Clinton

BILL CLINTON BEAT DADDY BUSH WHEN HE RAN FOR RE-ELECTION.
The republicans thought they had a sure thing. And when Bill Clinton beat bush they went ballistic and have never gotten over it.

[applegrove]

15. The GOP will unleash hell on whoever the candidate is. That they

try and unleash it in the next year I think shows how scared they are of her. I wonder if there will be such a campaign against Obama. I haven't seen it if there is one. I really think that Bernstein and the other author have done her a favour by publishing now. Big deal that there are details re: the trouble in her marriage. Big deal that she had a father who was verbally abusive. Many families were back in the 1950s.

[avrdream]

20. And Saddam Hussein tried to have daddy killed.....

and you see where THAT got him. :)

[greyghost]

39. Exactly...

Those who went after Bill because of that better pray to whatever god they believe in. Because Hillary is smarter and more ruthless then many men I've known. She will totally destroy them, one by one.

But hey, that's a good thing.:evilgrin:

[MasonJar]

16. How Indiana keeps electing scum like Burton would be hard to

imagine if I didn't live in Kentucky where Bunning and McConnell seem to survive despite their very unpleasant policies and personalities. Go get 'em, Hillary!

[Tellurian]

22. If anyone has a good reason to crush the cabal; it's the Clintons

and the reason they have my Trust and Faith to set this country straight! Next order of business, unleash the mother of all investigations on the neocons and gop and send them to hell permanently once and for all!

[ShortnFiery]

33. With respect, you and I must live in two very different Parallel Universes?

Look at how hubby goes jet setting with The King of Spooks and how he loved the passage of NAFTA?!?

Now do you honestly BELIEVE that "The Clintons" are really all that different with regard to the desire for a One World Order, than say, "The Bush Family?" With the foregoing in common, the odds of HRC seeing that justice is served on ANY member of the BushBotBorg IMO, is NIL. :shrug:

[Tellurian]

60. Yes, we must..

I'm a realist. Beating the BushBots will be no easy task. Neither of the other 2 candidates have ever tangled with the VRW. Gore didn't survive them and neither did Kerry. The only ones that have ARE the Clintons and they are preparing to take the bastards on again. They've learned from their last go round and are less likely to make the same mistakes again. They will not give a Republican their trust, as is one of the candidates welcoming Republicans into his camp.

But this doesn't make us enemies, does it? I want what you want...when I get what I want, so do you..

[greyghost]

40. That's the best...

reason on earth to see that Hillary is elected.:evilgrin:

[SaveElmer]

42. The more the CLintons come out on top, the more over the top their opponents get...

The Clinton's are among a small handful of Democrats who don't fold like a cheap tent when under attack by the right wing sleaze machine...and that drives them into apoplectic fits of rage, so they go further...until inevitably they go to far, it backfires, the Clinton's end up more popular and more powerful than when the attack started...

I say the more outrageous the better!!!

[greyghost]

43. You have obviously...

been paying attention.

I'm amazed how many here fail to see it.

[applegrove]

44. You are right that they always come out on top. We will need someone like them to win in 2008.

Because the GOP will certainly unleash Rove on whomever is the Dem. candidate.

[ShortnFiery]

46. These times they are a - changing ... come into the light?

[ShortnFiery]

47. "I say the more outrageous the better!!!"

Bill Clinton was not ever alienated by his base. HRC will NOT score the base of the party's vote. This is a DIFFERENT TIME and it would be wise for those who long for the good ole' "big dog" days to realize it? :shrug:

[William769]

54. Polls disagree with you, but you already knew that.

[ShortnFiery]

55. Oh yes, those glorious M$M sponsored polls disagree with me. Understood.

:eyes:

[William769]

56. Ooooh, there goes them eyes again.

:rofl:

[SaveElmer]

59. Define the base...nt

[wyldwolf]

62. base? base?

:shrug:

[wyldwolf]

51. "her resilience and capacity to survive and thrive against all comers partly fuels the hate"

Yup. On the left and the right.