Why I cannot support Hillary Clinton

As many have previously pointed out, we have a long tradition in this country of the loser's acquiescing to the winner; it is what separates us from just another banana republic.

But if Hillary Clinton does win on Election Day, I am not certain that I can support her.

Well, why not (given the predicate)?

The answer, in my opinion, is that she is represents corruption on a scale that we have never before seen in American politics.

The Mafia is a slightly less evil organization than the Clinton Crime Machine, in my view.

Of course, if she becomes president, she will also be my president; there is simply no getting around that (short of moving to another country; which I do not plan to do).

A mere difference in policy preferences can rather easily be ignored.

But a fundamental difference--the difference between America as "a shining city on a hill," as Ronald Reagan phrased it, and America as a kingdom of corruption--is simply not easy to ignore...

 

She's a politician too big to jail. Why I don't support her. I also don't support Trump either. This just isn't my year.

 

You gotta be freaking kidding me. It's not even close.

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List of federal political scandals in the United States
2001–2009 George W. Bush Administration
Executive Branch

* Joseph E. Schmitz (R) was nominated by President George W. Bush (R) to be Defense Department Inspector General on June 18, 2001. He resigned on September 9, 2005 in the wake of several allegations by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) including that he had obstructed the FBI investigation of John A. Shaw.[62][63][64][65][66]

* Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey (R) abruptly resigned over substandard conditions for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center including long delays in treatment, rodent infestation and outbreaks of mold. Harvey had been appointed to the position by George W. Bush.(2007)[67]

1. Maj. Gen. George Weightman, was fired for failures linked to the scandal.(2007) [68]

2. Maj. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley resigned for failures linked to the scandal.[69]

* Felipe Sixto was appointed by President George W. Bush to be his Special Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs as well as Duty Director at the Office of Public Liaison. He resigned a few weeks later on March 20, 2008 because of his misuse of grant money from the U.S. Agency for International Development when he had worked for the Center for a Free Cuba.[70] He was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing almost $600,000 for personal use.[71]

* Timothy Goeglein, Special Assistant to President Bush resigned when it was discovered that more than 20 of his columns had been plagiarized from an Indiana newspaper. (200[72]

* Scott Bloch was appointed by President George W. Bush to head the United States Office of Special Counsel. On April 27, 2010 Bloch pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of Congress for "willfully and unlawfully withholding pertinent information from a House committee investigating his decision to have several government computers wiped ...."[73] On February 2, Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson ruled that Bloch faces a mandatory sentence of at least one month in prison.[74][75]

* Lewis Libby, Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney (R). 'Scooter' was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame Affair on March 6, 2007. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000. The sentence was commuted by George W. Bush on July 1, 2007. The felony remains on Libby's record, though the jail time and fine were commuted.[76][77]

* Alphonso Jackson The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development resigned while under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged cronyism and favoritism [78]

* Karl Rove Senior Adviser to President George W. Bush was investigated by the Office of Special Counsel for "improper political influence over government decision-making", as well as for his involvement in several other scandals such as Lawyergate, Bush White House e-mail controversy and Plame affair. He resigned in April 2007. (See Karl Rove in the George W. Bush administration)[79]

* Richard J. Griffin Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security appointed by George W. Bush who made key decisions regarding the department's oversight of private security contractor Blackwater USA, resigned in November 2007, after a critical review by the House Oversight Committee found that his office had failed to adequately supervise private contractors during the Blackwater Baghdad shootings protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq.[80]

* Howard Krongard, Republican contributor[81] was appointed Inspector General of the US State Department by President George W. Bush in 2005.[82] After he was accused by the House Oversight Committee of improperly interfering with investigations into private security contractor Blackwater USA, concerning the Blackwater Baghdad shootings. Krongard resigned in December 2007.[83][84]

* "Lawyergate"[85] Or the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy refers to President Bush firing, without explanation, eleven Republican federal prosecutors whom he himself had appointed. It is alleged they were fired for prosecuting Republicans and not prosecuting Democrats.[86][87] When Congressional hearings were called, a number of senior Justice Department officials cited executive privilege and refused to testify under oath and instead resigned, including:

1. Alberto Gonzales Attorney General of the United States[88]

2. Karl Rove Advisor to President Bush[89]

3. Harriet Miers Legal Counsel to President Bush, was found in Contempt of Congress[90]

4. Michael A. Battle Director of Executive Office of US Attorneys in the Justice Department.[91]

5. Bradley Schlozman Director of Executive Office of US Attorneys who replaced Battle[92]

6. Michael Elston Chief of Staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty[93]

7. Paul McNulty Deputy Attorney General to William Mercer[94]

8. William W. Mercer Associate Attorney General to Alberto Gonzales[95]

9. Kyle Sampson Chief of Staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales[91]

10. Monica Goodling Liaison between President Bush and the Justice Department[96]

11. Joshua Bolten Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush was found in Contempt of Congress[90]

12. Sara M. Taylor Aide to Presidential Advisor Karl Rove[97]

* Bush White House e-mail controversy(*)– During the Lawyergate investigation it was discovered that the Bush administration used Republican National Committee (RNC) web servers for millions of emails which were then destroyed, lost or deleted in possible violation of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Andrew Card, Sara Taylor and Scott Jennings all used RNC webservers for the majority of their emails. Of 88 officials investigated, 51 showed no emails at all.[98] As many as 5 million e-mails requested by Congressional investigators were therefore unavailable, lost, or deleted.[99]

* Lurita Alexis Doan Resigned as head of the General Services Administration. She was under scrutiny for conflict of interest and violations of the Hatch Act.[100] Among other things she asked GSA employees how they could "help Republican candidates".[101]

* John Korsmo chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board pleaded guilty to lying to congress and sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and fined $5,000. (2005)[102]

* Darleen A. Druyun was Principal Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force nominated by George W. Bush.[103] She pleaded guilty to inflating the price of contracts to favor her future employer, Boeing. In October 2004, she was sentenced to nine months in jail for corruption, fined $5,000, given three years of supervised release and 150 hours of community service. She began her prison term on January 5, 2005.[104] CBS News called it "the biggest Pentagon scandal in 20 years" and said that she pleaded guilty to a felony.[105]

* Philip Cooney Bush appointee to chair the Council on Environmental Quality was accused of editing government climate reports to emphasize doubts about global warming.[106] Two days later, Cooney announced his resignation[107] and later conceded his role in altering reports. Stating "My sole loyalty was to the President and advancing the policies of his administration," .[108][109]

* Jack Abramoff Scandal in which the prominent lobbyist with close ties to Republican administration officials and legislators offered bribes as part of his lobbying efforts. Abramoff was sentenced to 4 years in prison.[110][111] See Legislative scandals.

1. Tom DeLay (R-TX) The House Majority Leader was reprimanded twice by the House Ethics Committee and his aides indicted (2004–2005); eventually DeLay himself was investigated in October 2005 in connection with the Abramoff scandal, but not indicted. DeLay resigned from the House 9 June 2006.[112] DeLay was found to have illegally channeled funds from Americans for a Republican Majority to Republican state legislator campaigns. He was convicted of two counts of money laundering and conspiracy in 2010.[113]

2. David Safavian GSA (General Services Administration) Chief of Staff,[114] found guilty of blocking justice and lying,[115] and sentenced to 18 months[116]

3. Roger Stillwell Staff in the Department of the Interior under President George W. Bush (R). Pleaded guilty and received two years suspended sentence.[117]

4. Susan B. Ralston Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to Karl Rove, resigned October 6, 2006, after it became known that she accepted gifts and passed information to her former boss Jack Abramoff.[118]

5. J. Steven Griles former Deputy to the Secretary of the Interior pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 10 months.[119]

6. Italia Federici staff to the Secretary of the Interior, and President of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, pled guilty to tax evasion and obstruction of justice. She was sentenced to four years probation.[120][121][122]

7. Jared Carpenter Vice-President of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, was discovered during the Abramoff investigation and pled guilty to income tax evasion. He got 45 days, plus 4 years probation.[123]

8. Mark Zachares staff in the Department of Labor, bribed by Abramoff, guilty of conspiracy to defraud.[111]

9. Robert E. Coughlin Deputy Chief of Staff, Criminal Division of the Justice Department pleaded guilty to conflict of interest after accepting bribes from Jack Abramoff. (200[124]

* Kyle Foggo Executive director of the CIA was convicted of honest services fraud in the awarding of a government contract and sentenced to 37 months in federal prison at Pine Knot, Kentucky. On September 29, 2008, Foggo pleaded guilty to one count of the indictment, admitting that while he was the CIA executive director, he acted to steer a CIA contract to the firm of his lifelong friend, Brent R. Wilkes.[125]

* Julie MacDonald Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior, resigned May 1, 2007, after giving government documents to developers (2007)[126]

* Claude Allen Appointed as an advisor by President George W. Bush (R) on Domestic Policy, Allen was arrested for a series of felony thefts in retail stores. He was convicted on one count and resigned soon after.[127]

* Lester Crawford Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, resigned after 2 months. pleaded guilty to conflict of interest and received 3 years suspended sentence and fined $90,000 (2006)[128]

* 2003 Invasion of Iraq depended on intelligence that Saddam Hussein was developing "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs) meaning nuclear, chemical and/or biological weapons for offensive use. As revealed by The (British) Downing Street memo "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the policy" The press called this the 'smoking gun."(2005)[129]

* Yellowcake forgery: Just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration presented evidence to the UN that Iraq was seeking material (yellowcake uranium) in Africa for making nuclear weapons. Though presented as true, it was later found to be not only dubious, but outright false.[130][131]

* Coalition Provisional Authority Cash Payment Scandal: On June 20, 2005, the staff of the Committee on Government Reform prepared a report for Congressman Henry Waxman.[132] It was revealed that $12 billion in cash had been delivered to Iraq by C-130 planes, on shrinkwrapped pallets of US $100 bills.[133] The United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, concluded that "Many of the funds appear to have been lost to corruption and waste.... Some of the funds could have enriched both criminals and insurgents...." Henry Waxman, commented, "Who in their right mind would send 363 tons of cash into a war zone?" A single flight to Iraq on December 12, 2003, which contained $1.5 billion in cash is said to be the largest single Federal Reserve payout in US history according to Henry Waxman.[134][135]

* Bush administration payment of columnists with federal funds to say nice things about Republican policies. Illegal payments were made to journalists Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus (2004–2005)[136]

* John A. Shaw (R) was appointed by George W. Bush as Under Secretary of Defense [137] He was investigated on corruption although charges were never filed against him, he was asked to resign in 2004.[138] When he refused to resign, he was fired by the Bush administration on December 10, 2004.[139][140][141]

* Bernard Kerik nomination in 2004 as Secretary of Homeland Security was derailed by past employment of an illegal alien as a nanny, and other improprieties. On Nov 4, 2009, he pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud and five counts of lying to the federal government and was sentenced to four years in prison.[142]

* Plame affair (2004), in which CIA agent Valerie Plame's name was leaked by Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State, to the press in retaliation for her husband's criticism of the reports used by George W. Bush to legitimize the Iraq war.[143] Armitage admitted he was the leak[144] but no wrongdoing was found.

* Thomas A. Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), withheld information from Congress about the projected cost of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, and allegedly threatened to fire Medicare's chief actuary, Richard Foster, if Foster provided the data to Congress. (2003)[145] Scully resigned on December 16, 2003.

* NSA warrantless surveillance – Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, President George W. Bush (R) implemented a secret program by the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on domestic telephone calls by American citizens without warrants, thus by-passing the FISA court which must approve all such actions. (2002)[146] In 2010, Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled this practice to be illegal.[147]

* Janet Rehnquist (daughter of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist) appointed Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services by George W. Bush. In 2002, Governor Jeb Bush's (R-FL) Chief of Staff Kathleen Shanahan asked Rehnquist to delay auditing a $571 million federal overpayment to the State of Florida. Rehnquist ordered her staff to delay the investigation for five months until after the Florida elections. When Congress began an investigation into the matter, Rehnquist resigned in March 2003, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.[148][149][150][150][151][152]

* John Yoo An attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel inside the Justice Department who, working closely with vice president Dick Cheney and The Bush Six,[153] wrote memos stating the right of the president to(*)–

1. suspend sections of the ABM Treaty without informing Congress[154]

2. bypass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allowing warrantless wiretapping of US Citizens within the United States by the National Security Agency.[154]

3. state that the First Amendment and Fourth Amendments and the Takings Clause do not apply to the president in time of war as defined in the USA PATRIOT Act[154]

4. allow Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (torture) because provisions of the War Crimes Act, the Third Geneva Convention, and the Torture convention do not apply.[154]

Many of his memos have since been repudiated and reversed.[154][155] Later review by the Justice Department reported that Yoo and Jay Bybee used "poor judgement" in the memos, but no charges were filed.[156]

* Carl Truscott Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms appointed in 2004 but was soon under investigation for his management style and allegations of lavish spending and misuse of resources, including requiring a large number of agents as personal security, allocating hundreds of thousands of dollars of expensive upgrades to the ATF HQ building, adding a new garage to his house, detailing 20 agents to help with his nephew's high school project and other examples of poor financial judgment. Truscott resigned as the ATF Director on August 4, 2006.[157][158]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_scandals_in_the_United_States

 

Some other politicians have, indeed, acted in an immoral and unethical manner.

But there is a huge difference between one's merely acting in an immoral manner and one's being, at the very core, amoral...

 

I cannot support her as I have suffered directly at the hands of her husband's mistakes from the 90's and her agenda is deplorable to me. I don't agree with Trump's views on everything but he hasn't cost me money and part of my livelihood based on stupidity. It saddens me that a lot of people don't truly understand what the Clinton's have done and will continue to do in power.

 

You mean how leading Republicans and conservatives have described Donald as "utterly amoral," a "pathological liar" "fraudster," “narcissist" "phony" "dangerous national security risk" "con man" "national embarrassment" who is "wholly unprepared to be president." That kind of "amoral"?

I agree that putting Don the Con into the WH would be putting an utterly amoral person in the WH.

But to say that Clinton "represents corruption on a scale that we have never before seen in American politics" is just RW propaganda hogwash.

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The longest sustained period of growth post WWII, a record 23 million additional jobs created, poverty levels dropping to all time lows, stock markets tripling even with the correction, the unemployment rate dropping to the lowest level in decades, real incomes rising for all income classes, and the best average annual real GDP growth since the 1960s. Oh yeah, and a then record deficit turning into a surplus.

Lordy, we could use those kind of "mistakes" again.

 

Your support is not necessary.

 

Whereas I agree that Donald Trump is "naccissist[ic]" and "unprepared to be president" (the modifier, "wholly," may be a bit much for me), we should remember that this thread is not about Donald Trump. Rather, it is about Hillary Clinton; and why I am not sure that I can support her, if she should win the presidency.

And your dismissively characterizing my words as mere "propaganda" and "hogwash"--with no substantiation--sounds much more like a partisan view than anything that I posted...

 

In a sense, of course, you are correct: If she wins on November 8, she will become president next January--either with or without my support.

But the degree of corruption and cynicism that now envelops this country is something that deeply concerns me.

And it really should concern all of us...

 

Of course it's a concern. What's more concerning is that the political right took the best chance to regain the presidency in some time due to a notoriously weak democratic candidate, and promptly pissed it away by nominating a reality TV clown.

 

Not sure your point here? I'm not getting more specific in what was directly done to me, but it has nothing to do with the nation as a whole. It was a personal, completely direct action. I doubt you or any one else would want what happened to me to happen to them or anyone they know. So feel free to tout things Clinton did, behind the curtain there are others like myself who have had personal dealings and it sure as hell isn't sunshine and happy accidents. I purposely said DIRECTLY so someone wouldn't umbrella net, but hey selective reading...

 

When you make comparative statements like "she represents corruption on a scale that we have never before seen in American politics" you certainly are making the actions of others relevant.

I completely disagree that there was no substantiation on my part. I substantiated it in detail. Maybe you didn't read my post? Here it is again:

 

Everybody has unique circumstances.

But the Clinton presidency was a time of unparalleled prosperity since the 1960s, and unlike most of the post 1981 time period, prosperity that was broadly shared by people in all income groups.

 

Absolutely!! The word "Core" says it all!

 

I don't think you're understanding. Bill Clinton actually, personally, did something to one of my businesses through someone in his administration. This isn't based on some law he passed or some kind of economic downturn.

 

Whatever. You talked about not supporting Clinton because of "her husband's mistakes from the 90's."

I'm just saying that whatever mistakes you claim he made, it would be great to have an economy like we had under Clinton again.

 

Another Hillary bashing thread from some who has accepted the CERTAINTY of her VICTORY.

What a novel concept.

Back on topic, I disagree with the OP.

I look forward to supporting President Hillary.

 

Do you really believe slinging mud at Trump cleans up Clinton?

 

Incomes for all income groups except the bottom 20% rose throughout the 80's into the early 90's.

 

The left is setting up it's narrative as the Hillary policy failures ensue and her corruptness erupts, HEY AT LEAST SHE'S NOT TRUMP. And they seem to forget they didn't have to nominate her. They could have nominated some who is not corrupt, who does not treat our national security with EXTREME CARELESSNESS, who has not had their 5 closest aids have to seek criminal immunity in concurrent FBI criminal investigation or 3 of their IT staff plead the fifth in order to not incriminate themselves.

But choose her they did.

 

Maybe Al Gore can create another internet type invention and Clinton can take the credit? Might be a winner.

 

One he inherited and slowed down with his policies and had to be saved by the Republicans who sent it soaring and balanced the budget. So who did you support Gingrich or Kaisch since you really like those policies it seems.

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You mean under Gingrich and Kasich who's tax rate cuts and welfare reform he was forced to sign on to.

 

And that right there is how somebody like Trump gets to be a candidate while his supporters chirp on about how corrupt Hillary is.

 

His supporters certainly think the opposite works. It's the basis for his entire campaign, including his speeches, advertising, and rhetoric.

If you're voting for Trump, you've really lost any credibility to talk about how dishonest or corrupt Clinton is.

 

I largely agree with you (surprise!)--except for your characterization of grassroots Republicans (who foisted Trump upon the GOP) as "the right."

More precisely, they are populists--as concerning which, I am emphatically not one.

I simply consider Donald Trump to be preferable to Hillary Clinton...