Disappointment
When I first found out about Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, I felt disappointed and let down. It was extremely frustrating to me that someone given the most scrutiny of anyone else on the planet would bring this upon themselves.
I remember thinking that these actions were indefensible, and that I would never be on the side of defending them. I remember thinking that there would never be a reason to defend these actions.
So here I am, about to sound like I am defending them, when I am not. Why?
Something worse has happened since this knowledge has come out. What is far worse than having set up a private email server is the millions of wasted taxpayers money funding committee after committee to beat this dead horse of an issue into the ground.
"They pull me back in"
I wanted to remain in my little haven of disappointment of Hillary. Just when I think I'm out (of hating on Republicans), they pull me back in. Now, I have to sweep her nonsense under the carpet, because of the overwhelming inappropriate sexism from the GOP and conservative media.
If you don't think it is sexism, just ask yourself if Colin Powell would still be under such investigation after investigation, or any conservative male for that matter.
How about some policy on these matters? Maybe we could better use taxpayers' money and create a very clear policy on the use of private email and setting up private email servers, etc. Because currently, there is none, and everything Clinton has done is not illegal. It is, to quote Comey, extremely reckless, however.
In researching Clinton's emails and the similarities and differences these breaches of security had with Colin Powell's misuse of emails and David Patreus's mishandling of his "black book," I've stumbled upon something that is so shocking to me that many of you will just waive it off as complete nonsense.
With regard to high profile politicians, Hillary Clinton is one of the most honest and truth telling.
To be clear, this does not mean that she doesn't lie. She lies just like any other politician lies. But she does so with less frequency than any other (mainstream) politician, and is honest and tells the truth with a much higher frequency than any other.
If you think that is bullshit, which most of you will, then I challenge you to do your own research and clearly show me how wrong I am.
"If she were that honest, why do you feel you need to defend her?"
I didn't want to, but the behavior the GOP establishment embraces as they do everything within their power (including wasting taxpayers' money) to tarnish, defame, and belittle Clinton is so childish and abhorrent, that it has completely masked all the reckless and unethical actions of Hillary.
I agree that there's almost certainly underlying sexism in play with Hillary. How can there not be? For what it's worth, I feel that Hillary is far and away the most qualified candidate (one of the most qualified ever, actually), and I plan to vote for her.
ReplyDeleteBut the email thing still drives me nuts, and what concerns me specifically is this: I find it hard to escape the conclusion that one or the other of these situations must be true:
1. She is so technologically illiterate that she truly didn't understand that running a private email server in her home constituted a massive security risk. The president needs to understand at least the basics of how the internet works.
2. She was trying to communicate under the radar about something, for some reason. She figured the rules concerning government officials' email didn't apply to her.
It also bothers me that she still doesn't seem to think this was a big deal. I would feel a lot better about the whole thing if she essentially said "Look, I screwed up, bad. I realize that now. Lesson learned."
On your number 1, I feel like she knew what she was doing. And she knew she probably shouldn't be doing it: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/how-to-set-up-a-clinton-style-home-server/387841/
DeleteOn your number 2, I don't think there are rules. That is what both sides of the aisle could come together and constructively do, is create a concrete policy.
Although it took her too long to do so (with the excuse that there are no rules against it) she did apologize back in September on ABC. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-private-email-mistake-im/story?id=33608970
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ReplyDeleteTrue, she did apologize eventually, after originally doubling down (as you mention).
ReplyDeletePart of the problem is that her use of a private server makes it hard to know whether she followed the rules: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/mar/12/hillary-clintons-email-did-she-follow-all-rules/
All in all, I don't think it's the end of the world. It's just unsettling.