President Hillary?

I first wrote this entry in July 2006 and posted it on another blog site. Hillary Clinton's recent announcement that she is a candidate for the DNC nomination makes it appropritate to repost here as well.

With no candidate coming out and “admitting” that they want to run for the presidential nomination of their party in 2008 there has been a lot of speculation. One name that continues to emerge for the Democratic Party is Hillary Rodham Clinton. The former First Lady was first elected to the Senate in 2000 to replace Senator Pat Moynihan who declined to run again for health reasons. Hillary’s verbal attack against the current Bush administration rather than her Republican opponent in the 2006 New York Senate race did nothing to discourage speculation of her as a presidential candidate in 2008.

She grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was a military man. Descriptions of her father portray him as emotionally detached. This may help us to understand her personal vendetta against our military. She met Bill Clinton while at college. Her first brush with national politics was working for Congress in researching impeachment against then President Richard Nixon. When her husband failed to win reelection as Arkansas governor she was identified as the most common reason. Her involvement in his campaign had been nearly non-existent, she had not taken his name and she was busy pursuing her own career. Before he ran again for Governor of Arkansas Hillary would undergo a complete makeover. Like a chameleon she would reinvent herself as a traditional wife that voter’s could identify with including finally taking her husband’s name.

Certainly, she has been a lightening rod for controversy. She is a polarizing figure and people tend to either love her or hate her. The American public tends to vote for a candidate that they can relate to and who shares their political beliefs. What are Hillary’s beliefs? By examining her voting record and past comments we can get an idea of where she stands on certain issues.

She missed the very first vote after being elected to the Senate.

IMMIGRATION

Immigration is a hot topic. When the Senate voted on its highly publicized immigration bill Hillary failed to cast a vote. Her position on illegal immigration is unknown.

TERRORISM

She initially agreed with the Bush administration’s position on the Iraq war. She even made comments to build support for military action in Iraq.

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapon stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." -- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"The intelligence which the president shared with us was in line with what we saw in the White House." -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2003

She voted NO to reauthorizing the Patriot Act.

She voted NO to increasing spending for the armed forces.

TAXES/BUDGET/ECONOMY

Hillary Clinton has voted against tax breaks and reduced Federal spending. She actually called for a tax increase!

Rated 21% by NTU (National Tax Union), indicating a "Big Spender" on tax votes.

Voted NO on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years.

Voted NO on $40B in reducing federal overall spending.

Voted YES on reducing marriage penalty instead of cutting top tax rates.

Voted YES on increasing tax deductions for college tuition.

“We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.” –Hillary Clinton

"Since when do we raise taxes in a recession? This is the most irresponsible idea Senator Clinton has come up with since her attempt to nationalize America's health care system in 1993." -- Former New York Republican Rep. Jack Kemp, co-director of Empower America, condemning Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's call for a tax increase on NBC's Meet the Press.

HEALTH CARE

"I can't worry about every under capitalized business" -- Hillary Clinton, testifying before congress on the effects of Nationalized Health Care.

In 1993,Hillary Clinton was appointed by her husband, then-President Bill Clinton, to head a task force to overhaul national health care. Her final plan received widespread criticism. Congress held more than 30 hearings regarding her new health care plan then eventually dismissed it altogether. The plan became known as “HillaryCare”.

Voted YES on expanding enrollment period for Medicare Part D.

Voted YES on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics.

Voted YES on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drug.

Voted NO on $40 billion per year for limited Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Voted YES on allowing reimportation of Rx drugs from Canada.

Voted YES on allowing patients to sue HMOs & collect punitive damages.

Voted NO on funding GOP version of Medicare prescription drug benefit.

She joined 5 other Senators in sending a letter to local television stations nationwide requesting that they NOT air videos supplied by the government explaining the then new health care benefits. The bill had already passed Congress and been signed into law. The videos were distributed to explain the new benefits to seniors and those that care for them. – www.senate.gov Mar 15, 2004

SOCIAL SECURITY

She opposes privatizing Social Security.

“Social Security is a family protection system.” –Hillary Clinton, “Talking It Over” column Feb 17, 1999

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Clinton scores 82% by the NEA(The National Education Association) on public education issues

She opposes school vouchers for poor parents.

Twice she has voted NO for private tutors for children that need them.

Voted YES on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors.

Voted YES on funding student testing instead of private tutors.

Voted YES on spending $448B of tax cut on education & debt reduction.

Voted YES on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education.

Voted YES on $5B for grants to local educational agencies.

SENATE CONFIRMATIONS

"When the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Viet Dinh and Michael Chertoff as assistant attorneys general, Mrs. Clinton cast the only vote against either man. Were her reasons serious, or spiteful? You decide. Both men were lawyers with the Senate Whitewater Committee." -- Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2001

ABORTION

While in the Senate she has cast a vote in support of abortion as a woman’s right no less than 3 times. She has not voted against abortion 1 single time.

FAMILY VALUES

She has voted against teaching family values in public schools.

GAY/LESBIAN RIGHTS

“We ought to be providing domestic partnership benefits for people who are in homosexual and lesbian relationships.” – Hillary Clinton, Feb 11, 2000

Voted YES on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.

WORLD VIEW OF HILLARY CLINTON

"The independent counsel concludes that Mrs. Clinton's sworn testimony that she had no input into [presidential aide David] Watkins' decision or role in the travel-office firings is factually inaccurate." -- Independent Counsel Robert Ray's official assessment of the credibility of Hillary Rodham Clinton's testimony under oath.

"[Hillary Clinton] cannot defend her own rights against her husband. How can she defend the rights of my country?" -- General Suhaila Siddiq, Afghanistan's only woman general, a surgeon, hospital director and heroine to a generation of young women who remained in the country, The [London] Times, WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 28 2001

"I think Elizabeth Moynihan, Senator Moynihan’s wife, had it right when she told me that Hillary is "duplicitous." Hillary acts as though she is chosen by God, and that gives her the right to use any means to justify her ends." -- Edward Klein

"The only real model for a Hillary presidency is that of Richard Nixon. Like Nixon, Hillary hides a personality driven by paranoia, fear, and hatred for enemies, and a willingness to get even and do what it takes to prevail, behind a sincerity and good nature." -- Long time Clinton advisor Dick Morris, Rewriting History

Like Nixon, Hillary is paranoid and has an enemies list.Like Nixon, Hillary has used FBI files against her enemies.Like Nixon, Hillary believes that the ends justify the means.Like Nixon, Hillary has a penchant for doing illegal things. -- Edward Klein

CREDIBILITY

“The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they're not.” – Hillary Clinton

"This vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for President" -- Hillary Clinton to Matt Lauer

I think we sort of have lost track of the fact this is a government that has to be accountable to the people of our country,” – Hillary Clinton

[On the Today show in Jan. 1998, one week into the Monica Lewinsky scandal] Mrs. Clinton said, “The President has denied these allegations on all counts, unequivocally.... The real story here, for anybody willing to tell it and write about it and explain it, is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president. When all this is put into context... some folks are going to have a lot to answer for.” - Hillary’s Choice by Gail Sheehy, p. 5 & 8 Dec 9, 1999

SCANDALS

She was instrumental in controlling the “Bimbo eruptions”. Two “bimbos” that refused to be controlled by Hillary were Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones. Both would later come back to haunt Bill Clinton.

She has been linked to the cover-up of the Vince Foster suicide. While investigators waited to gain entry into Mr. Foster’s office Hillary’s staff removed documents to the She has claimed that she only retrieved her personal documents from his briefcase.

She was the central figure in the White Water land deal. Most investors lost their investments, but Hillary Clinton actually received profits. Some of her cohorts would eventually be convicted and serve prison terms for their involvement.

She was named as the “high ranking official” that fired the White House travel office and attempted to hand over the operation to her personal friends from Arkansas. She changed her position under intense pressure.

She gave the order for the military members carrying the nuclear “football” not to wear their uniforms. Her reasoning is that she didn’t want her husband to be seen with the military. The Secret Service convinced her to change her position when they pointed out that the military uniform made it easier to identify the person they needed to keep with the president.

Hillary Clinton has said that she wasn’t involved in the 11th hour pardons issued by her husband just before his Presidency ended. It was her very own brother who lobbied the President for the pardons and who also represented some of the recipients.

She was the primary figure in the furniture scandal that erupted when the Clinton’s moved out of the White House. Hillary contended that the furniture she took was private property. She later changed her story and blamed the movers for taking things from the White House. Eventually, she relented and returned most of the items.

The six-year, $52 million Whitewater investigation came to a close yesterday, as Independent Counsel Robert Ray announced he had found “insufficient evidence” to bring charges in the widest-reaching special prosecutor inquiry ever. In a short statement, Ray [who took over from Ken Starr last October] concluded there was “inconclusive” evidence that President Clinton and Hillary Clinton participated in, or were aware of, any illegal activity tied to the Whitewater real estate venture in the 1970s and 1980s.

“I’m just glad this is finally over,” Hillary Clinton said. Finally free of the issue that marred her tenure as first lady and the early part of her Senate campaign, Hillary Clinton expressed confidence Whitewater had been a non-issue all along, saying most people had “made up their minds a long time ago.” She said, “I think that taxpayers have a right to ask why was all this money spent, especially since ... the conclusions were readily available five years ago.” - Boston Globe, p. A1 Sep 21, 2000

Two days after the statute of limitations ran out for crimes associated with Whitewater, Hillary Clinton finally produced the damning documents that the Whitewater investigators had subpoenaed several years earlier.