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If Hillary Is Your Champion, You Don’t Need An Adversary
In a normal world, the very thought of the person who sat idly by while four Americans were besieged and murdered at one of our embassies now wanting to be our “champion” would cause every heart in the country to go into immediate arrest. Unhappily, the world is no longer normal, leaving a small and regrettable percentage of the American electorate who will now invite the Inspector Clouseau of American politics to minister to their whims and desires. But, to be sure, they won’t be the same people who learned from experience the pitfalls of placing their hopes and trust in Hillary Clinton.
“Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion,” announced the person who looked upon the wreckage and misery that accompanied her husband’s serial sexual abuse of “everyday Americans” and decided to attack his victims. According to the Daily Mail, Bill Clinton’s infamous wagging finger and the “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” whopper was orchestrated at the direction of Hillary, who took the wrong side in the real War on Women. Remarking — when she returned to the White House following her “vast Right wing conspiracy” television interview — that “I guess that will teach them to [expletive] with us.” Except that it wasn’t “them [expletive-ing] with,” the Clintons, but rather the Clintons [expletive-ing] with them!
But the War on Women can be fickle after all, as Kathleen Willey — another of Bill’s Fondle U. alumna — observed when she said of Hillary “The point is what this woman is capable of doing to other women while she’s running a campaign basically on women’s issues.” Then again, what difference at this point does it make?
Paula Jones — in whose presence Bill freed Willy before instructing her to “kiss it” — could have used a champion. Juanita Broaddrick, who convincingly claims to have been raped by Bill Clinton, would have benefitted greatly from Hillary’s advocacy. Monica Lewinsky, who was barely out of her teens when then-President Clinton evidently confused an intern’s privates with a cigar humidor, certainly needed a champion. Instead our Champion of Everyday Americans orchestrated a smear campaign against her.
For that matter, the women of Saudi Arabia — who are forbidden by their Islamic overlords from driving a car, going anywhere in public without a male chaperone, voting, or competing in sports — could use a champion. So, too, could a 19 year-old girl who was gang raped by seven men and subsequently sentenced by a Saudi court to six months in jail and 200 lashes. She would be well-advised to look elsewhere, as Hillary has rather uncharacteristically grown mute on the subject, and has no intention of returning the $10 – $25 million the Clinton Foundation received from the Saudi Arabian Kingdom. In Hillary’s world, champions are bought, not created.
No need to worry, however, because she promises to bring the same sterling success she’s enjoyed across the globe right to your doorstep. Remember the Russian “Reset Button”? You know, the little gizmo that actually read, “overcharge” in Russian? One wonders, in the wake of all this “smart diplomacy,” whether Ukraine and Crimea would have benefitted from an American champion? Instead, they were invaded by Vladimir Putin, the beneficiary of Hillary’s reset button. Did Poland and the Czech Republic go looking for help when Barack Obama decided to repeal US plans for providing them with missile defenses? Where was the champion then?
During the 2008 campaign, Hillary made a great fuss about whether Barack Obama would be able to answer the phone at 3AM and deal with a crisis. In September of 2012, her phone rang not at 3AM, but during normal business hours and the results were still catastrophic. Four Americans, including a United States Ambassador and two Navy SEALs were under attack in Libya. As their plea went unanswered, their Secretary of State remained unresponsive, and their Commander in Chief went AWOL to a Las Vegas fundraiser. Four Americans were murdered while this would-be champion propagated a lie that the attack was a spontaneous protest resulting from an American videographer, who was promptly jailed. As Secretary of State, she left behind a world in which our allies are in danger and our enemies are emboldened, a world in which a murderous regime in Iran is treated like a friend and ushered toward the nuclear threshold, while our closest friend in the region is treated like the enemy.
The regrettable fact is that, in the public policy arena, those who have looked to Hillary as their champion have wound up either defeated, conquered, or dead. In what way, precisely, is this supposed to inspire confidence as she descends to the level of us mere mortals — in all her resplendent glory — smiles beneficently in our direction, and announces that she is about to champion us? In a sane world, the people would rise with one voice and announce, “Like hell you will!” Then again, in a sane world, a Republican front-runner wouldn’t have rewarded such a dismal record with the Liberty Medal.
It’s as if we were at a Liberace concert when, finally, the bejeweled celebrity appears on stage, sits down at a diamond-encrusted grand piano, hands raised elegantly, poised in anticipation of a virtuoso performance, only to cudgel out a third-rate rendition of “Chopsticks,” missing half the notes, yet demanding a standing ovation. The audience rises to leave, but liberalism is a compulsory concert where the doors are locked and the awful performance only worsens.
Clinton’s failure is on two fronts primarily. First — if we were looking for a champion — it would not be one so chronically corrupt and morally compromised that she thinks it is perfectly acceptable to conduct official business via private email, print out those she deigns to submit for public review, and destroys the rest. In Federalist 10, James Madison warned that:
Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices, or of sinister designs, may, by intrigue, by corruption, or by other means, first obtain the suffrages, and then betray the interests, of the people.
We’ve endured enough of that from leaders in both parties but, to be candid, but Mrs. Clinton makes them all look like Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity by comparison.
Second — and perhaps most importantly — Clinton fails to understand that free men and women really don’t need a champion in a far-away capital, arranging their lives and leading them about by the nose. We don’t need someone telling us what kind of food to eat, what kind of car to drive, what sort of plumbing to use in our homes, what kind of light bulb to use, which doctor to patronize, which insurance to purchase (or whether or not to purchase it in the first place), whether or not we may engage in political speech, whether or not we may protect our families and property, what school our children should attend, how much of our income we should donate to others, whether or not to recycle, ad infinitum.
In America, we see our champions every time we look at or families or welcome home our soldiers. We look at our parents and grandparents, we consider their struggles on our behalf, and we know what champions do. We honor throngs of veterans on Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day, we listen to their stories and see the medals they’ve earned, and we realize there are champions all around us. We read of the struggle for American independence and know immediately that signatories of the Declaration of Independence were champions who did not pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in order to trade one tyranny for another.
“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville, “her ample rivers, and it was not there. I sought for it in the fertile fields, and boundless prairies, and it was not there. I sought it in her rich mines, and vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.”
Ultimately then, America’s champion is its spirit, perhaps best characterized as that virtue which attaches to a healthy respect for life, liberty and property — which is to say, that virtue which Hillary Clinton has spent her entire public life repudiating.
Published in Politics
Amen to every word.
Someone please forward this to Kirsten Powers.
Dang.
I really hope we can turn that stupid reset button into the “Mission Accomplished” of the campaign.
Terrific post, Dave. Keep ’em coming.
Great to see you again at the Nashville Meet-up.
We need to quit saying it that way – and we need to emphasize that while it was promised to be a ‘reset’ button it was actually an ‘overcharge’ button and it is working exactly as the name implies.
We are being overcharged on the international stage because of the policies this administration and her support of those policies.
But what if you really do want recycled failed ideas implemented at absurd cost, rhetoric that never matches actions, brazen attempts to characterize abject failures as victories, a steady stream of scandals and lies and a persistent general feeling of contempt for your leaders? Isn’t HILLARY! your champion?
To paraphrase, “maybe Hillary isn’t the champion we need, but the champion we deserve”. While I’m wiling to admit I’m not a paragon of morality, I’m not quite sure to what levels of depravity I’d have to sink to deserve her as my champion.
Great post Dave. However,I think we should refer to Mrs Clinton as Ms Rodham,after all if we recognize common law marriage we should recognize common law divorce. Bill has not enjoyed a cigar with Hillary since Chelsea was conceived.
Thanks Dave, she is one evil human.
It’s hard to write about the Clintons without violating the CofC.
But, yeah, the problem is the 51% of voters who might think she is their champion, just as Mr Obama is, all evidence to the contrary.
Agreed to all but this. It’s not a small percentage, and conservatives need to quit pretending that it is. Fully half of American voters will at least consider voting for her.
Those on the Left who disapprove of Clinton dislike her gruff manner, her manipulations of her own side, or her opposition to The One (Barack Obama). They don’t disapprove of her lies, her disregard for law and order, her callous abuses of any opposition, her want of total authority, or her negligence in office.
Fully half of Americans would politely host you and me for a dinner party but then make us slaves, prisoners, or paupers through the heavy hand of centralized, totalitarian government. They would smile and laugh with us, then cheer as media destroyed our reputations or employers dismissed us for daring to disagree with the liberal project.
Conservative pundits are forever confusing the mile-high view with the nitty gritty in polling data. Yes, most Americans will say they want to be free to make their own choices; but half of them will then vote for government control. Yes, most Americans will say they want bipartisan agreement; but then they will cheer as Democrats stick it to Republicans.
There is always hope. God is always with us. But let’s be realistic. This country is at war with itself, not just with a handful of activists and corrupt politicians.
By the way, Dave, I’m always glad to see you contributing to Ricochet. Now that your boss has experienced the thrilling humor and wisdom that comes from so many different angles in the Ricochet community, I hope she will schedule some semi-regular writing time.
What a great post. One of the best and most powerful I’ve seen on Ricochet.
As for the chopsticks simile, I’m also reminded of the “Seinfeld” episode where George rushes out of the bathroom, pants down around his ankles, trying to get to the phone before Kramer can inadvertently blurt out the truth about George’s unemployment scam. Jerry sees him there on the floor, and says, “And you want to be my latex salesman.”
This is how I see Hillary. Benghazi, the email, the reset, these are her pants down around her ankles. And she wants to be our champion.
The point of a champion is someone who fights for us.
Americans fight their own fights. We don’t outsource that.
You’d think she’d know that. But she is, after all, a lawyer – and lawyers want the client to sit quietly while they do the advocating.
Dave,
I’m glad you are on the job here. This woman has such a long list of negatives she hopes that people will get tired and give up.
I especially think the story of how she personally damaged the lives of the women who were sexually harassed, if not raped, by Bill is the most telling. She knew what Bill was up to from the beginning. This is a cold merciless calculator. It didn’t happen one time but many times.
This makes the whole ‘Woman’ campaign angle especially nauseating.
Regards,
Jim
Hillary = Rape apologist.
Dave,
You know now that I’ve had a little time to think about it and you have given me so much to think about, I realize that the Clintons remind me of another power couple. These two really know how to get the job done.
Out out damned spot. Huma get the stain remover.
Regards,
Jim
Each paragraph could be made into a campaign ad. Most people don’t know these things because the media has downplayed them or never reported them . Sigh , if only there was an opposition party. I say it all the time but I don’t think anyone in the RNC has ever even heard of Ricochet.
Thank you sir! Great to see you too!
Well, you could always write in General Custer.
You mention polling data, and I’m wondering if you have some to highlight for me. I tried to reference Gallup just now, because I seem to remember the percentage of those who self-identify as liberal in low 20s. Unfortunately, the site is down so I can’t verify that at the moment. I’m wondering, then, when you write that “fully half” of Americans would be as genteel as you please while enslaving us — are you referencing the hard core left supporter, or including with them the independent vote? I ask because I have to wonder if independents are starting to sour on the liberal agenda, and I’m curious as to whether or not you share that hunch.
It’s entirely possible that half of the electorate are simply impervious, but I’m wondering what path you take to that conclusion.
I’m delighted you wrote this comment, both because it give me that rarest of opportunities (that of offering a gentle correction), and because it gives me a chance to brag on my fiancé!
I know you’re kidding, but I won’t pass up the chance to point out that Shelley is most emphatically not my boss. That’s a position she never applied for and wouldn’t want. Best friend, confidant, life’s partner, soul mate, source of comfort, strength, and wisdom? Yes indeed. But boss? Nah.
That said, the only impediment I have to writing is my work schedule, which is why it has taken nearly 12 hours to even answer your comment! The chief challenge is that on those rare days when my work schedule permits time to write,…by the time the day is ended, I’m simply fried both physically and mentally. It’s a predicament I hope to free of at some point.
Dave,
Excellent post. I hope the younger voters get your message as they may not be old enough to have a reference point about the corruption and moral decay that was the hallmark of the Clinton administration.
God help us if America is stupid enough to elect Hillary President. If that occurred, it may be time for all of us on Ricochet to chip in and buy an Island.
I don’t remember if it was Jonah or Jim Garaghty who said, after the “foreign funds to the Clinton Foundation,” and the “deleted emails” scandals that this is what a Clinton presidency would look like. I’m suffering from scandal fatigue already, and we’re just getting started. Unfortunately, only those who lived through the first Clinton presidency remember what it was like. Those who were children during the first Clinton presidency, or born then, have no inkling of the constant drumbeat of scandal. Hillary’s a clean slate, with no baggage.
He went on to say that scandal wasn’t going to defeat Hillary. Everyone accepts that the Clintons are corrupt. Some just don’t care.
How do you really feel about Hillary Dave?
Well said.
I’m including the voters who would enslave us through ignorance rather than malice. Voting data is more informative than polling data. Half of American voters not only elected Barack Obama to be President, but re-elected him. Half of Americans thought President Obama was, if not a good President, at least preferable to a President Romney.
Now, I believe we should fight on for the sake of truth and justice even if the “war” is already lost. And I don’t want to casually toss aside what you and so many others enlisted for. But American culture has split evenly all the way down to the foundations. We are divided on the most fundamental perceptions of human nature and social organization.
And we must not pretend that the portion of liberals gripped by malice is insignificant in number. Everyone on this site encounters such people. Our neighbors, coworkers, and even old “friends” accuse us as if we were vicious, greedy hatemongers.
For evil to reign, it is not necessary for the majority of fellow Americans to hate us so. It is only necessary for that minority to create an atmosphere of fear and doubt in which the wicked may direct the ignorant and the weak-willed. We call it political correctness. Conservatives have already become accustomed to hiding their more important values at work, online, and even at private dinner parties.
Unless we are bold, all the horrors of the 20th century will become possible on American soil. There’s more at stake than affluence, American exceptionalism, or even the Constitution.
Aaron, I’d like to think that your diagnosis is mistaken. I’d really like to think that something significantly less than “over half of the voters” would continue taking us down this road. The 2014 election results, for example, tend to argue the opposite. But then so did the 2010 mid-terms, right? So I can’t be sure. But as you say, we must press forward, “for the sake of truth and justice.”
Just brilliant, Dave.
I continue to be gobsmacked that the woman married to our most depraved president – a woman whose political life (1) has been marked by continual scandals and failures and (2) can only be attributed to her association with said depraved president – is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
As I’ve said before, her candidacy violates the spirit of the 22nd Amendment, and to my mind, her seeking the office actually disqualifies her for it. Furthermore, she is transparently animated only by wealth and power – not by any desire to be anyone’s “champion” or “fighter”. (And whenever a politician says, “I’ll fight for you!” she diminishes herself by using the language of the ambulance-chaser.)
Aside #1: If I were directing the next James Bond movie and cast Hillary Clinton in the role of the villain (admittedly, an unlikely scenario), I could not do any better in terms of hair, makeup, and costuming than the version of Hillary at the top of this page.
Aside #2: Why is she called “Mrs. Clinton”? Shouldn’t a feminist be called “Ms. Clinton”?
Aside #3: Her characterization of “everyday Americans” was pitch perfect, if what she was going for was sounding like an imperious, condescending elitist. “Everyday” is an adjective that should be applied to objects, not people. One may have “everyday china” or wear “everyday shoes”, but an American should not be described as “everyday”. One imagines that Herself (as Kevin Williamson calls her) thinks that we everyday Americans should eat everyday cake.