David Harsanyi:
Hillary Clinton used a personal email address housed on her own server to conduct her business while Secretary of State, a practice that may have been illegal, was definitely shady, and probably an enormous national security risk. We don’t know if the State Department signed off or if the White House was ever aware of what she was up to.
One imagines these things would concern those who claim to care about transparent government. But, though intrepid reporters in the mainstream media deserve much of the credit for bringing the story to our attention, many other journalists seem to have far more urgent questions on their mind.
Like,Will the GOP Go Too Far?
If there is a scandal involving a Democrat brewing, we must immediately contemplate how the GOP will fare. Will those zealots overplay their hand once again? Will they make a mountain out of a BENGHAZI? Because, really, what’s more important (or easy) than finding some accommodating Republican to say something idiotic? We’re now on “overreach” watch. Remember the, “Will Democrats overplay their hand as the GOP is plunged into scandal?” story? I don’t either.
Hillary has no war room or WJC publicly defending; her best bet for relief is that old Clinton standby: a GOPer going too far in attack
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) March 6, 2015
What is going “too far”? Asking too many questions? Asking Hillary personally — what some reporters might call stalking?
As Politico reported, there’s an “awkward” silence among GOP politicians regarding Hillary’s troubles, which probably means GOP politicians are guilty of unseemly business themselves. So if Republicans attack Hillary, they risk going too far and engaging in partisan rancor. If they don’t say enough, it’s because they must be hiding misconduct. Evidentially, the only thing Republicans can do is pack it in and quit—a move that would only solve half of America’s problems.
Among the Hillary email-gate stories out there, and there are many, we are going to find many headlines informing us that the “GOP is giddy” about the scandal or, that “Hillary Clinton’s stumbles fuel Democratic critics” as CNN recently explained. Who among us doesn’t stumble occasionally in life, right? Soon enough, coverage will begin to nurture the perception that it’s all just another partisan skirmish and half the public will forget that we’re talking about a high-ranking government official who created a shadow communication department within the State Department immune from any transparency. A story that had nothing, at its heart, to do with Republicans—other than the fact that Trey Gowdy’s ferreting it out.
Oh, Look, Squirrel!
If we’re talking about it at all.
Did you hear what Ben Carson said about the gays? What a nut!
And NBC News helpfully reports: Did you know Jeb Bush also had his own server? Yes, Bush’s private emails were all released (probably), and his address was known to the public and the press, and he routinely used it, and it wasn’t illegal, and he wasn’t using it for national security purposes … but here is your talking point, regardless.
Maybe Hillary just needs to wait it out until a reporter asks Scott Walker his thoughts on genetic drift? Figuring out where the governor of Wisconsin sits on macroevolution or working everyone up over Rudy Giuliani’s attacks on the president’s devotion to country is front-page material at the New York Times. But a Secretary of State and prospective presidential candidate who has her staffers sift through tens of thousands of pages of emails to determine which ones were suitable for public consumption just doesn’t capture the imagination.
When Todd Akin’s drivel can become the intense focus of our attention for weeks but Hillary’s neglect of law begins morphing into a Washington process story after a few days, I think it’s probably fair to question whether the media is corrupt. It’s certainly fair to wonder whether the conservative establishment will ever be able to fight back effectively.
Huffington Post all over the big story of the day. pic.twitter.com/x5S2u9PRUS
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) March 5, 2015
Who’s Really Responsible for This Terrible Misunderstanding?
Assuming the innocence of a politician isn’t something journalists mete out equally in this country. Yet, for some people—people who have a 20-year record of questionable ethical behavior—major journalistic institutions are eager to offer this undeserved benefit of the doubt.
What I get frustrated with, is, if the Republicans are “always” going to get some or all the “blame” why is I continually hear they worry “what the media” is “going to say”….I say who the heck cares at this point, just do what you think is right and move on already…for starters fix the dam border seal it up already… I’m curious to find out the results of doing THAT!
P.S. New look – nice.