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Bill Clinton Tag

Republicans have fought against Obamacare from the beginning, but now Democrats have started to pile on. President Bill Clinton recently lashed out at the system at a rally in Michigan:
“You’ve got this crazy system where all the sudden 25 million more people have healthcare and then the people are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half,” Clinton said. “It’s the craziest thing in the world,” he said.

Democrats and their media allies are trying to revive the "war on women" from their 2012 playbook. The best they can do however, is accuse Trump of fat shaming a beauty queen over twenty years ago. Trump has been teasing that he might go after Hillary for the way she treated Bill Clinton's women over the years but it seems The New York Times has beaten him to the punch. This report from Megan Twohey is filled with all kinds of sordid details:
How Hillary Clinton Grappled With Bill Clinton’s Infidelity, and His Accusers Hillary Clinton was campaigning for her husband in January 1992 when she learned of the race’s newest flare-up: Gennifer Flowers had just released tapes of phone calls with Bill Clinton to back up her claim they had had an affair.

Former President Bill Clinton told staffers at the Clinton Foundation if Hillary wins the presidency they will stop accepting foreign and corporate donations. From Fox News:
While Hillary Clinton stepped down from its board after launching her 2016 campaign, her husband and daughter have remained in leadership roles, leading to questions about the ability of the organization to continue its work should Clinton win the White House.

Buzzfeed has a lengthy article and interview with Juanita Broaddrick, who has accused Bill Clinton of rape, Juanita Broaddrick Wants To Be Believed. It's well worth the read. There is one part of the Buzzfeed article which is news in itself. Hillary (in)famously stated on Twitter, and a campaign video quoted on her website, that women who allege sexual assault "have the right to be believed." In light of the accusations by Broaddrick and others such as Paula Jones, Hillary's comment was the focus of much mockery, including our tweet of a previous A.F. Branco cartoon:

Now that his wife has been "cleared" of any wrongdoing in her email scandal, Bill Clinton is getting a bit more bold in his defense of Hillary. It's apparently not enough that she got a walk for something that would have meant serious trouble for anyone else, now Bill has to rub the FBI's nose in it. The New York Post reports:
Bill Clinton accuses FBI of serving up a ‘load of bull’ Bill Clinton is accusing the FBI director of serving up “the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard” — marking the first significant public comments from the husband of the Democratic nominee on the scandal that’s plagued his wife’s campaign for over a year.

It turns out the Clintons have been very charitable in their giving. The ironic part is that their own foundation was the greatest beneficiary of their philanthropy. CNBC reports:
Clintons made $10.6 million in 2015, paid federal rate of 34% Hillary and Bill Clinton released their 2015 tax returns on Friday, showing they paid $3.6 million in taxes on adjusted gross income of $10.6 million.

In addition to ignoring as many of Hillary's negatives as possible, another form of media bias is happening in this election cycle. The media is rehabilitating Bill and Hillary's marriage. It's easier to see the Clintons back in the White House if they're perceived as a happy and normal couple, not the scandal plagued, loveless pair who stayed together for purely political purposes. To aid in their image makeover, we're seeing pieces like this one from CNN:
The surprising secret to Bill and Hillary Clinton's marriage Tuesday night, Bill Clinton took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to make the case for another Clinton: the former U.S. Secretary of State-- and his former First Lady -- Hillary Clinton, as the next President of the United States.

At long last, our national political convention nightmare is over. Thanks to the magic of the internet, we're able to bring you the best moments from this year's Democratic National Convention, sound-free.

Me, when someone brings me a donut:

Hillary got a little bit too excited - Imgur

I watched the new documentary film "Clinton Cash" based on the book by Peter Schweizer this week and all I can say is the Clintons' corruption is worse than most people know. As a full time blogger, I watch cable news and monitor political news all day every day and even I didn't know the extent of the Clintons' influence and the way they've used it to enrich themselves and others. I think most members of the general public would be horrified by what's presented in this film.

Uh-oh: looks like I've had something of a mind-meld with Rachel Maddow . . . During Bill Clinton's DNC speech tonight, I tweeted "the spectacle of Bill Clinton telling the romantic story of how he met, wooed and married Hillary is deeply creepy." When the speech ended, Rachel Maddow, on MSNBC, called the top of the speech "shocking and weird," describing the beginning of the speech as "controversial." Maddow was miffed that Clinton spoke of "a girl," "the girl" and built "her whole political story for the whole first half of the speech around her marriage to him."

I don't know a ton about Boris Johnson. He's the former Mayor of London, is very pro-Israel and hates the BDS movement, led the Brexit campaign only to withdraw from contention to be Prime Minister, and was just appointed Foreign Minister (okay, "Foreign Secretary") in Theresa May's new cabinet. And he has a mop of blonde hair. He obviously has some wit, as in a 2007 column in The Telegraph newspaper in Britain, wherein he described Hillary Clinton in terms we all can appreciate (emphasis added):
"She's got dyed blonde hair and pouty lips, and a steely blue stare, like a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital ..."
Sounds like he was channeling Rush Limbaugh, who made the comparison just a couple of months earlier, Mrs. Clinton Plays Nurse Ratched: Hillary Clinton Nurse Ratched

While traveling back home from a conference in Atlanta, I had a chance to read the new book Crisis of Character: A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses His Firsthand Experience with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate by Gary Byrne. Byrne's book is a gripping read, as he conveys his personal history to join the Secret Service, his time at the White House, and his decision to join the Federal Air Marshals Service. However, it is not an easy read, as it is difficult to learn of how the Clintons and other elite politicos disdainfully treated patriotic Americans such a Byrne, who want only to serve their country.

The day after Hillary Clinton's "voluntary interview" with the FBI, she appeared this morning on Meet the Press. From the NBC transcript of the interview:
CHUCK TODD: . . . .  Yesterday, the F.B.I. interviewed Hillary Clinton for about three and a half hours at its headquarters right here in Washington D.C. about the use of her private email server while she was secretary of State. I spoke with the former secretary late yesterday on MSNBC, her only interview since meeting with the F.B.I., and asked her whether the description of the interview as "civil and businesslike" was accurate. SEC. HILLARY CLINTON: Well, it was both. It was something I had offered to do since last August. I've been eager to do it and I was pleased to have the opportunity to assist the department in bringing its review to a conclusion.

The State Department has asked for a 27 month delay to release emails from Hillary Clinton when she served as secretary of state. That means the department would not release the emails until October 2018, over a year into Clinton's presidency if she should win in November.

Reports this morning indicate that Loretta Lynch is likely to accept the recommendation of the FBI as to prosecuting Hillary. The NY Times and initial reports on MSNBC indicated this was tantamount to a recusal, but the DOJ is now walking it back just a little, saying the likelihood of her overruling the FBI is very low, but not zero. I pointed out on June 29 that the real story here is not just the meeting, but also that Lynch and Clinton kept it secret until a local reporter found out about it from a source and questioned Lynch during a press conference:
If there was no appearance of impropriety, why did Lynch wait until a local news crew, apparently tipped off, asked her about it?

There are many things that raise serious questions about the meeting between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the husband of a woman under FBI investigation, namely Bill Clinton. As I wrote yesterday, Gross appearance of impropriety in AG Lynch private meeting with Bill Clinton:
Neither Lynch nor Bill Clinton are dummies. They both know that such a private meeting creates the appearance of impropriety regardless of what was discussed. Bill Clinton’s wife is being investigated by the FBI — why do you think he dropped in for a chat with Lynch? Of course they didn’t discuss the case. They didn’t need to. If there was no appearance of impropriety, why did Lynch wait until a local news crew, apparently tipped off, asked her about it?
I don't think enough media focus has been on the non-disclosure. If not for the media tip-off, no one would have known the meeting took place except for Lynch, Clinton, and security details. And none of them are going to go on the record, at least not now.