by Dick Morris, former political advisor to President Bill Clinton
If you happen to see the Bill Clinton five minute TV ad for Hillary in
which he introduces the commercial by saying that he wants to share some
things we may not know about Hillary's background . . . beware . . As I
was there for most of their presidency and know them better than just
about anyone, I offer a few corrections;
Bill says: "In law school Hillary worked on legal services for the
poor." The facts are: Hillary's main extra-curricular activity in law
school was helping the Black Panthers, on trial in Connecticut for
torturing and killing a federal agent. She went to court every day as
part of a law student monitoring committee trying to spot civil rights
violations and develop grounds for appeal.
Bill says: "Hillary spent a year after graduation working on a
children's rights project for poor kids." The facts are: Hillary
interned with Bob Truehaft, the head of the California Communist Party.
She met Bob when he represented the Panthers and traveled all the way to
San Francisco to take an internship with him.
Bill says: "Hillary could have written her own job ticket, but she
turned down all the lucrative job offers." The facts are: She flunked the
DC bar exam, yes, flunked, it is a matter of record, and only passed the
Arkansas bar. She had no job offers in Arkansas, none, and only got
hired by the University of Arkansas Law School at Fayetteville because
Bill was already teaching there. She did not join the prestigious Rose
Law Firm until Bill became Arkansas Attorney General and was made a
partner only after he was elected Arkansas Governor.
Bill says: "President Carter appointed Hillary to the Legal Services
Board of Directors and she became its chairman." The facts are: The
appointment was in exchange for Bill's support for Carter in his 1980
primary against Ted Kennedy. Hillary then became chairman in a coup in
which she won a majority away from Carter's choice to be chairman.
Bill says: "She served on the board of the Arkansas Children's
Hospital." The facts are: Yes she did. But her main board activity,
not mentioned by Bill, was to sit on the Wal-mart board of directors, for
a substantial fee. She was silent about their labor and health care
practices.
Bill says: "Hillary didn't succeed at getting health care for all
Americans in 1994 but she kept working at it and helped to create the
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provides five million
children with health insurance." The facts are: Hillary had nothing to do
with creating CHIP. It was included in the budget deal between Clinton
and Republican Majority Leader Senator Trent Lott. I know; I helped to
negotiate the deal. The money came half from the budget deal and half
from the Attorney Generals' tobacco settlement. Hillary had nothing to
do with either source of funds.
Bill says: "Hillary was the face of America all over the world." The
facts are: Her visits were part of a program to get her out of town so
that Bill would not appear weak by feeding stories that Hillary was
running the White House. Her visits abroad were entirely touristic and
symbolic and there was no substantive diplomacy on any of them.
Bill says: "Hillary was an excellent Senator who kept fighting for
children's and women's issues." The facts are: Other than totally
meaningless legislation like changing the names on courthouses and post
offices, she has passed only four substantive pieces of legislation. One
set up a national park in Puerto Rico. A second provided respite care
for family members helping their relatives through Alzheimer's or other
conditions. And two were routine bills to aid 911 victims and responders
which were sponsored by the entire NY delegation. Presently she is trying
to have the US memorialize the Woodstock fiasco of 40 years ago.
Here is what bothers me more than anything else about Hillary Clinton.
She has done everything possible to weaken the President and our country
(that's you and me!) when it comes to the war on terror.
1. She wants to close GITMO and move the combatants to the USA where
they would have access to our legal system.
2. She wants to eliminate the monitoring of suspected Al Qaeda phone
calls to/from the USA.
3. She wants to grant constitutional rights to enemy combatants
captured on the battlefield.
4. She wants to eliminate the monitoring of money transfers between
suspected Al Qaeda cells and supporters in the USA.
5. She wants to eliminate the type of interrogation tactics used by the
military & CIA where coercion might be used when questioning known
terrorists even though such tactics might save American lives.
One cannot think of a single bill Hillary has introduced or a single
comment she has made that would tend to strengthen our country in the War
on Terror. But, one can think of a lot of comments she has made that
weaken our country and makes it a more dangerous situation for all of us.
Bottom line: She goes hand in hand with the ACLU on far too many issues
where common sense is abandoned.
Comments
A worthwhile post to write.