As I have indicated in past articles, I am keeping my powder dry on Hillary Clinton.
I will decide whether to vote for her based on facts and issues.
That decision will not be based on rumors, innuendo, unproven allegations…
It will not be based on what bloggers quote other bloggers who quote newspapers which in turn quote, or misquote, pundits and books such as the recent “Clinton Cash.”
It will not be based on the sound and fury of Republican congressional kangaroo courts.
I will decide based on important, current issues. For example on Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, on the Affordable care Act, on defense, Iran’s nuclear program, our war against ISIL and terrorism in general, etc.
I will wait for the results of impartial, independent investigations on allegations such as “E-Mail Gate” and the Clinton Foundation.
And I will definitely not fall for what the extreme right, or the extreme left, allege about Hillary Clinton.
Talking about that, the New York Times happens to have a very relevant and interesting piece on how “The Right Baits the Left to Turn Against Hillary Clinton.”
In the piece, Ashley Parker and Nick Coransaniti outline how right wing organizations such as America Rising and Karl’ Rove’s American Crossroads attack Hillary Clinton “from the left.”
One example:
For months now, America Rising has sent out a steady stream of posts on social media attacking Mrs. Clinton, some of them specifically designed to be spotted, and shared, by liberals. The posts highlight critiques of her connections to Wall Street and the Clinton Foundation and feature images of Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, interspersed with cartoon characters and pictures of Kevin Spacey, who plays the villain in “House of Cards.” And as they are read and shared, an anti-Clinton narrative is reinforced.
In another case, America Rising tweeted a post attempting to tie Hillary Clinton to Keystone project lobbyists.
Bill McKibben, “the environmental advocate and godfather of the Keystone XL pipeline protests…promptly shared the post with his 150,000 Twitter followers.”
The reaction was immediate, write Parker and Coransaniti:
“You expect different from a Clinton?” one person responded on Twitter. And from another: “Did you need another reason not to vote for Hillary Clinton?” Lost in the response was the source of the offending tweet. It was not another environmental organization or even a liberal challenger to Mrs. Clinton. Instead, it was a conservative group called America Rising PAC, which is trying, with laserlike focus, to weaken the woman who almost everyone believes will be the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in 2016.
Read more about these “fascinating” tactics here and be aware.
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