What I’m Reading Clinton Cash 2

I am about 2/3rds finished with Peter Schweizer’s Clinton Cash on Audible.com.

One of the great features on Audible is bookmarking. I hit bookmark; the narration stops; I add a comment to remind me; and then I hit save; and the recording begins again.

This posting will use a lot of my immediate bookmark responses.

Here are my thoughts so far.

I still think Schweizer makes a compelling case — to ask a lot of questions of the Clintons. Granted, I doubt Hillary would have sat with Schweizer for an interview so this creates more work for news consumers and journalists to see what is political manipulation on his part or the corrupt details of the Clinton’s activities. Schweizer is not shoddy in his compilation of information but I’d like to hear some different perspective.

If you haven’t read it, here is the NYTimes piece that used Schweizer’s book as a jumping off point for their reporting.

Whether this book becomes a tour de force or just another political attack job will be decided by the Clintons. They need to answer these points. If they do successfully, then this will only boost Hillary’s run for the White House while encouraging white women to strongly support her and look at this book as just another political potshot at her because she is a woman. However, no response or lousy responses could derail her.

One conflicting thought I have: does a spouse’s term in office negate the other spouse’s chance at office as well? Sure, Jeb and W. are brothers but Jeb can – excuse the term – divorce himself from W’s baggage but Hillary, it seems, cannot. That perceived lack of fairness could help her too among white women who will largely swing the 2016 vote.

The most compelling case Schweizer makes is that Hillary and the Clinton Foundation have – or had – set up a shadow State Department of sorts. Just as the US government and the Fed set up a shadow banking industry in the name of de-regulation and Bush/Cheney created a shadow military in Iraq with private contractors, so too have the Clintons with foreign policy. And if it can be proven that they have profited from it, then Schweizer has a homerun here.

The middle chapters deal with Africa and the Clinton’s dealings with dictators and businesses who have given to the foundation while at the same time getting relaxed scrutiny from the US government while Hillary was at Foggy Bottom. Again, Schweizer has no smoking gun but there is a lot of smoke.

Some thoughts while reading about Africa.

The first is how much money is exchanged for political favors in these countries by companies to either dictators or rebel outfits/gangs. Whether the Clintons did nothing wrong, just the association with the corrupt nature of these countries and the malaise they place on their people is enough to stain the Clintons while they make big money.

On the flipside, the Clintons – with their alleged shadow State Department – might be advancing the US concerns for the future. Africa is loaded with the world’s natural resources. It is widely documented how the Chinese are exploiting and paying off African rulers to get a foothold on these needed resources. You could make the case that Bill and Hillary are playing some Real Politick by working with the dictators and scoundrels that will secure some sway toward America in decades to come.

Again, if there is no illegality here, the irony is that the Clintons are really just another couple of Business Republicans. Hey, they’re making money; money is good. I am thinking a lot of GOP politicians wish they were standing in the Clintons’ shoes right now.