Trump v. Clinton, Bill Edition

From the WaPo:

Trump escalates attack on Bill Clinton

By Jose A. DelReal and Robert Costa May 23 at 7:41 PM

 

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is reviving some of the ugliest political chapters of the 1990s with escalating personal attacks on Bill Clinton’s character, part of a concerted effort to smother Hillary Clinton’s campaign message with the weight of decades of controversy.

 

Breathes there a Republican who does not thrill to a revival of the Bill Clinton debacles? Not counting David Brooks, who seems oddly unaware of this sort of thing.

 

Secondly, if Hillary defends Bill it moves her out of the spotlight and elevates the loose cannon on her deck. But if she doesn't defend him, well, the Clintons have long attacked on the notion that an attack ignored is an attack affirmed.

 

And finally, just what is the WaPo pretending here?

 

Broaddrick accused Bill Clinton of assaulting her in 1978, when she worked on his Arkansas gubernatorial campaign. Willey said the former president tried to kiss and grope her in a private hallway in the White House when he was president. Clinton has denied the allegations, and inconsistencies in the women’s stories sowed doubts about their accounts.

 

"Doubts about their accounts"? Here in 2016 where all proper feminists insist we believe the victim and that assault survivors have notoriously shaky memories, is that really the play Hillary is gong to run?

 

Slate reviewed the Broadrick case back in 1999, as did Bill Press in the LA Times. Although there are inconsistencies, there is no question that if a similar scenario with comparable evidence (she said/his lawyer denied, multiple contemporaneous witnesses) occurred on a college campus today, Wild Bill would be booted. Instead, we should make him First Spouse?

 

HOW LITTLE HE KNOWS: Josh Marshall tries to analyze Republicans even though he doesn't know any (my emphasis):

 

There's no question that this [Bill-bashing] is absolute red meat for a lot of Republican voters and almost a kind of messaging nirvana for a certain brand of Republican hater. But those people are already rabid Trump supporters. They're not remotely within reach for Clinton under any circumstance.

 

I know that is false because I can find at least one Republican who was beyond the reach of Hillary yet, contra "rabid", can't stand Trump either. And a quick glance in the mirror reminds me I need a haircut prior to the big holiday weekend.

 

If Trump can consolidate the 'lesser evil' vote that is a big win.

 

THEN AGAIN: Christina Cauterucci of Slate shares a page with me:

 

It’s not clear whether this strategy will work for Trump, anyway. Voters under 35, who make up nearly a third of the electorate, are either too young to care about Bill’s famous infidelities or too liberal to swing for Trump. Then again, harping on Bill's sexual misdoings could be an effective means of galvanizing conservative voters behind an unlikely, unlovable candidate. The average Republican voter is far past old enough to remember the hubbub over Bill’s irresponsible, pervy behavior in the White House and subsequent lies about it; it’s one of the reasons they hate the Clintons in the first place. Since a lack of excitement among Republicans is one of Trump’s biggest weaknesses right now, Bill's history could be exactly the motivator Trump needs.

 

 

 

Comments

[Captain Hate]

The Amazon Daily Worker condones sexual predators.

[Captain Hate]

Were any of these "inconsistencies" like not being able to prove a statement about a pubic hair on a Coke can? Because that's just like visiting some pervert's island of underaged girls multiple times.

[clarice]

Eouldn't it be ironic if Scotus throws out the conviction of Mcauliffe's predecessor and Terry gets indicted and convicted on real crimes.

[narciso]

irony would be crunchy indeed, even in a purported hit piece, by the same crew of wile e's they are mesmerized as with the hypnotoad,

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/05/25/us/politics/donald-trump-campaign-news-conference.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0

this is the berlusconi, 2.0 template,

[henry]

Just Trump explaining how Hilligula's designated economy handler deals with "the people" -- he'll tell us to put ice on the economy.

[matt]

Of even greater concern is the growing body of evidence that the Clinton Foundation was Bill & Hillary's ATM and the incredible linkage between payoffs and government beneficence.

She is as crooked as the day is long. McCauliffe is now under investigation as well. The whole thing stinks as one of the great scandals of the day and yet Minitrue is silent in connecting the dots.

[narciso]

even the journal is out of sorts,

http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-and-the-war-over-women-1464088748

[matt]

What is funny, narciso, is that Hillary and Obama have relegated the media to time out room time and time again when giving their own speeches.

[narciso]

it is a fool moon because everyone seems to be going crazy,

http://www.wsj.com/articles/netanyahu-against-the-generals-1464045651

seeing the wave of stabbings that have arisen in the last year, I would give the officer the benefit of the doubt,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Eouldn't it be ironic if Scotus throws out the conviction of Mcauliffe's predecessor and Terry gets indicted and convicted on real crimes.--

Too much to hope for I know but wouldn't it be hilarious if his predecessor got off and McAwful ended up in choky.

Posted by: Ignatz Ratzkywatzky | May 23, 2016 at 05:23 PM

I shoulda copyrighted it.

[narciso]

so they had a snowden back then,

http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/this-us-army-sergeant-started-the-korean-war-by-selling-out-to-the-soviets

[Dave (in MA)]

Drudge == Awesome

[narciso]

and you see why the division had to be created,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

The Federalist's comment section is not a pleasant place.

[narciso]

discus is dark magic,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3607020/John-Oliver-Chechen-leader-Ramzan-Kadyrov-bizarre-social-media-clash-comedian-pokes-fun-controversial-hard-man-s-appeal-missing-cat.html

this is perhaps one of the most supremely stupid things to do,

[narciso]

well it's better than that eu unit, probably,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/24/elite-anti-terror-police-to-guard-tour-de-france-riders/

[Lurker Susie]

Speaker Ryan on VA Secretary: 'I Don't Know If He Should Resign'

"I don't know if he should resign. He should clarify his comments," House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday, one day after Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald compared wait times to wait times for rides at Disney amusement parks.

Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/speaker-ryan-va-secretary-i-dont-know-if-he-should-resign

[narciso]

'this is why I have trust issues'

I'm reminded of the pre bezos post, michael dobbs, who writes pedestrian history compared to sebestyen or winik, criticised an ad maverick's team did on zaphod and the solon's ties, to the subprime crisis, based on his own reporting,

[narciso]

anyone need any translation of that?

[narciso]

there was sort of this type of irony in south florida, mark foley if you recall, was forced out of congress, for certain practices, and his successor tim (LNU) had his own dalliance issues, two of the heterosexual variety,

[cheerleader]

The Democrats have a full dirt campaign planned, we know that, because that is what they do. They also think no will hurl any dirt at their nominee, because the dishonest media's double standards protects their backs. They just assume that no one "will go there" as regards the Clintons. But Mr. Trump is changing that pattern pre-emptively.

I watched BOR telling Mr. Trump, don't go there. I cannot stand the arrogant BOR and Joe Scarboro. They both think that they are much smarter than Mr. Trump, and are always giving him "advice" instead of doing in- depth interviews. He's very nice to them, but I doubt he takes their "advice" seriously.

[narciso]

this is another fatuous twit, whose liner notes are too close to what red queen would hand her, of course she might just be a friend of rick wilson and liz mair,

https://m.facebook.com/notes/katrina-elaine-j%C3%B8rgensen/resigning-as-communications-chair-from-yrnf/10155923659836515

[narciso]

O'reilly who's suing his wife for something or other, as for morning joke's chief of ceremonies,

[narciso]

history rarely repeats, but it does tend to rhyme, and the ryan/trump contratemp is not unlike this fellow and jackson, two centuries ago,

https://www.treasury.gov/about/history/Pages/agallatin.aspx

[James D]

re: Lurker susie's link @ 2:46...

I really wish Ryan would either grow a spine and actually confront somebody (other than fellow Republicans) or resign and let a grown-up take his spot.

This isn't even a partisan issue, or shouldn't be.

This guy has been secretary of the VA for nearly two years now, and he presides over a completely dysfunctional organization in which veterans suffer and criminal employees run rampant at taxpayer expense. Nothing has been done to fix the many horrific problems. And none of these things are in dispute.

That Ryan can't call for the removal of someone as incompetent as the VA head, who is also totally callous to the suffering of the men and women his agency exists to care for, is an embarrassment.

[James D]

They both think that they are much smarter than Mr. Trump, and are always giving him "advice" instead of doing in- depth interviews.

That makes me think of a line from "Prizzi's Honor"

"If Marxie Heller is so (redacted) smart, how come he's so (redacted) dead?"

[Lurker Susie]

Paul Ryan sends fundraising letter to stop Hillary but doesn't endorse
Trump

https://shar.es/1dZqTn

[cheerleader]

matt,

Mr. Trump gave money to the Clinton Foundation, believing he was donating it to help people in Haiti. When he found out that none of it went to Haiti, that made him ripping mad. He talked about that in an interview or at a rally, I can't remember which.

There's a rally tonight ... he hasn't done one for quite a while, so it'll probably be very high energy. Even people a lot younger than him can hardly keep up with him, and he has several more rallies scheduled this week.

Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque Convention Center
7:00 PM

[narciso]

so she was clearly #willing for hillary, yet she just started working there last month,

https://www.facebook.com/Veribatim

[Clarice]

Iggy, great minds

[Captain Hate]

The Intern Killer should be worried about Trump bringing up his friendship with Condit.

[Old Lurker]

My tax dollars at work:

"The IRS erroneously paid out an estimated $15.6 billion in Earned Income Tax Credit payments in fiscal year 2015, according to a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report.

A low-income worker can receive refundable tax credits from the Earned Income Tax Credit program when they meet certain requirements for income and age.

The $15.6 billion in improper payments identified by the inspector general represented 23.8 percent of total earned income credits paid out in that fiscal year."

[Miss Marple]

You know, I would like to knoWort for me as structural geology. if the Bush foundation got suckered into donating through the Clinton foundation. Remember, Bushb41 got sent down there with Bill and then they appeared together to ask for donations.

[jimmyk on iPhone]

Ryan doesn't know? Ryan needs a spine transplant. He also doesn't know whether to vote against Hillary.

"The Federalist's comment section is not a pleasant place."

Is there a pleasant non-blog comment section anywhere?

[Miss Marple]

Oh fo gosh sakes! Sorry for that garbled post!

This dang iPad is worthless.

[lyle]

https://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2016/05/22/every-single-one-meet-the-doj-lawyers-suing-north-carolina-over-trans-rights/

Don't worry, these fair-minded attorneys are just your basic run-of-the-mill legal eagle types with no radical intent whatsoever...

See? One of them wrote this anodyne middle-of-the-road piece about W visiting Howard U:

[Bush] was ecstatic to be able to visit the Negroes on such an important occasion. Needless to say, Bush was not well received, which was to be expected given his recent two percent approval rating among African Americans. One of my classmates said it best when she complained that having Bush on campus was "like inviting the master to the slave cabins for dinner."

[James D]

The $15.6 billion in improper payments identified by the inspector general represented 23.8 percent of total earned income credits paid out in that fiscal year."

Good lord!

Even for a corrupt and poorly run government program, that's horrible.

[Theo]

If the NYT did not have double standards it would have no standards at all.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Iggy, great minds...--

That's what plagiarists looking to avoid a suit always say. :)

[Old Lurker]

$15.6 Billion is a LOT of money any way you slice it.

[narciso]

discus is much worse, it's like opening the ark, just ask bellocq,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Is there a pleasant non-blog comment section anywhere?--

I suppose not but the alt-right loony tune racists were thick on a 'seven reasons not to vote for Trump' thread and then sniping commies were spewing on a 'five reasons to vote for trump' one.

[Theo]

It's a pittance in Washington OL. I am sure that the Democrats do not mind the EITC being abused this way. The money went from taxpayers (mostly not Democrats) to a group that is overwhelmingly Democrats. I doubt they do anything to fix this.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

23.8% of the total is a lot of percentage points too.

[narciso]

and the tepid setup is vile and blanc mange at the same time, not an easy to pull off,

[lyle]

You don't even have to wade into the comment section at The Federalist for unpleasantness:

http://thefederalist.com/2016/05/24/7-reasons-you-should-vote-for-hillary-instead-of-donald/

Hillary would be an awful president—incompetent in her own right, self-serving, scheming, inept on the world stage and heavy-handed at home—and she would also usher in another four to eight years of screeching, grating identity politics, this time on behalf of America’s professional, perpetually aggrieved feminist class. Even one term of Clinton would be awful.

Yet there are two reasons to vote for her. The first is that she would provide a useful rallying point for conservatives; nothing could prove the necessity of conservatism like eight years of American government with Hillary Clinton heading the executive branch. The first election after Hillary’s tenure has ended will be tailor-made for a Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, or Scott Walker.

Gun to his head by the people running the site? Psychotropic drugs? One of his kids being held for ransom? Really embarrassing pictures of him? Strung-out crack addict? C'mon, people, help me understand how someone could actually write something like this.

[James D]

It's not the amount, but the percentage that shocked me.

Again, even for a badly-run government program, 25% of the payments being improper sounds shocking, at least to me.

I could see someone trying to defend 5%, or even maybe 10%, but 25%?

[Theo]

I certainly agree with the first paragraph. Not sure about the second.

[narciso]

they keep biting into the crunchy frog, expected nougat or pralines,

[narciso]

as for which campaign to cover, it's so patently obvious what red queen will say, except her barking spells, with trump, it's that box of chocolates,

[James D]

re lyle's link @ 3:37

That article is the best argument imaginable for voting for Trump, no matter how loathsome, loutish, etc one might find him - because every one of the attorneys named in that article is appointed by the President.

Do you want Hillary filling all those jobs next year, from lists drawn up by Blumenthan and Abdelin and her other loathsome confidantes?

Or would you prefer Trump filling them from lists drawn up by people like Jeff Sessions?

If you're not sure, go back and read it again. Look at the bios of every one of those U.S. Attorneys. Under Hillary, you are absolutely guaranteed more of the same, or worse (if that's possible). Is voting for a lout really a worse fate than a Justice Department run entirely by people like the ones in that article?

[Captain Hate]

Using Zuckerberg for commenting on tepid was dumb even for those two groveling toadies. The pushback was huge and they paid about as much attention to it as Top Men did to Cantor's primary.

[Beasts of England]

He's emulating Mona Charen from her last NRO screed, lyle. There's no coming back from that level of dishonesty.

We've discussed and hated everything about Hillary for days, and weeks, and months, and years, and decades. In none of those tens of thousands of asides do I ever remember anyone saying 'But, she's probably better than a few of the Republican candidates out there...'

Not once.

[lyle]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/05/its_too_late_hillary__we_already_have_had_a_female_president.html

Guess who.

[DrJ]

It's ($15.8 billion) a pittance in Washington OL.

I know this is tongue-in-cheek, sort of, but $15.8 billion is about half of NIH's budget, and twice that of NSF. A lot of good science could be supported by that without cutting anything else.

[lyle]

True, Beasts. But you gotta love one of the reasons to vote Hilligula is that Trump Is Not A True Conservative!!!

[Beasts of England]

They're slattering The Onion. :(

[Old Lurker]

$15.8 Billion would pay $100,000 to 158,000 people, DrJ.

A lot of PhD's would work very hard for that.

[Theo]

New thread.

[Captain Hate]

Does anybody else think that AT piece on the Ferret ends weirdly abruptly? Like an editor never finished with it?

[lyle]

Agree, CH.

[DrJ]

OL, agreed. Post docs cost about the same as PhDs, so they can be thrown into that funding pot as well.

[narciso]

it is one of those shallow pieces like lowry's profile of her in politico, that doesn't get to why she does things, of course those who inquire might be turned into a newt,

[jimmyk on iPhone]

"That's what plagiarists looking to avoid a suit always say. "

Hmm, seems to me, Iggy, you've been on the other side of the plagiarism thing, so if be careful. :)

James D, surely you are not under the impression that the overpayments are accidental are you?

[Beasts of England]

lol, narciso!! I got better!

[Free James D.]

Absolutely not.

But you'd think that the fact they're forced to admit that a quarter of all payments are improper would give a, you know, opposition party something to work with.

Apparently not, though.

[Beasts of England]

Those overpayments create jobs!

/Pelosi

[narciso]

for those code minded, the link at 2:32

[Gentlejim]

She is as crooked as the day Arctic winter is long.

FIFY

Still playing catch up.

[Comanche Voter]

About that mirror---I've got a friend who is normally Republican. He's a lawyer in his mid 50's who's been a partner in several major law firms and is now house counsel for a medical organization. He's a good solid Catholic, and usually votes Republican.

He's normally a kind of rational guy, but boy does he have the lace curtain Irish vapors over Trump. He's so upset over Trump that he's likely to vote for Hillary, even though he knows she is a corrupt, mendacious piece of work.

[bunkerbuster]

As a liberal Democrat, I'm loving the idea that Trump would go there. Here's what Clinton can and should say:
Trump: You enabled Bill's philandering.
Clinton: You need new advisers if you think it's smart to bring up marriage values. Even with all the millions your dad gave you, you still could not get a woman to stay around you for more than a few years. Your alimony payments must be a lot more than what you make playing a gormless jerk on that old reality TV show and everyone can see the woman your with this particular week isn't attracted to your personality or your small hands. I mean really Donald, you might as well try to make fun of my hair...

[henry]

I see you moved to Colorado and got the good stuff. Tip the pizza guy bubu.