Rick Wilson, national Republican message and media strategist, had the germ of a good idea for his fellow GOPers in the wake of revelations about Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email to conduct government business. Appearing in Politico Magazine, Wilson authored a piece titled A Message to My Fellow Republicans, and subtitled “Let’s stay out of the way of Hillary Clinton’s email fiasco.” His thesis was simple and could have worked. Dear Republicans, sit back, don’t comment, let the media do the work of discrediting Hillary for you, and, whatever you do…whatever you do…don’t step in any dog poo that will pull the headlines away from Hillary’s email issues.
Enter Little Tommy Cotton and his Merry Band of Yokels walking down the street.
“Oooooh! What’s that?
“Looks like doggie poo to me.”
“I wonder if it’s fresh and smelly.”
“Let’s step in it, and squish it around with our toes and see how it smells.”
The old woman who lives on the corner calls out from her porch, “Do you people have any adult supervision? Where’s Mitch?”
“Shut up, Old Woman. He wants to step in it too.”
“Yeah, do us a favor. Call the media. We want them to see how it smells too.”
Writing from her private email account, through her private server, Hillary Clinton is rumored to have fired off a thank you note to Little Tommy Cotton and his Merry Band of Yokels just prior to going to the United Nations to take questions about some now-almost-trivial email kerfuffle. She will doubtless refuse to turn over the thank you email, claiming that it’s personal, not official. The Benghazi Committee will demand to know how profusely she thanked Little Tommy Cotton and the Merry Band of Yokels for upstaging her suddenly minor email flap. And, somewhere in a private study, Rick Wilson’s head is exploding.
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.