Posted on 09/29/2016 12:40:01 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Hillary Clinton’s campaign prepared for the first presidential debate not just tactically but also strategically. Hillary offered up at least two attacks on Trump that launched new campaign themes, the first of which attempts to paint Donald Trump as a misogynist by raising Alicia Machado as a surrogate. That effort might not pan out as well as Team Hillary hoped, as they seem to have done a remarkably amateurish job of vetting their new spokesperson.
That might not be the worst of the two strategies, however. Politico’s Annie Karni reports that Hillary has turned an attack on Trump’s inheritance into a claim that the Clintons got wealthy from the sweat of their brow, or something:
But on the debate stage Monday and on the campaign trail in North Carolina on Tuesday, Clinton made a strategic shift to show her privilege as different from his: The Clintons came from nothing and lived the American dream; Trump, she said, was just born that way.
“Bill and I have been blessed,” Clinton said at a community college gymnasium here in Raleigh, speaking to a crowd of about 1,400 supporters, where she touted her plans for paid family leave and debt-free college. “We didn’t come from millionaire families. My husband’s father died before he was born.” …
Contrasting the candidates’ upbringings is critical for Clinton, in part because Trump’s message is resonating with working-class voters in battleground states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. “You can’t negate that by simply saying it’s bad policy,” Begala added, “but you can say also it’s coming from a guy who is an untrustworthy messenger.”
Clinton’s close ties to Wall Street, her love of a six-figure paid speech and a big donor confab, are parts of her that even admirers can be put off by — and Bernie Sanders’ baggy-suited, man-of-the-people persona was a big part of his progressive appeal. Clinton often talks about her decision to go work for the Children’s Defense Fund straight out of law school rather than join a fancy, white-shoe law firm — but skeptics arch an eyebrow at the fact that she has to reach back four decades into her life to produce that noble moment.
It’s true that Trump’s father was wealthy, and that Hillary Clinton hails from a solid middle-class background. However, Trump made his money in the private sector and built that inheritance into a much larger fortune, even if it’s still a matter of opinion just how large it actually is. Trump built skyscrapers and carried payrolls, employing tens of thousands of people, a point which even those critical of Trump’s business practices would have to concede. (Those business practices are certainly fair game for debate, considering Trump’s reliance on his business acumen for credibility in the presidential race.)
In contrast, Bill and Hillary Clinton have spent decades in the public sector — at the state level since the late 1970s, and at the federal level ever since. One or the other held high federal office from 1993 to 2013, a remarkable 20-year run — and that’s the same period when they made their wealth. Both benefited from astronomical book advances, but their real money came while Hillary served as Secretary of State.
Their tax returns show that the couple earned $57.5 million in the four years she ran the State Department (2009-12), thanks in large part to Bill’s speaking career at events tied to entities with business before the State Department. For instance, Bill got an $18 million contract over a five-year period as an “honorary chancellor” at Laureate International Universities, which means that his position wasn’t exactly a high-pressure job. That started in 2010, after Laureate’s CEO started getting invited to State Department dinners — a useful bit of access for someone running for-profit schools in foreign countries.
The Clintons didn’t work hard for their wealth, even if their parents might have struggled to get by. They got their cash from trading on their connections to power, abusing their public trusts, and corrupting government. Do working-class people have that path to wealth?
Hell, my cat works harder and she sleeps 15 hours a day.
You don’t get rich on a government paycheck unless you’re a crook.
I was stunned to find out yesterday that one of my friends did not know that Hillary was paid $250K to give a speech to Goldman Sachs.
Please _make_ _sure_ that everyone you know knows this simple fact!
Bottom line: HRC didn’t build that. And would NEVER have successfully made ANY money without leveraging the govt teat she was/is affixed to.
Yea!Hillary worked very hard taking bribes from nations hostile towards the American People and she has violated numerous laws to do so.
At least Donald Trump earned his money the hard way.He worked for it.
Hillary has been nothing but a Parsite for 40 years sucking the life out of the taxpayer.
A lot of the 1% worked hard for their money, but according to Hillary’s theory it’s not theirs it’s the governments, so fork it over beotch. You didn’t build that.
Funny thing,
When they left the White House, Hillary had a famous statement that, they were broke.
What she didn’t say though was that they WERE. Broke.
As a result of. Bills legal bills to defend him from sexual assault lawsuits.
Prostitutes are more honest than Hildebeeste.
The author provided Trump’s money line for the next debate. “Mrs. Clinton, your parents may have indeed struggled to get by, but you didn’t work hard for your wealth. You pocketed hundreds of millions from trading on your connections to power, abusing your public trusts, and corrupting government. Do working-class people have that path to wealth?”
-
250,000 an hour - and she won’t even release it.
This is an insult to anyone that’s ever worked a real job.
-
Yep, at least with them they are honest up front that they are going to screw you.
Those twenty minute speeches at $250,000 a pop are tough. Worse than mining coal or pouring molten steel. Doncha know.
Actually, as I recall, that is exactly what she claimed. Hiring Bill’s lawyers broke them. I suppose that is why they took the furniture. Who knows, maybe if she is elected she will bring back the furniture, china, and silver they “borrowed”.
So did Bernie Madoff.
I guess soliciting bribes might be hard work. I can’t be sure though; I’ve never tried it!
Yeah,
And i am 27, tall dark and handsome with a full head of hair.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.