By David Harsanyi
Friday, March 06, 2015
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.
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.
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.
“This is a bad story for her and her presidential
campaign because it reinforces many things people already don’t like about the
Clintons,” Chris Cillizza explained. Not a bad story because she’s unethical
politician who for two decades has hopped from one unscrupulous incident to
another, but bad because people have been paying attention and “believe” these
things may be true. The Clintons, are always, somehow, “finding themselves” in
the middle of these controversies. The Clinton email controversy is just a
“debacle.” This is how we cover Hillary.
What Difference Does It Make?
“Voters do not give a sh-t about what email Hillary used.
They don’t even give a fart,” said the always charming and un-sleazy Paul
Begala. “Do you think maybe wrong-email-address-ghazi will be a big boost to
her Democratic primary rival, TBD?” John Stewart asked. “Or perhaps this will
affect Hillary Clinton’s standing with Republicans in the general election, who
pretty much already believe her and her husband to be treasonous, murdering
grift-asauruses?”
Halperin is right, of course. The Clintons will
doubtlessly wait it out because, 1 – the Clintons are always being hassled.
Mostly for no good reason. Mostly by crazy people. 2 – because it’s easier to
make fun of Republicans who come off clumsy and angry. 3 – because there is no
legitimate or obvious Democratic challenger to take Hillary’s place. (You can
already read stories about how the timing of this might actually work for
Hillary.)
Moreover, when a Democrat is implicated, journalists are
compelled to spend a lot of their time examining how the damning evidence was
uncovered and how those who uncovered it act after the scandal breaks. When all
these stories are exhausted, journalists will start asking why America cares
anymore. And when conservatives continue to press, we’re going to hear about
how bitter and partisan Washington has become. The scandal will be throw in
into a crockpot with all the scandals that went nowhere. The media will start
wondering why Republicans insist on tearing this country apart, rather than why
so many of them don’t do their jobs.
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