Friday, October 14, 2016

Let me play devil's advocate

To be clear, I am not a fan of Donald Trump running around saying he want's to "jail" Hillary Clinton. I think it is nonconstructive at this point, and not very good politics. Even if he did plan on assigning a special prosecutor to investigate the State Department if he became President, I think he would be much better off keeping that to himself.

That being said, I do believe this is "another" example of faux overreaction that seems to follow Trump around like a cloud. Whether it be haters from the left (everyone), or the critics of the right (Krauthammer)... these criticisms are not very logical, for no other reason that a President has no such authority to "jail" anyone without due process.

More to the point, I do not find the idea that an incoming President might assign an independent investigator to investigate the dealings of the previous Administration to be that crazy of an idea. In fact, in this specific case I believe it would be a very, very good idea.

Let me explain.

From Watergate to Whitewater to Iran Contra to Valerie Plame... pretty much every major political scandal that involved possible legal issues for someone who worked in the Administration or other political arm has been assigned to a Special Prosecutor. The only exceptions have been the IRS and State Department scandals coming from the Obama Administration. In those two cases, it was determined that they would handle them "in house". This is where I take issue.

The reality is as much is it would be abuse of power to use the DOJ and FBI to frivolously investigate  your political opponents, it constitutes an equal abuse of power to use the DOJ and FBI to protect people "from" legal peril. A vast majority of Americans believe that Hillary Clinton and those working for her broke the law. There are almost "no" credible legal experts left who still to this day do not see laws being broken. The idea that you can get away with criminal behavior if your "side" controls the White House (thus controls the DOJ and FBI) is far worse in my mind than someone being criminally investigated by someone independent of the politics.

Moreover, the idea of retain power (or staying in power) is akin to determining innocence or guilt is the modern day version of "trial by combat".  There is a reason we no longer believe that "might makes right".

In other words, when it comes to legal questions surrounding politicians, I believe that other politicians and political appointees (including the Attorney General) should stay the hell out of it. In all cases. these investigations should be handled by Independent prosecutors.
.

The truth is that all of this would have been avoided had the President and Attorney General acted with the best intentions of the "Country" in mind, not with the best intentions of "Party" in mind. Had an Independent Prosecutor been assigned to the case, that investigation would have been infinitely more credible. Regardless of the findings in question, it would have been accepted my a much larger percentage of the population as legitimate. As it stands, almost nobody believes that the process was either independent, nonpolitical, or ultimately just.

While I understand that Gerald Ford "pardoned" Richard Nixon in an attempt to move the country on from Watergate, that situation was different. Nixon resigned his Presidency in disgrace. He didn't attempt to hold his Presidency and run for reelection.

The idea that the new norm will be for future Administrations to handle these investigations "in house" rather than through Special Independent Investigations does not take us in the correct direction as a Country.  Too many people feel that Clinton and her aides were shielded from legal consequences. Appointing an Independent investigator to look into everything (including the DOJ and FBI's handling of the situation) might be painful short term. But it would provide an important long term check to future Presidents, and encourage them to do what's right and make sure Independent Prosecutors are allowed to do what the law created them to do.    

72 comments:

opie said...

Even your buddy krauthammer has figured out what people like you ignore....You and trump sound like a third world dictator with crap like this. Please CH, defend that this is just free speech.... Idiot

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-not-the-locker-room-talk-its-the-lock-her-up-talk/2016/10/13/9dd5fbea-9172-11e6-9c85-ac42097b8cc0_story.html?utm_term=.df86fa051610

KD, Still wainting on HOPE and CHANGE said...

"Her argument is going to be that 'I'm the experienced Washington hand,' and my argument is going to be that we need to change the ways of Washington," he said. "That's going to be a good choice for the American people."


Who said the above obimbo or Trump?

Commonsense said...

Opie, she's an unindicted criminal.

If she didn't have friends in high places, she would be in jail right now.

Myballs said...

Maybe he should use the term frog march. Then the left would accept it.

Commonsense said...

Remember when the media wanted Karl Rove and Dick Cheney frogmarched to jail?

Good Times.

opie said...

Commonsense said...
Opie, she's an unindicted criminal.

And you are an uneducated cultist, trumps base. LOL

Another lying accuser has stepped forward.....I remember I wanted cheney frog marched to jail. Not sure if the media said those words. Got a link????

Anonymous said...


good post, but your last paragraph ignores one very important point -

as a nation we have a government that operates under two sets of rules - one for the GOP and one for democrats. had nixon been a democrat (even though he governed like one) he would have finished out his term without incident.

it's only under GOP administrations that we engage special prosecutors. and in some cases for no good reason at all. see: libby, scooter.

the future administrations you cite will continue to handle criminality like they always have - and this doesn't change as long as the media is 98% in the tank for the left.

look at what is dominating the news cycle - trumps 'alleged' sexual harrassments.

look at what's being ignored - significant wikileaks revelations proving what i've always known to be true - democrats are a criminal enterprise masquerading as a political party.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

State Poll Roundup: Friday

Here are the latest state polls from the presidential race:

New Hampshire: Clinton 41%, Trump 38%, Johnson 11% (WBUR)

New Hampshire: Clinton 45%, Trump 39%, Johnson 9% (UMass Lowell)

Texas: Trump 47%, Clinton 43%, Johnson 3% (SurveyUSA)

Indiana: Trump 45%, Clinton 41%, Johnson 9% (Monmouth)

Arizona: Clinton 43%, Trump 42%, Johnson 5% (Data Orbital)
___________________

Astounding that even Texas and Indiana are getting close, and that nd Clinton now leads (slightly) in Arizona.

Hillary 2016 said...

I am a Hillary Clinton voter. My sole reason that I am voting for her is because she has promised me and my kids free stuff for no work, just needs my vote to make it happen.

I vote, I don’t work, I win.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

'...on CBS this morning, Mike Pence said, "Donald Trump has asserted that all of these recent unsubstantiated allegations are categorically false and I do believe him." And he added, "Before the day is out there will be more evidence publicly that shows and calls into question these latest allegations."

'On the TODAY show, Pence also said the evidence would be "coming in frankly, probably in a matter of hours." NBC's Ali Vitali notes that this matches what Trump himself said yesterday.

'Will be interesting to see what comes out.'
______________________________________________

Yes, but we are STILL waiting...

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Nixon resigned his Presidency in disgrace. He didn't attempt to hold his Presidency and run for reelection.

Nixon won twice, 1968 and 1972. He resigned in 1974

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

The rest of your 500 word tirade is used to justify a violation of the rule of law and everything our nation stands for. We don't act like a third world nation and arrest our opponent who dared to run against him.

Anonymous said...

Dont become Argentina this is your last chance after 8 years of Obama cheap populism. Save yourself!!

Look at us after 12 years of this stupid populism by the criminal thief marriage, Nestor and Cristina Kirchner
The only thing that grown was the illegal inmigrant pregnant woman coming in trucks from Bolivia
And the people having children to ask for child support then use it to buy drugs (most of them having 8 to 14 children) of course non of them will ever work, and their children wont either
Increasing insecurity to levels of Ciudad Juarez Mexico or even worst, you just CANT GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE

I repeat save yourselves!!!!

Commonsense said...

'Will be interesting to see what comes out.'

Read all about it in the NY Post. A witness has come forward and has contradicted Leeds story.

He does confirm however, that Trump was on the flight.

I will have to admit that this man has an unsavory reputation but it's not a reputation for lying. Quite the contrary, all of his statement in the past have turned out to be true.

Like Leed's story, it needs independent verification.

Commonsense said...

The rest of your 500 word tirade is used to justify a violation of the rule of law ya da da ya da da

The rule of law was violated when Obama quash an indictment against Hillary.

With Obama, we've already descended into a third-world banana republic.

If your heart's desired is met, then the banana republic government will continue.

The only question is whether Clinton will be more like Eva Peron or Cristina Kirchner. I'm betting the latter.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Where is that promised concrete evidence that all those women are lying?

Pence must be feeling that he has been had. What he was promised and what he himself was foolish enough to promise has not appeared.
_______________

I just heard a radio announcer say that all those women reporting groping etc. are Hillary supporters. Not true. One of them plans to vote neither for Trump nor Hillary.

Go to electoral-vote.com and read the truth.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

6:08 Here is what one commentator thinks of your wonderful evidence, Commensa:

...Mike Pence did what he does best: clean up on aisle 10. He went on the morning news and assured the public and those long suffering Trump supporters that they had oodles of witnesses and credible information to show the world that all these women who have never met each other and have eerily similar stories are all just fame whores lying to take down a good and honest man.

This was their hero: Anthony Gilberthorpe

The NY Post published this article providing what they think is a credible witness.

This guy claims that he say across from Leeds and called the Trump campaign himself (cough cough asking for money) to share his "story" (lie).

He said: “I have only met this accuser once and frankly cannot imagine why she is seeking to make out that Trump made sexual advances on her. Not only did he not do so (and I was present at all times) but it was she that was the one being flirtatious."

He claims she was wearing a white pant suit and Trump had on a suit and cuff links. Quite an odd detail to remember, cuff links. Anyhow, Leeds herself said she was wearing a skirt.

This isn't Gilberthorpe first time being a fame hungry "reliable witness" who miraculously popped up just in time to insert himself in a political headline. Back in 2014 he claimed that as a 17 year old he helped "hire" underage boys for sex parties with high ranking British politicians.

Mind you, Gilberthorpe has zero evidence to back up his claim — just his self-described excellent memory. He is in his mid-50's now and has never met either Trump or Leeds and has no proof that he was even on the flight in question.
__________________
Pretty thin, isn't it, Commensa?

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

The response of two tweeters:

Kurt Eichenwald ✔ @kurteichenwald
Whether Trump's witness proves to be a nut or not, Trump just confessed he was on that plane beside that woman by putting the man forward.
__________________

southpaw @nycsouthpaw
The Trump campaign has brought forward perhaps the least credible witness in the history of man.

https://twitter.com/buzzfeedben/status/787096917016739840 …

Anonymous said...

We don't act like a third world nation and arrest our opponent who dared to run against him.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

uh, gin blossom?

running against him is not the crime.

the mount everest of other shit she did as sec state is the crime(s).

that's why she would be arrested.



Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Read electoral-vote.com

It is DAMNING.

Commonsense said...

Mind you, Gilberthorpe has zero evidence to back up his claim

Don't you just love the media's hypocrisy. Because that's the exact same case with Leeds and all the other Trump accusers.

They have zero evidence to backup their claim.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Commonsense said...

One tweet is true. As I have already pointed out Gilberthorpe testimony does put Trump on the plane with Leeds.

The second one is just an opinion. My opinion is that Gilberthorpe is no more nor is he less credible than Leeds.

It's real interesting how the media in going apeshit over this man, trying everything to destroy his credibility while they accept Leeds story a face value with no independent corroboration.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

As the tweeter above points out, Trump just admitted that he and the woman were together on the same plane. That is not zero evidence.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Apparently it is not the first time Gilberthorpe has tried to take advantage of a political situation to further his own questionable interests.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

AND politicalwire.com:

Trump’s Heated Rhetoric Has No Precedent

New York Times: “On Thursday and Friday alone, Mr. Trump unleashed a barrage of near-apocalyptic warnings about the potential destruction of the country, broad accusations about the illegitimacy of American democracy, and crude innuendo about his opponent that is almost without precedent in modern presidential history.

“He warned that Hillary Clinton was conspiring with financiers to destroy American sovereignty, claimed the fate of civilization depended on his victory and ridiculed the appearance of the one of the women accusing him of sexual harassment, while also deriding Mrs. Clinton’s looks and saying she ought to be in prison. He also said the presidential election amounted to ‘a big ugly lie.'

“While delighting his partisans, Mr. Trump’s rhetorical shooting spree has enraged Democrats and unnerved many Republicans, who believe he is acting out a political death wish.”

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

These women are coming forward to say that Trump has done exactly what he himself bragged about doing on that tape.

He is his own worse witness.

Commonsense said...

It only means Trump was on the Plane and we have a witness that confirms Trump did not act inappropriately towards this women.

So let's review the evidence.

We have Trump himself denying he acted inappropriately.

We have a witness who confirms Trump's story.

We have a woman accusing Trump of groping.
As of yet, there is no independent witness to verify her claim.

In a court of law, this case would be thrown out. You have an unsubstantiated accusation verses a denial and a witness confirmation.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

I repeat, we have numerous women confirming that Trump did what he himself bragged about doing on that tape.

You may as well give it up, Commensa. :-)

Commonsense said...

James said:

Apparently it is not the first time Gilberthorpe has tried to take advantage of a political situation to further his own questionable interests.


Just exactly what does Gilberthorpe have to gain by coming forward James?

Fame? He's already notorious in Great Britain.
Money? I don't think there's any evidence money has changed hands.

My feeling is that Gilberthorpe has nothing to gain and every reason to stay out of this media circus if he wasn't telling the truth.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Well, if he is such a credible witness, we will be hearing even more about this from the Trump campaign.

Why are they back pedaling?

Commonsense said...

I repeat, we have numerous women confirming that Trump did what he himself bragged about doing on that tape.

That means absolutely zero in court of law and not much more in the court of public opinion.

Get back to me when "these confirming women" have evidence to back up their claim.

The lesson of "Jackie" is not lost to these women. They know they can come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct against a man the media despises and have their story taken at face value.

And if they are later found out to be false or irrelevant, there is no penalty to pay.

Commonsense said...

Well, if he is such a credible witness, we will be hearing even more about this from the Trump campaign.

I think you've heard from them and who said they were back pedaling. Your friend Tannenbaum?

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Here's why:
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/10/gropegate-story-shattered-surprise-witness-unimpeachable-credibility

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Actually, Tannenbaum hasn't commeted on this, so far as I know. Mother Jones is laughing at you.

But look at this:
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/10/15/trump-witness-airline-groping-incident-serial-liar.html

Give it up, Commensa.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

In Case You Lost Count…

USA Today: “Twelve women came forward this week to allege sexual misconduct by Donald Trump in cases that echo the vulgar conduct he described in the 2005 Access Hollywood tape that surfaced last week. Trump has denied the stories and is threatening legal action against some of the news outlets.”
_____________

So is Trump saying he never did what he earlier bragged about doing?

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Why aren't you continuing to defend the integrity of Trump's witness, Commensa?

Myballs said...

The fact is this guy has exactly the same bucket of evidence that she has. But we're supposed to believe her and dismiss him. I call bullshit.

wphamilton said...

He should just borrow a few pages from the Clinton playbook. The reader will recognize all of these from various Clinton scandals:


It never happened
Where is your proof?
there are no criminal charges, so that's all old history
What difference does it make now?
Just let it go.
It's a conspiracy
Who knew that it might be illegal?
Groping isn't rape, so what's your problem?
It was all consensual, but it didn't happen.
Where did these women come from? Drag a 20 through a trailer park.
Might have had a mental short-circuit.

And of course the most often used of all:

I don't recall anything about that.

Commonsense said...

Why aren't you continuing to defend the integrity of Trump's witness, Commensa?

I was doing more important things, like golf.

But you might want to chew on this for awhile.

She said Trump lifted the center arm rest to grope her under her skirt. There are couple of problems with that statement.

1. There's testimony that she was wearing a white pant suit at the time, not a skirt.

2. The first class section of a 727 at the time has two seats per row with a large immovable center console between them.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

"...she was wearing a white pant suit at the time, not a skirt"
says Anthony Gilberthorpe -- a serial liar

"...it never happened. it was completely made up"
says Donald Trump -- a serial liar



Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

A MADMAN IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
--AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE

The Debasing of American Politics

The Economist: “The recording of him boasting about grabbing women ‘by the pussy’, long before he was a candidate, was unpleasant enough. More worrying still has been the insistence by many Trump supporters that his behavior was normal. So too his threat, issued in the second presidential debate, to have Hillary Clinton thrown into jail if he wins. In a more fragile democracy that sort of talk would foreshadow post-election violence. Mercifully, America is not about to riot on November 9th. But the reasons have less to do with the state’s power to enforce the letter of the law than with the unwritten rules that American democracy thrives on. It is these that Mr Trump is trampling over—and which Americans need to defend.

“If this seems exaggerated, consider what Mr Trump has introduced to political discourse this year: the idea that Muslims must be banned from entering the country; that a federal judge born of Mexican parents was unfit to preside over a case involving Mr Trump; that a reporter’s disability is ripe for mockery; that ‘crooked’ Mrs Clinton must be watched lest she steal the election.

“Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote that when many bad things happen at once, societies define deviancy down, until the list of what is unacceptable is short enough to be manageable. When parents wonder if a presidential debate is suitable for their children to watch, Mr Trump’s promise to build a wall on the Mexican border no longer seems quite so shocking.”

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

A MADMAN IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
---AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE...

How the GOP Came to Trump

Matt Taibbi:
“The party spent 50 years preaching rich people bromides like ‘trickle-down economics’ and ‘picking yourself up by your bootstraps’ as solutions to the growing alienation and financial privation of the ordinary voter. In place of jobs, exported overseas by the millions by their financial backers, Republicans glibly offered the flag, Jesus and Willie Horton.

“In recent years it all went stale. They started to run out of lines to sell the public. Things got so desperate that during the Tea Party phase, some GOP candidates began dabbling in the truth. They told voters that all Washington politicians, including their own leaders, had abandoned them and become whores for special interests. It was a slapstick routine: Throw us bums out!

“Republican voters ate it up and spent the whole of last primary season howling for blood as Trump shredded one party-approved hack after another. By the time the other 16 candidates finished their mass-suicide-squad routine, a tail-chasing, sewer-mouthed septuagenarian New Yorker was accepting the nomination of the Family Values Party.”

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

A MADMAN IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
---AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE...

Trump Making Up Polls to Show He Won Debate

Donald Trump said he “absolutely destroyed” Hillary Clinton in the last debate, citing “every online poll, even Time magazine,” a news outlet that is “not exactly in love with me,” CNN reports.

“A Time magazine spokeswoman confirmed that Time‘s web site did not conduct a ‘who won?’ survey after the debate.”

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

A MADMAN IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
---AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE...

Trump Campaign Severs Ties with Ohio GOP

“Donald Trump’s Ohio campaign manager on Saturday renounced its relationship with the Ohio Republican Party’s top official, laying bare the long-simmering tensions over Trump’s candidacy within the state GOP,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“The letter is a remarkable display of disunity between a GOP presidential campaign and the state party in Ohio, a key battleground state for Republicans, just 23 days before the election.”

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

A MADMAN IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
---AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE...

Trump Calls for Drug Tests Before Next Debate

Donald Trump says that both candidates should take a drug test before the third and final presidential debate during a rally in New Hampshire, CNN reports.

Said Trump: “I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate. I think we should. Why don’t we do that? We should take a drug test. Because I don’t know what’s going on with her, but at the beginning of her last debate she was all pumped up at the beginning and at the end it was like, uh, take me down.”

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Quote of the Day
“I will tell you that if the Republican Party does not evolve, the Republican Party is going to die.”
— Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), in an interview with Business Insider.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Clinton Takes No Satisfaction In Trump’s Actions

Hillary Clinton says she is taking “no satisfaction” in Donald Trump’s collapsing campaign, the AP reports.

Said Clinton: “This election is incredibly painful. I take absolutely no satisfaction in what is happening on the other side with my opponent. I am not at all happy about that because it hurts our country, it hurts our democracy, it sends terrible messages to so many people here at home and around the world."

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

In spite of Trump, but because of Obama,
"for the third consecutive year, the leadership of the U.S. earns the highest approval ratings among five major global powers."
--Gallup, today.

The lowest is held by Russia.

Commonsense said...

"...she was wearing a white pant suit at the time, not a skirt"
says Anthony Gilberthorpe -- a serial liar


There's no evidence Gilberthorpe is a serial liar. Quite the opposite.

You on the other hand have quite a reputation for unfounded character assassination as well as pedophilia.

KD, Voting for Hillary is stupid, is that clear said...

Said Clinton: “This election is incredibly painful. I take absolutely no satisfaction in what is happening on the other side with my opponent. I am not at all happy about that because it hurts our country, it hurts our democracy, it sends terrible messages to so many people here at home and around the world."

Proof, if she is talking she is lying.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Trump has been calling for jail for Clinton and denying the now nine women were subject to unsolicited sexual actions. And claiming that if he loses, President Hillary Rodham Clinton will be illegitimate. Birtherism on steroids.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

1:28
COMMENSA SAYS: There's no evidence Gilberthorpe is a serial liar. Quite the opposite.
______________

7:25AM and 7:28AM above show beyond all possibility of a doubt that Gilberthorpe is a serial liar.

Even the Trump campaign is no longer going there.

Only Commensa.

(Knee slapping funny.)

:-)

Commonsense said...

Yeah, sure James. Because Mother Jones is the final word in journalism. LAMO!!

Commonsense said...

Gee Roger in the entirety of your rant not one thing you mention had anything to do with birthism.

Typical of a mindless hack who doesn't think and has no material he can mindlessly repost.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

The TWO articles speak for themselves, Commensa. Keep touting Gilberthorpe as a reliable witness. I like it when your obsessions are so obvious.

Meanwhile---
_______________

Another Day, Another Trump Accuser

At the moment, women who say they have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump are identifying themselves on a daily basis. It's barely news anymore. The latest is Cathy Heller, who told her story to The Guardian (UK), which published it on Saturday. Heller says that she was visiting Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort 20 years ago while The Donald was present. When they crossed paths, he reportedly grabbed her without warning and forced a kiss upon her. This aligns pretty precisely with a statement Trump made in The Tape:
______________

You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait.
__________

It's highly unlikely that all of these women are all making it up out of whole cloth. Particularly problematic for Trump's claims that they're all lying is that nearly all of the accusers told their stories to friends and/or family at the time, and those individuals remember the incidents. In Heller's case, both a friend and a relative who were there on that day corroborated her claims. In fact, it was an e-mail from the friend, whose name is Susan Klein, that prompted Heller to come forward. "I keep thinking about how he treated you," Klein wrote. "Obviously not an isolated incident."

In any event, Heller brings the total number of accusers to roughly 12, if we include groping, kissing, and ogling of teenage girls in various states of undress. And there's no reason to believe that number won't continue to grow in the next week, particularly if Trump decides to double down on his non-apology at the third debate. (Bates)

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Hey, Donald, after bragging about it is a pretty poor time to claim you never did it.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Why Does Putin Oppose Clinton?

There is little doubt that Russia is trying to influence the presidential election, through friends at Wikileaks. The general presumption has been that Putin is motivated by his positive feelings for Donald Trump, since the two men have much in common in terms of personality, and since The Donald has signaled fairly passive intentions toward Russia, particularly as regards looking the other way as Putin acts on his territorial ambitions. However, as CNN's Frida Ghitis observes, Putin is just as motivated by his negative feelings for Hillary Clinton.

To start, the enmity between Putin and Clinton definitely has a personal dimension. When the Russian president secured his third term in 2011, he was met with widespread protests at home, particularly since the Russian constitution imposes a limit of two terms. Clinton, then Secretary of State, took the side of the protesters. Putin, showing a bit of his deeply-entrenched KGB paranoia, concluded that Clinton was not only supporting the protests, she was orchestrating them. That displeased him.

There is also, of course, a professional dimension to the Putin-Clinton enmity. Putin has not only grabbed territory in Ukraine, he has given clandestine support to right-wing political movements across Europe in hopes of destabilizing liberal democracies and expanding Russia's sphere of influence. President Obama has taken a fairly restrained approach to these provocations, trying (and failing) several times to make progress through diplomacy. Clinton has indicated her intention to use a firmer hand. We must, "confine, contain, [and] deter Russian aggression in Europe and beyond," she said in one speech. "I remain convinced that we need a concerted effort to really up the costs on Russia and in particular on Putin," she declared in another. She has also committed to a no-fly zone in Syria, which would serve to rein in the Russian military presence there. Putin is operating from a position of financial weakness, since the Russian economy is flailing and is dwarfed by that of the United States, so it comes as no surprise that he would turn to devious (and fairly low-cost) means to try and level the playing field. (Bates)
______________
Hate Clinton? Love Putin?

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

ABOUT THOSE WIKILEAKS JOHN PODESTA EMAILS---

...[A] notable part of Saturday's dump was an email discussing Juanita Broaddrick, who in 1999 accused Bill Clinton of raping her in 1978. The message is an aggregation of information related to the case, along with several attachments. AMONG THE ATTACHMENTS IS A 1998 AFFIDAVIT FROM BROADDRICK IN WHICH SHE DECLARES THAT CLINTON DID NOT ASSAULT HER (SHE CHANGED HER MIND A YEAR LATER, WHEN CONTACTED BY LEWINSKYGATE INVESTIGATOR KENNETH STARR).

The newly-leaked email does not propose any particular response or course of action, and in any event, the Clinton campaign said nothing whatsoever about Broaddrick until she appeared at last Sunday's debate. Even then, the candidate said only that Donald Trump is entitled to run his campaign in any way he wants, including bringing Broaddrick, et al. to the debate.

In short, if Wikileaks truly wants to hurt Clinton, then Saturday's releases better just be the palate cleanser before they serve up the really good stuff. Because if this is all they've got, then they are just tilting at windmills. (Bates)
___________
LOL

Commonsense said...

Don't think so.

By contrast, Juanita Broaddrick’s claim was supported by not one but five witnesses and a host of circumstantial (though no physical) evidence. Broaddrick’s colleague Norma Rogers, who was attending the conference in Little Rock with her, says she found Broaddrick in her hotel room crying and “in a state of shock” on the morning of the alleged assault, her pantyhose torn and her lip swollen. According to Rogers, Broaddrick told her that Bill Clinton had “forced himself on her.”

At the time, Broaddrick (then Juanita Hickey) was having an affair with David Broaddrick, who would become her second husband. David Broaddrick told Dateline NBC that he remembers Juanita’s arriving home with a swollen lip and telling him that she had been assaulted by Bill Clinton.

And three other friends — Susan Lewis, Louis Ma, and Norma Rogers’s sister Jean Darden — all maintain that Broaddrick told them about the rape, too. (Rogers and Darden stand by their stories but have pointed out that they have an apparent conflict of interest: As governor, Clinton commuted the life sentence of the man who murdered their father.)

Two small details lend particular credence to Broaddrick’s story. First, the lip. In 1998, after previously denying any such rumors, actress Elizabeth Gracen admitted to having a one-night stand with Bill Clinton in 1982. She claimed that, during rough sexual intercourse, Clinton bit her lip.

Second, in an account of the assault given to the Wall Street Journal and published shortly before her NBC interview, Broaddrick made the peculiar claim that Clinton told her she need not worry about becoming pregnant. He was sterile, he said, from a childhood case of mumps. Gennifer Flowers, who in 1992 claimed to have had a twelve-year sexual relationship with Clinton in the 1970s and 1980s, and Dolly Kyle Browning, who claims a three-decade affair with Bill, both told The Weekly Standard that Clinton told them he had a fertility problem. And in his book Blood Sport, James Stewart reported that Bill and Hillary “contemplated a visit to a doctor at the University of California” in the late 1970s, because they were worried that they could not conceive.

All of this evidence — far more than was ever present in the Anita Hill case — was available in 1999. But Hillary Clinton kept silent. And she may have intimidated Broaddrick into silence.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

AMONG THE ATTACHMENTS IS A 1998 AFFIDAVIT FROM BROADDRICK IN WHICH SHE DECLARES THAT CLINTON DID NOT ASSAULT HER (SHE CHANGED HER MIND A YEAR LATER, WHEN CONTACTED BY LEWINSKYGATE INVESTIGATOR KENNETH STARR).

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Commonsense said...

And Broddrick claim that Hillary intimidated her into signing that affidavit.

So if I were you I wouldn't be so excited about it as to shout in CAPS.

The full transcript of Hillary's speech to Goldman-Sachs has been released.

Makes for interesting reading.

Commonsense said...

This is exactly right.

Trump Is Right to Point Out That Clinton Should Be Prosecuted

Mrs. Clinton appears to have committed serious crimes that undermined both national security and recordkeeping rules designed to promote accountability in government. If you want to talk about a truly profound threat to democratic norms, that’s the place to start. Obviously, these offenses are not just relevant but essential to the political case that should be made against Clinton, and would be by any opponent, not just by the unconventional, undisciplined Trump. Also pertinent is the fact that government officials who engage in Clinton’s type of misconduct do go to jail — to refrain from stating this would be to diminish the gravity of the crimes.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

In a sworn affidavit on Dec 23, 1998, Juanita Broaddrick denied an “unsubstantiated, hearsay claim” made by the Paula Jones’ legal team that Bill Clinton had invited her (as Jane Doe #5) to a hotel room and forced her to have sex.

Under oath, Broaddrick said the rumors were “untrue”. Here are the relevant sections of her affidavit, per the Washington Post...:

3. I met President Clinton more than twenty years ago through family friends. Our introduction was not arranged or facilitated, in any way, by the Arkansas State Police. I have never been an Arkansas state employee or a federal employee. I have never discussed with Mr. Clinton the possibility of state or federal employment nor has he offered me any such position. I have had no further relations with him for the past (15) years.

4. During the 1992 Presidential campaign there were unfounded rumors and stories circulated that Mr. Clinton had made unwelcome sexual advances toward me in the late seventies. Newspaper and tabloid reporters hounded me and my family, seeking corroboration of these tales. I repeatedly denied the allegations and requested that my family’s privacy be respected. These allegations are untrue and I had hoped that they would no longer haunt me, or cause further disruption to my family.

Commonsense said...

So James do you think posting the same thing over and over again is making your point more effective?

Or is it just being dismissed as more spam?

(Hint: It's not the former.)

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Spam?
Those are her actual words in her own sworn affidavit.

Commonsense said...

Which you posted three times, I only needed one post to debunk it.

After the first time, it qualifies as spam.

Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

No, the actual affidavit I only posted once.

ALSO, SORRY TO SPOIL YOUR BREAKFAST, BUT LOOK AT WHAT I JUST POSTED ON THE TRUMP MELTDOWN THREAD.

Commonsense said...

Lord you're a bundle of insecurities.

KD, Trump up in polls said...

Jane, can you stop thumbsucking on both blogs, just do it on the children's side, leave this Adult side alone.

"7 out of 10 Adults have less then $1,000" in HB's "booming Economy".

"The personal savings rate is the average amount of earnings people in the U.S. are putting away for rainy days. Through the end of 2014, the rate was 4.4%, which is a steep decline from the 10.5% rate in 2012. "


Why are so many , many more Americans living from pay check to pay check now then just a few years ago?

I know that the O'Hillary loving left can not answer this question, being that the Three Stooges that post on this blog are all economic/financial retards.

KD, Trump Polls Rising said...

Remember, the #1 Issue to ALL Voting Americans is the Economy.

"Working past retirement age has unfortunately become a reality for many seniors. In 2013, 7% of employees said they plan to stay on the job indefinitely. That's a big jump from the 2% who made the same claim in 2011. "

Why has this O'Hillary failed so many and continues to drain savings and create more generational poverty?