Posted on 12/10/2004 10:39:38 AM PST by Area Freeper
We have been writing lately about Republicans. Let's pay some attention to Hillary Clinton, just for fun.
I wrote a book about her more than four years ago. The idea came from a friend, a bright former-Republican-now-Democrat who thought my Wall Street Journal pieces on Mrs. Clinton's looming senatorial candidacy could be turned into something longer that made the case against her. I immediately thought: Yes, that could make a difference. I went to my publisher, who agreed, and I hit it hard, speaking to Mrs. Clinton's friends and enemies, scouring the record. What I concluded was that Mrs. Clinton was an unusually cynical leftist political operative who had no great respect for the citizens of the United States or for America itself, but who saw our country as a platform for her core ambitions: to rise and achieve historic personal and political power both with her husband and without him.
Since the book came out I haven't written much about Mrs. Clinton. I'd said what I had to say. In interviews on the book tour I said what seemed to me the obvious: she would keep her head down in the Senate and work hard, she would gain praise for her ability to get along with Republican senators, she would position herself as a moderate, and run for the presidency in 2008.
She is, right now, in what is surely the happiest time in all of her life, her zestful, independent and productive 50s. She is the single most powerful figure in the Democratic Party. She is popular and broadly supported in her adopted home state. She has a star's presence at meetings, symposiums, podiums and parties. She is the Democrats' premier fundraiser. She is its presumptive presidential nominee in the 2008 cycle. Her daughter is grown and launched
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Peggy Noonan bump.
I've circulated to a lot of non-FR, anti-Hitlery people.
Another great one for Ms. Noonan! Good insight into Hillary Clinton.
BUMP!
Slyfox, that's a GREAT button! And I'm not lion! Saving it for passing on.
Me too. And Peggy is a little more up on a couple good potential candidates-Owens, Allen, and Romney. Add Mark Sanford and Tom Tancredo to that list. Tancredo's gonna run, you can bet on that. Will he win? No. But he'll run. IMHO, the Sanford factor aside, out of Noonan's list these will be the front-runners:
Romney, Frist, Allen, and possibly Owens, but his marital difficulties are making this less likely. Sanford is much like Owens but more fiscally conservative, which is why I like him. My dream ticket would be Sanford or Allen paired up with Tancredo or Romney as a running mate. We do need at least one Southerner on the ticket, I think.
How many of the 911 attackers entered this country illegally?
Peggy was friends with Arianna?
Methinks Jeb Bush is going to put himself into the Hillaryesque position of rooting for his party's candidate to lose in a squeaker.
Not that I want him to run, mindyou. Three President Bushes within twenty years is more than a little bit creepy.
Naa, Jeb ain't gonna run. And this is coming from a guy that likes Jeb better than his brother!
On the money. Absolutely convincing analysis.
The big thing that worries me is the Republican candidate who will oppose her. Some of the names she mentions would be excellent. But are they well enough known, and can they win the backing of party leaders? Some of them are avid pro-abortionists, who would split the party and let hillary creep into office through the wreckage.
I don't think Hillary can win this election. But I do think the Republicans could lose it. Let us pray.
Sealing the border is unrealistic and irelevant. If the terrorists have the funding for airline tickets and access to forged documents (and if they are able to get from the Mid East to Texas, they do) why walk when you can fly?
Hillary is real good at mesmerizing, er, charming those she needs to dominate. What our guys need to do is be aware that she does that to gain the upper hand. She, in effect, slides her hand into their back pocket, making nice and fluttering her eyelashes, and then she never takes that hand out. Yep, she keeps a hand on their butt cheek and every once in a while she gives them a little pat. Just to remind them of her 'lovable' nature. So, when it comes time to do something for her they are only to willing to comply. In the end, they don't know how she has a hold on them.
To all of y'all in the GOP:
Remove Hillary's Hand From Yer Back Pocket!!
Um, let me take a guess: ALL of them?
No. NONE of them.
Here's a run-down of highlights on what the Senate stripped out, and what was included in the final conference agreement.
Ban on Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens Dropped, Replaced with Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy: While federal law currently is silent on the question of whether issuance of driver's licenses to illegal aliens is aiding and abetting illegal immigration, the final conference report stipulates that the federal government "may not infringe on a state's power to set criteria concerning what categories of individuals are eligible to obtain a driver's license or personal identification card from the state." In essence, this language says to the states that they can give driver's licenses and ID cards to whomever they want, including illegal aliens and the terrorists among them, and it's none of the federal government's business.
Even more outrageous, the final conference report effectively requires states who do not issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens to accept driver's licenses and ID cards from states that do.
Ban on Matricula Consular Identification Cards Dropped: The conference agreement did not include a House-passed provision that would have barred acceptance of non-verifiable matricula consular ID cards for any federal purpose. These cards are only needed by illegal aliens. All legal residents and foreign visitors can use foreign passports or U.S.-issued documents to establish identity.
Expansion of Expedited Removal Dropped: Senate conferees stripped a House-passed provision that would have expanded expedited removal of criminals and illegal aliens to include those apprehended in the interior and those encountered along the U.S. border between U.S. ports of entry. It also would have expanded the period of time during which an alien in the U.S. is subject to the procedure from two to five years.
New Evidentiary Standards for Asylum Dropped and Replaced with More Studies: Senate conferees stripped out a House-passed provision that would have established a new evidentiary standard that applicants would have to meet in order to prove their claims for asylum and placed the burden of proof on the alien to demonstrate eligibility for asylum. This provision was designed to address a loophole in our asylum process that currently can be exploited by terrorists to gain easy access to the country under fraudulent asylum claims. The House provision was stripped out and replaced with a study "to evaluate the extent to which weaknesses in the United States asylum system and withholding of removal system have been or could be exploited by aliens connected to, charged in connection with, or tied to terrorist activity." Rather than take a proactive step to close these dangerous loopholes, Senate conferees prefer to take the "wait and see" approach, which continues to leave us vulnerable. Restrictions on Judiciary Review
Dropped: Senate conferees stripped out a House-passed provision that would have eliminated extraneous judicial review of removal decisions, a dilatory tactic often used to delay justified deportation at the expense of taxpayers and safety.
Expansion of Terrorist-Related Grounds of Inadmissibility Dropped: The conference agreement strikes a House-passed section that would have expanded the terrorist-related grounds of inadmissibility.
Increases in Border Patrol Agents, ICE Investigators, and Detention Bed Space "Subject to Appropriations": The conference report does at least include provisions to increase border patrol agents, ICE investigators, and detention bed space, but these increases are "subject to appropriations" which means that there is no guarantee that money will be made available to implement them.
Expedites Implementation of Entry/Exit System: The conference report includes a House provision to expedite the full implementation of the biometric entry/exit system designed to screen visitors, also known as U.S.-VISIT.
Really? I didn't know that. Hmm. I think people from Saudi Arabia can get in without visas, is that correct?
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