Still4Hill

It has been quite some time since I vented here, but I cannot let this pass. This blog has been here for almost 12 years. One-third of that time was spent cataloging Hillary Clinton’s years as secretary of state, years during which she brought alienated friends back into the fold, stood firm against adversaries, kept us safe with the skillful use of diplomacy and smart power, and sometimes worked through illness, injury, and, frequently, through opposition attacks of the most outrageous kind.

There have been raging accusations. She used her FLOTUS position to gain political position and clout.  She allowed four Americans to be slaughtered in Benghazi. She used a private server (assigned to Bill Clinton as a former POTUS) for official emails which she later “bleached.”  In the end, she turns out to be one of the least culpable of public officials ever to be so battered by the opposition assisted by the press.  She has never been convicted of any crime.  No one can name any crime for which she should be “locked up.”  How many personal emails did you delete when you exited your last job?

Hillary Clinton, as we know, has a prominent spouse and an accomplished daughter.  She is a proud and loving grandmother, a loyal friend, a wise and generous leader, and a genuinely altruistic human being.

So now this.  The current secretary of state was under investigation by the same inspector general who investigated Hillary’s “email scandal.” In his case, the charges included his use of State Department staff to run personal errands as well as a possible Saudi arms deal sans required Congressional approval.

In response to the IG’s Pompeo investigations, Donald Trump fired the IG.

Turns out, according to Rachel Maddow on May 18, that Susan Pompeo had an office and staff at the CIA when her husband was there, and now has staff and security at the State Department. According to the article linked above, she also accompanies her husband on trips.

Imagine if Hillary had done any of this. I am old enough to remember folks questioning her designation of Bill Clinton as a one-time special emissary to North Korea to rescue two American reporters at the request of their boss, VP Al Gore. What special diplomatic skills/clout does Susan Pompeo possess?

The IG was correct to be investigating Pompeo on several counts. This was the fourth firing of an IG in a matter of weeks. Inspectors General are to be non-partisan. Mr. Linick certainly was judging from his history. Mr. Trump explained the firing by noting that Linick was an Obama appointee. That business about serving “at the pleasure” of the president only goes so far. Some service is meant as a check on the president and the cabinet.

A dominant tactic of the first two years of the Trump regime was whataboutism brilliantly executed by Kellyanne Conway who lately is eclipsed by her younger clone Kayleigh McEnaney.

Maybe it is time the Democrats started turning this usually empty-handed, badly aligned practice against the ruling regime. Certainly the Dems can draw more appropriate analogies than the White House Communications office.

I am happy to see that my senator, Bob Menendez, is investigating this latest firing. Especially in the midst of this horrible pandemic, Democrats need to fight back. The incompetence is killing us. Remember values clarification? We need that again.