I think at this point in our collective national existence, “Trust me, I’m a Clinton” isn’t the best defense of one’s actions.
We won’t even get into prospective First Laddie Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton is the woman (well, a woman) who blamed the Benghazi, Libya murder of four Americans on an Internet video. She claimed to have come under sniper fire in Bosnia. She claimed to have been named after Sir Edmund Hillary. Her long list of lies is legendary.
Mrs. Clinton has an equally troublesome history with transparency. The 900+ FBI files. The Rose Law Firm records. Her then chief of staff shuttling boxes and boxes of documents out of the late Vince Foster’s Justice Department office. And on, and on, and….
And cronyism?
NY Times: Clinton Foundation Rife with Cronyism
Grassley Asks Weiner’s Wife About Clinton Consulting Gigs
Hillary Clinton and Brother Part of Corruption Probe by DHS Inspector General
Inspector General (IG) John Roth described the improper favoritism shown to several Democrats including the brother of Hillary Clinton, Sen. Harry Reid, and Virginian Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman during the Clinton administration.
Clinton In-Law Got Fees Tied to Pardon
Cozy. Now it has been revealed that she never, ever set up a government email account.
Her alleged reason? “I didn’t want to carry two devices” – which we now know is a lie.
Her alleged self-defense? “Trust me – I alone decided which emails were pertinent. Oh – and I deleted everything else.” When “everything else” was under Congressional subpoena.
Feel comfortable trusting her? Think this is a lifetime’s worth of truth and transparency? Me neither.
In this regard, Mrs. Clinton fit right in with the Barack Obama Administration. On truth:
Lie of the Year: ‘If You Like Your Health Care Plan, You Can Keep It’
Lawmaker: Obama Should Win ‘Lie of the Year’ Again for Claiming No Corruption at IRS
White House Knew ObamaCare Claims Were False
The Washington Post Confirms Obama Is Lying About Benghazi
Top Obama Aide: President Lied About Opposing ‘Gay Marriage’ to Deceive Blacks, Get Elected
And transparency:
Federal Agencies Stiff-Arm FOIA Requests
Obama Administration Sets New Record for Poor Handling of FOIA Requests
Obama Exempts White House From FOIA Requests
Obama Admin’s New Spending Website Rolls Back Transparency
Obama Transparency: White House Sets Record For Censoring Documents
Obama Pledged Government “Transparency” But Threatens Investigative Reporters
Obama Threatens To Veto Bill Mandating Security And Transparency For ObamaCare Exchanges
‘Most Transparent Administration’ Ever Threatens to Veto EPA Transparency Bills
And in moments of harmonic convergence – truth about transparency.
Obama: ‘This Will Be/Is the Most Transparent Administration In History’
Obama Promised to Debate Health Care on C-Span
Despite Promises, Obama’s Open Government Record Found Wanting
And cronyism.
Obama’s Cronyism on Display in the State of the Union
Cronyism and ObamaCare: Another Challenge for Reformers
80% of Green Energy Dollars Went to Obama Donors
Obama’s Manufacturing Hubs Mean Cronyism, Corporate Welfare And Less Innovation
The FCC Delivers the Latest Dose of Obama Cronyism
Barack Obama and Google – Crony Socialism on Steroids
Is this ceaseless dearth of truth, transparency and fair play exclusive to Administration Democrats? Of course not.
(Senate Democrat Leader) Harry Reid Is Proud He Lied About Mitt Romney’s Taxes
Harry Reid Vows Federal Transparency Act Will Never Be Voted on in the Senate
Cronyism is Killing the Democrats
Is this ceaseless dearth exclusive to federal Democrats? Of course not.
Let’s look at Oregon, their attempt at ObamaCare and their disgraced, under-investigation, resigned-from-office ex-Democrat Governor John Kitzhaber, shall we?
Have some Oregon Democrat cronyism.
Oregon Governor Quits Over Conflict-of-Interest Scandal
Ex-Gov John Kitzhaber Put His Top Political Consultant in Charge of Cover Oregon
How’d that Kitzhaber crony do running the show?
$303 Million Later, Oregon Looks to Close Health Exchange
‘We Look Like Fools:’ A History of Cover Oregon’s Failure
Cover Oregon ‘Unmatched in Its Failure’
Oregon Health Care Exchange Has Yet To Enroll A Single Person
Not so good. How about a little Oregon Democrat truth-transparency combo?
Dishonesty, Lies Exposed; ObamaCare, Kitzhaber
Gov. Denies Prior Knowledge of Cover Oregon Failure, Exits Exclusive KATU Interview
Watch Governor John Kitzhaber Refuse Question Regarding Cover Oregon Corruption
Cover Oregon Ejects Reporters from Closed-Door Meeting with Legislators
Want some more Oregon Democrat transparency?
The former governor and Hayes showed up at the Knott Landfill southeast of Bend in a pickup and an SUV about 2 p.m. last Friday and spent a few minutes dumping trash, according to Timm Schimke, the director of the Deschutes County Solid Waste Department….
(W)orkers recognized who they were dealing with and apparently decided the dumping might be of interest to law enforcement. Kitzhaber and Hayes are targets of a federal investigation.
Positively translucent. And of course this is as much a federal government problem as it is an Oregon one.
New Cover Oregon Allegations: ‘If It’s True, Someone’s Going to Prison’
Early in its life, Cover Oregon was given a $48 million “early innovator” grant from the federal government. That amount would later grow to $59 million.
There were a few strings attached.
To keep the money flowing, the website would have to hit specific benchmarks between 2011 and 2013. The state needed to show the feds it had picked a company to provide software and technical assistance; it had to demonstrate that the website was safe from hackers; and, most importantly, it had to show that people could actually sign up for insurance on the website.
Either the Obama Administration dropped the ball over and over and over again – or it simply allowed a fellow Democrat to run wild with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Thankfully, not everyone in Washington is quite so comfortable with this.
Subpoenas Arrive as Oregon Governor Announces Departure
Congress to Kitzhaber: Send Us Cover Oregon Records
Unfortunately, this is likely made more than a little problematic by Kitzhaber’s little trip to the landfill – the old school version of Mrs. Clinton wiping clean her email server.
Regardless, the investigations must press forward. Of Mrs. Clinton – and both ObamaCare messes. In Oregon and D.C.
Truth, transparency and anti-cronyism are all being eviscerated. And like all political fish – this one is rotting from the head of state.
Start with the Obama Administration – and work your way down.
Editor’s Note: This first appeared in Human Events.