In this political season I keep hearing variations on two themes from both the GOP presidential and congressional (i.e. Trump and Reed’s) campaigns:
- “President Obama’s failed policies”
- “Hillary’s Baggage”
It seems that the GOP campaigns, along with surrogates (Fox News, talk radio hosts, national and local bloggers, social media orators) use those terms with few details explaining what these political idioms mean.
“President Obama’s failed policies” unofficially started even before our President was sworn into office. A group of GOP representatives lead by House Whip Eric Cantor and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell convinced others to fight Obama on every political issue. “If he was for it we had to be against it,” former Ohio Republican Senator George Voinovich later explained. (A Time Magazine article, as well as many other articles, describes the Cantor-McConnell conspiracy in detail).
Remember this was during the worst financial crisis since the great depression; a time where leaders should be putting their country first, not their political party. The first major “failed policy” they attacked was the Economic-Recovery plan, aka “The Stimulus”. The GOP plan worked, they reduced the funds and delayed our economic recovery so they could report that the stimulus “failed”.
The list of Obama’s failed policies continued through out both terms, including the debt ceilings crises, government shut downs, the sequester, military actions (remember that Congress has yet to take a stand on Syria and ISIS), job programs, health care, immigration to mention a few without the help of Google.
The republicans worked hard to oppose Obama’s policies, and it was not easy. Ask Speaker of the House Boehner when he tried to get the Republicans House members to agree to anything, including goals and, heaven forbid, any compromises.
Now, their hard work has paid off…Republicans proudly declare in their campaign rhetoric that Obama policies have “failed”.
Hillary has been on the national political stage for a quarter of a century. Every step on the way from Arkansas to Washington to New York to being the Secretary of State she has had supporters and rivals. Political races and political decisions created winners and losers. There should be no question that there is an abundant of criticism collected by her (and Bill’s) competitors.
Collecting negative “facts”, and framing them as being important is a political cottage industry for Rush Limbaugh wannabes. Some of the baggage is probably well known because of loyal opposition is doing its job–digging for dirt and spinning it for political fodder. The GOP has been overly politicizing much of what they consider to be damaging to Hillary. That has damaged their credibility.
I understand that wanting to have a clear picture of what happened in Benghazi on 
September 11, 2012 is warranted. Some might think that having six House Committees, two Senate Committees and a non-partisan State Department’s Accountability Review Board studying the Benghazi event is just politicizing the tragedy.
More time and tax money has been spent on studying Benghazi than the following terrorists attacks which killed thousands of Americans:
- The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing,
- the 2000 attack on the USS Cole,
- the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania,
- the 1996 Khobar Tower bombing in Dubai.
- the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing,
- and even the attacks of September 11, 2001.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, last September, boasted that the the Benghazi commission’s goal was to to discredit Hillary. Others Republicans later agreed. This was after the House Committee reported that there was “no wrong-doing by Obama administration appointees.” Donald Trump and Tom Reed pretend the official findings do not exists and still uses Benghazi to remind their supporters of the evils of their opponents.
Yes, Benghazi is only one piece of Hillary’s baggage. Other conspiracy-theorists’ “Breaking News” might be news for the 20-something year olds, but most of it doesn’t relate to the 2016 Presidential Campaign. Dragging up the Vince Foster suicide, or Bill’s affairs, or that Hillary did not past her first Bar Exam has nothing to do with the way she will respond to the challenges of leading our country between 2017-2021. Trying to discredit the positive projects produced by the Clinton Foundation shows the desperation of the GOP.
Both Obama’s failed policies and Hillary’s baggage messages fall into the category of: If people hear an opinion enough times, some will believe it is a fact. Isn’t that the goal of political campaigns ads?
Some, Mitt Romney for example, frequently compare Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as if they were equals. We know why Romney and other well known Republicans object to Trump, but it isn’t at all clear what it is about Mrs. Clinton, a very different person, that they find equally objectionable. Are they so used to disparaging Mrs. Clinton that they no longer remember what they might dislike?
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Sadly, during the primaries and caucuses I have read thousands of comments by followers of Bernie Sanders repeating the lies and sexist rhetoric of 20+ years of right wing anti-Clinton propaganda. I am thankful the primaries are over and we have a Democratic candidate who will beat the monstrous Donald Trump in a landslide and will help many down ballot Democrats win their races too. Herstory is being made! Be a part of it!
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Obama’s been a tough character to lynch in print or otherwise. The outstanding First Family, his commitment to burn political capital on healthcare reform for millions, his sane foreign policy approach across the globe, his strength in not bowing to the Right’s accusations of being an “Angry Black man”, and so on. The Right throws foul balls, and the President catches them with his left hand.
Clinton’s history, while not the same, has also proven difficult to the Right to nail down as baggage.
Millions of dollars over the years were thrown at investigations, and accusations of illegal activity – all proven false, or at least not illegal. Being a woman, she’s an easier target, much as Reed used Robertson’s gender to demean her. In my opinion, if Clinton has baggage it was the difficult choice of admitting when she grew and modified her opinions on social issues, and had the honesty to say so.
It’s always been a quandary to me why Tom Reed’s foibles and missteps seems to roll off his record as if rolling off Teflon. From Reed’s early beginnings in Congress we realize his Yes Man philosophy took him to early heights on the Ways and Means Committee, at an unheard of speed.
Tom Reed likes most to label those whom he knows are superior to him in their work, honesty, and intellect ( a Trump practice well learned). Perhaps Tom Reed should be known as “DC Tom” (Madame) since, for the most part he has pimped out and prostituted his services to corporations and the Tea Party demands, rather than serve his constituents in any meaningful way. Enter Donald Trump, and the prostitution grows much more visible.
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One thing that helps keep Tom’s record out of mind is that he never mentions it himself.
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Thanks, Rich, for being one of the truth-tellers this election year. You put incredible amounts of time and effort into researching and validating your posts. Would that others, including the media, would do the same.
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