The Persecution of Hillary Clinton

by Tom Kando

For Hillary Clinton, all hell has broken loose. As the Dutch say, “het hek is van de dam.” It was only a matter of time. Anyone with half a brain could predict that sooner or later, they were going to start her destruction. The only question was the choice of alleged “crime(s).”

The “crime:” She used her private e-mail as Secretary of State. Just for good measure, they are also piling on another charge: her foundation accepted money from Arab countries.

“Benghazi” had become stale. In its heyday, Benghazi generated a lot of commotion, even though it was always 100% contrived. Ask ten random people what Benghazi was about, and not ONE would be able to tell you, apart from aping Fox TV and saying that “Hillary lied about something.” In reality, nothing fraudulent happened. See my articles  Benghazi ad nauseam and The Benghazi Pseudo-issue.

So they are now trying something new. The e-mail thing. This will go on, and there is no doubt that they’ll find other “fun” topics to throw at her. Who are “they”? Obviously the Fox-GOP complex is the prime actor, its actions and motives easily explained by the cui bono principle.


But the problem is much more endemic. It is embedded in the fabric of our culture.

In more primitive societies, political fights are often settled violently, as when Russian opposition leader Boris Nemstov was assassinated recently, or Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in 2007. Of course, our country is no stranger to political murder either, from the Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King to many less illustrious martyrs. Even more regressive regimes use even more barbaric means. We now have ISIS, the Taliban, Boko-Haram, Al Qaeda and no doubt other groups in the near future who murder, rape, torture, kidnap, behead, encage and burn their victims alive.

In the US, political conflict and destruction take on less violent forms: They are carried out in the framework of a highly advanced, bureaucratized and legalistic media culture in which the boundaries between politics, mass entertainment and profit are fluid. Thus, every new scandal du jour is widely publicized and exploited not only by the side most likely to benefit from it (Democrats and MSNBC exploiting Watergate, Contragate and Ferguson, while Republicans and Fox News continue to harp on Benghazi, “Fast and Furious” and now Hillary’s e-mail problems). No, every new political scandal is “covered” (= exploited) by ALL of the media and enjoyed by EVERYONE, regardless of political inclination OR self-interest.

Logon to the Internet. Whether your portal is Yahoo, Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox or something else, the latest scandal will be thrown at you like a bucket of ice water, regardless of who does the accusing, who is being accused, and the political slant of the reporter. Channel surf on your television, and you will see ALL the anchor people milking the same scandals ad nauseam, be they liberal Rachel Maddow, conservative Bill O’Reilly or “centrist” Wolf Blizter. It’s about entertainment, the thrill of public crucifixions, and ratings.

Now that the destruction of Hillary Clinton has begun, my advice to her is to NOT run for President. Playing this game will cause her unbearable pain and premature death. Does the prospect of living in the White House warrant the years of torture she is sure to suffer as a candidate and as a president?

It’s not worth it, Hillary. Don’t do it. The pain, the attacks, the torture have just begun. Don’t you want to have at least a few happy years left?

When Obama first ran for the presidency, I felt differently. There was promise, hope, idealism and optimism in the air. As it turns out, he ended up being molested, vilified, attacked and hurt more than any other President ever. But this is the 4th quarter and he has no choice bu to stick it out. I feel deep compassion for him. His primary legacy, Obamacare, is in danger of being destroyed by an imminent Supreme Court decision. Were this to happen, Obama’s presidency would have been largely in vain, but for one thing: It will have demonstrated the eternal fight between good and evil, the great power of the latter, and the need to continue the struggle.

Precedents abound. The Gracchi brothers were both murdered, to be followed by bloodthirsty men such as Sulla. Danton and the Girondins might have attenuated the French Revolution’s bloodbath, but instead the Jacobins, the Montagnards and men such as Robespierre carried on that bloodbath. The Weimar Republic and men such as Gustav Stresemann might have steered Germany into a positive direction after World War One, but instead Hitler prevailed. Kerensky and the Mensheviks might have given the Russian Revolution a human face, but instead Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and the Bolsheviks made the Soviet Union what it became. Benazir Bhutto seemed a promising leader for Pakistan, but she was assassinated. The list goes on. Whether President Obama’s name will be added to the list of valiant but quixotic martyrs is not yet clear.

Now, we have the incipient attempt by the first female candidate to have a realistic chance at occupying what is still the most powerful position in the world. However, if I were Hillary Clinton, I wouldn’t do it. Compared to the grief she is likely to get, Obama’s eight years will look like a cakewalk.

If I were Hillary Clinton, I would do a Mario Cuomo: The late and brilliant governor of New York understood what he would be in for if he became a candidate for the US presidency, and he therefore declined the candidacy, which many desperately wanted him to accept. He knew that despite his charisma, his great qualifications and his spot-on values, the bigots would destroy him. He saved himself the agony.

Hillary, save yourself. Don’t run. They’ll destroy you. leave comment here

 © Tom Kando 2015