Posted on 06/17/2015 3:39:44 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
House Democrats say there’s nothing wrong with Bill Clinton getting paid to give speeches while Hillary Clinton runs for president.
Critics of the speeches, including former Clinton administration official Robert Reich and others, are a distraction, say the Democrats, who argue that voters don’t care how the former president makes his money.
“I just don’t think that Americans cast their vote for or against Hillary Clinton based on whether Bill Clinton is giving speeches,” said Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), a former House Democratic campaign chief.
“I respect Robert Reich,” Israel added. I don’t believe it’s ever a good idea for Democrats to be creating distractions, and that’s just a distraction.”
Reich, who served as Labor secretary under Clinton, has suggested the speeches could pose a conflict of interest for the Clintons, but most House Democrats don’t see it that way.
“People have a right to earn a living,” said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). “If I had a spouse that did a particular kind of job, I’d be disappointed that people would think that I just bought into everything my spouse’s employers were saying or doing.”
“I think Bill should go out there, and if he has a little bit of wisdom he can share as a former president, as a former good president, I think he ought to share it,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.). “If people are willing to pay for his advice and services, I think he has every right to do that.”
The Hill asked a dozen House Democrats whether they believe Bill Clinton should stop giving the paid speeches. The overwhelming response was that there is no problem.
“Look at what they’ve done,” said Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas). “Everything I’ve seen they spent money on was for things that were really good: for Haiti, Africa, you name it.”
Money for Clinton’s appearances goes to the Clinton Foundation, which supports a range of charitable initiatives around the world. The speeches have also enriched the couple.
The Clintons often charge more than $200,000 per speech, and they earned about $30 million over the last 16 months, according to financial disclosures filed with election officials in May. The bulk of that money came from paid speeches at home and abroad to business leaders, political leaders and outside industry groups.
Hillary Clinton stopped giving paid speeches in March as she ramped up for a presidential run, but Bill Clinton continues to profit from the speaking engagements. He has said he’ll most likely stop giving paid speeches if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency.
Asked in early May about whether he’d keep giving the speeches, the former president said: “I gotta pay our bills.”
Stories about the speeches, the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of State have dogged the Democratic candidate for much of the year.
A recent CNN/ORC poll found 57 percent of Americans don’t consider Hillary Clinton to be honest or trustworthy.
Democratic lawmakers blamed the media and Republicans for obsessing over the issue and argued it will have no bearing on the presidential race.
“The way that the media and the other side have been focusing on attacking Hillary on a regular basis — if it’s not this, it’s just going to be something else,” said Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.).
For many Democratic lawmakers, such as Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.), Bill Clinton’s statement that he may stop giving the paid speeches if Hillary Clinton wins the White House race was sufficient to address any concerns.
Cohen said the Clintons possess unmatched political skills, and Democrats can rest easy with whatever campaign calculations they make.
“I don’t think I could give Bill Clinton any strategic advice,” he said. “He’s pretty strategic.”
The Hill found only one Democrat willing to side with Reich on the issue of paid speeches. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said that, while there’s been no evidence of impropriety, the issue “detracts from her ability to get her message out.”
“The fee-for-service stuff has to stop,” Grijalva said. “The debate has not been about the issues, it’s been about the Clintons and the foundation and the emails. This campaign needs to be substantive. The debate between Republicans and Democrats has to be substantive. Anything that detracts, and at this point those fees are a detraction, doesn’t help our cause.”
Some Democrats say the dearth of House lawmakers willing to criticize the Clintons might stem from the fear of taking on a political dynasty with a history of political retribution.
In 2008, the Clintons kept a “hit list” of politicians who betrayed them by backing then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
“Let’s face it, the Clintons keep score,” said Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist. “A lot of people in Washington are probably scared to death of the Clintons, and they probably have a good right to be.”
But Democratic lawmakers largely sounded fed up with a controversy they believe the media and Republicans have concocted, and that they say has long passed its sell-by date.
“Bill Clinton is not running for president; Hillary Clinton is,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said. “Whether it’s controversy about the foundation that does a lot of good work or him making speeches, there’s a difference between these two people, and personally, I just don’t see it as an issue.”
Bump
I’ll go out on a limb and predict that Hillary’s fan club will say that Huma’s husband is the new/alternate/runner-up face of courage and bravery for his selfies. Just a guess
Huma’s husband thingy and Bruce Jenner are the ‘new Norm’, at least that’s what Brucie said in the promo for his new television show.
Why doesn’t Bill give a speech on why we’re finding out 22 years later that nearly half of the Branch Davidians killed in the Waco massacre were black. Black lives matter.
(Sniffle) Dems are so loyal (sob.)
So so true to the Democrat motto: "there's a sucker born every minute."
Bill Clinton told Jake Tapper that then-Secy of State Hillary "never looked at his donor list" (in order to made official decisons that benefited his donors).
But the question Americans want answered is what was HE doing while these entities were lobbying Hillary?
<><> Was Bill hovering over the Chappaqua server getting wealth-building emails from State?
<><> Was Bill using classified information to set-up lucrative deals for donors?
<><> Was that why they scrubbed it clean?
<><> Was he dictating notes to Huma Abedin at Teneo and Goldman Sachs at his SIL's hedge fund?
<><> Was Bill's globe-trotting to places like far-off Kazakhstan that ended up as a lucrative uranium deal just a coincidence?
That nose of Bill's does a lot more than snort lines on the coffee table....this guy can sniff out money-making deals from miles away.
Ortel says “if any of the 50 state attorneys general present the evidence to a federal district judge, an injunction would be ordered, shutting down the Clinton Foundation and placing the organization in receivership.”
CONCLUSION A good start might be AG's in the 26 states that were recently victorious---bringing charges against vote-crazed Obama's suck-up to gravy-train riders.
Indeed, the Clinton-Lewinsky defense—accord which the feminists signed onto, can be regarded as feminism's Nazi-Soviet Pact. Their calculation was both simple and crude: If Clinton was removed, Hillary would go too. But she was their link to patronage and power, and they couldn't imagine losing that. Their kind was finally in control of the White House, and the conservative enemies of their beautiful future were not....."
(1) Hillary's State Dept uses classified intel in exchange for honoraria, big-buck foundation donations, business deals.
(2) COLLUSION Bill gets foundation donations through State Dept action OR inaction.
(3) Clintons' multiple business interests using "do-goodism" as a ruse---gold mining, uranium mines, oil pipelines, banking, arms deals, pharmaceuticals, telecom, etc, etc, etc.
(4) Foundation laundry machines: Eaglevale Hedge Fund run by Chelsea's husband, Goldman Sachs principles.
(5) Teneo laundry--employed Bill, Huma Abedin, etc etc etc
(6) Obama foundations' cut of Clinton deals (CLUE: Clinton Foundation donates to Obama Foundation "for the children")
(7) State Dept foreign aid tax dollars funneled back as foundation donations (see Cameroon Baptist Church's $10 million donation)
(8) $6 billion found missing from Hillary's State Dept when she exited.
(9) Hillary gave Haiti billions; brother gets gold-mining license.
(10) Clintons' multiple hidden buck-raking entities (Bill just unveiled The Clinton America Foundation).
(11) Hillary hand-picks recipients of State Dept awards in exchange for foundation donations.
(12) Bill goes to Kazkhstan; Hillary approves Russian takeover of US uranium mines
(13) Clinton/Giustra Canada foundation hides donors.
(14) Clinton's Swedish entity hides donors.
(15) Clintons get rich on tolerance and compassion, w/ an occasional good deed.
(16) MAIL FRAUD---foundation raising money for one cause that went to Bill's "pass-through" for another use.
(17) Rahm Emanuel was Bill Clinton's senior White House aide, AND, a Goldman Sachs lobbyist...both at the same time.
(18) Rham Emanuel was Obama's COS and ran the US Treasury--both at the same time.
(19) State Dept ignored requests WRT Hillary refusing to place Nigeria's Boko Haram on a terrorist list---Clinton Foundation big-buck donor, Gilbert Chagoury heads sprawling Nigerian company.
(20) Lukas Lundin heads Canadian-based Lundin Mining, w/ big-buck interests in the Congo's mining and oil reserves; gives Clintons $100 million donation.
The querolous Hillary wagging her finger, berating
Americans for actually achieving the American Dream.
VOTERS SHOULD MARK THIS WELL: The Clintons, alone,
will decide who gets the American Dream....using govt power
and our tax dollars.
STOP GOVT OFFICIALS' GET-RICH-QUICK FOUNDATION SCHEMES
BAN THE CLINTONESQUE NTL SECURITY SELL-OUTS NOW
NO TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR IMPERILING NATIONAL SECURITY
===================================================
We demand Congress provide all data WRT use of tax dollars for Foundations:
<><> (1) the number of elected/appointed officials w/ Foundations,
<><> (2) those in Congress financing Foundations w/ tax dollars
<><> (3) the number of earmarks and federal budget line items sent to Foundations.
==============================================
WE DEMAND AN END TO THIS NOW
<><> ITEM--The NY Times reported the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership" scheme ----collected about $33 million US tax dollars from Hillary's State Dept between 2008 and 2013.....$25 million of which was passed back across the border to the US based Clinton Foundation.
<><> ITEM--The get-rich-quick rich Clinton Foundation scheme apparently sucked-up some $16 million tax dollars (that we know of).
CONTACT CONGRESS HERE:
http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
Demand to know:
(1) how many Democrats donated to the Clinton Foundation
(2) how many got campaign donations from the Clintons
(3) how many Democrats w/ Foundations or charities got donations from the Clintons,
(4) what was the DNC's cut of all the largesse?
===============================================
It's next to impossible to believe Obama knew nothing about the Clintons' buck-raking activities. That he was oblivious to the Clintons jerking around US foreign policy to make a buck....and that Democrats never got wind of it.
Hillary ran State like a shadow govt. Bill trotted the globe acting like an unappointed "do-good ambassador". The avaricious Clintons devised hundreds of obscure programs to collect billions.....bragging about do-goodism, how the money was supposedly dispersed to "assist" endless charitable projects.
The IRS will never look into the Foundation. Democrats look on w/ approval. Obama's protecting the Clintons---b/c they're his meal ticket. All of them are living happily ever after--getting rich on "tolerance and compassion."
DO THIS NOW---CONTACT CONGRESS HERE: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
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