But She Lies . . .

The Omnivore asked his uncle--an Alabama farmer--what, exactly, his problem was with Hillary Clinton. This is a good question for people (for a number of politicians)--they won't tell you the truth--they'll tell you what they think is the most politically correct thing to say--which, in turn, tells you more about them than they planned.

"I think she lies," said the Omni-Uncle. Even over Facebook chat, The Omnivore could hear the pious tones in his voice. After all--how could he vote for a politician who lies?

He voted for Trump.

This, you see, tells you much about the Omni-Uncle.

Recently The Omnivore was told by a reader that her vote for Trump was against Hillary Clinton. Okay--that's fair--if it had somehow wound up being Jill Stein vs. Trump, The Omnivore would have voted for Trump.

But what, specifically, was the reason for such an amoral anti-Hillary vote (after all, we knew Trump was a disaster in the primaries--bragging about dick-size, grab-them-by-the-pussy, lying transparently about everything, etc.)? What were her sins? Enumerated, they were:

• Breaking subpoenaed computers
• Claiming the DNC was hacked but not turning computers over to the FBI
• Using a private email server
• Enmeshment in the Clinton foundation (Uranium One)
• DNC chairwoman complaining about her taking money--and Bernie sanders.
• Tarmac meeting

1. These Are All Bullshit

This list is hot off the presses of every right-wing outlet ever. If you trust those sources and look at nothing else, in fact, it's pretty damning. But if you do look at it . . . eh . . . not so much. Let's do it quickly.

Breaking Subpoenaed Computers

The timeline is like this: (a) she puts in the request for deletion (and her IT guys go through the process) (b) the subpoena comes in (c) the IT guy realizes they weren't deleted and does it (she actually broke the phones--not the computers). 

• (a) This is perfectly congruent with policy and matches what other people have done (this includes breaking the phones--which is actually listed as a best-practice in government guidelines).
• (b) Clearly the IT guy should not have jumped in here and done it
• (c) Of the 30k emails deleted, 17k were later discovered. 

Since the government was able to recover more than 50% of the deleted emails--and found nothing nefarious--you have to believe that: 1. She got super lucky--her nefarious deeds were on the remaining 13k emails--and 2. she trusted her life with an IT guy who was something of a bozo.

The DNC Hack

Much has been made--usually by conspiracy theorists--of the DNC not handing over its servers to the FBI following the hacking attempt. In fact, the FBI received an "appropriate substitute"--an image of the computers. The FBI was, in fact, annoyed--but they decided they got what they needed.

Using a Private Email Server

The implication here, The Omnivore thinks, is that her use of one was explicitly to cover up dirty-dealing. Maybe. A more plausible explanation is that after decades of being hounded (Judicial Watch was created pretty much solely to "get" the Clintons) by their enemies, the Clintons are a bit paranoid. 

Uranium One

This whole thing is ridiculous. Uranium is not scarce. The Russians--even with Uranium One--don't control enough of it to make a difference. Supply constantly outstrips demand. It's a comparatively low-priced commodity. Y'all were lied to.

Oh--and the theory that Russia is selling the Uranium to evil regimes--by shipping it to Canada and then re-shipping it through intermediaries--it's possible--but the hysteria assumes that somehow American uranium is better than Russia's own uranium--which they sell and export with no restrictions.

The DNC Stuff

Bernie Sanders was never a good match with the DNC--he started with a law-suit over access to files (and illegal access of files) and then moved to bad-mouthing them (and vice versa). He lost to Hillary by millions of votes over a wide area--there is no plausible conspiracy theory that could have sabotaged that many votes in that many places. 

The Tarmac Meeting

The theory here is that Bill [ did something ] to influence the Justice Department in favor of Hillary on the FBI investigation. We now have statements from Comey himself that he didn't think trying her was viable. Furthermore, Bill and Hillary didn't need a super-secret surprise meeting to influence Lynch--she was already unlikely to go after a former--and much respected Secretary of State for something that many other politicians had already done (yes: Hillary used her own server which was pretty new--but, no, using private email was the real problem here).

So all of this is over-blown.

2. Trump Does All Of This WORSE

The real value comes when you look at this stuff in contrast to Trump. Hillary lies. Trump lies about the size of his inauguration crowd when there are clear pictures. Hillary has a charitable foundation people donated to. Trump runs an illegal slush fund and has foreign dignitaries staying in--and only in--his hotels when they want to speak to him. And so on.

Let's look.

Use of Private Emails / Servers

Ivanka used not only private email--but actually a private email server. She claims, like Clinton, she "didn't know the rules." This, after a blistering attack on Clinton for the same thing is, erm, a lie. Worse, the Trump campaign has used, in the White House encrypted messaging apps with self-destructing message timers--this violates the rules for documentation. 

They are doing it explicitly to avoid being surveilled--either by investigative agencies--or by mole-hunters in the West Wing.

Finally, Trump himself doesn't do email--no--he uses an unsecured phone and talks about potentially very secret things--with China and others likely listening in.

Basically if you claimed you gave a shit about lax security with Clinton--but are okay with Trump--well, that says a lot about you.

None of it's good.

Emoluments and The Trump Foundation

The Emoluments clause in the Constitution prevents office holders from profiting off the office. Trump is doing this in broad daylight. He refused to step away from his holdings (Carter, famously, sold his peanut farm to avoid the appearance of impropriety). He has refused to release his tax returns which would give us insight into how he might be profiting.

The Clinton Foundation is a legitimate charity. The Trump Foundation is a private, law-breaking slush fund.

Basically, if you are concerned about Clinton being unduly influenced by foreign powers--but not apoplectic about Trump? Well, it says a lot about you.

None of it is good.

Lots of Shady Characters--And Lots of Dirty Deals

You think the Tarmac meeting looks dodgy? Okay--The Omnivore sees you and raises the Trump Tower meeting. In this meeting we have:

1. A meeting agenda that is explicitly: Russia wants you to win, we've got dirt on Clinton, come meet. Trump Jr. "I love it!"
2. A meeting with people who had high-level access at the Kremlin (i.e. they were the kinds of people who could make a deal)
3. When caught out, Trump made sure they lied about it--and then lied about lying about it.

NOTE: even the statement that Jr. was talking about "adoptions" is a lie for the credulous. Adoptions were stopped by Russia by the Magnitsky Act--which froze billions in Russian assets. A meeting about adoptions is a meeting about sanctions (over the assassination of a Russian journalist who said bad things about Putin).

If you think the tarmac meeting looked bad--but are not horrified by the Trump Tower meeting, well, it says a lot about you.

That's right: none of it's good.

Conclusions

If you voted against Hillary--for the reasons stated--but are still okay with Trump then those reasons are not why you voted against Hillary. There are other reasons--and they are less pleasant and you might not even be real clear on them yourself. 

Maybe take some time to figure that out.