January 10, 2016

"I am stunned by the willingness of Senator Clinton supporters to fold everything Bill Clinton is accused of as a private matter."

"You know, philandering is a private manner. What Bill Clinton has been accused of is not, you know, he may be innocent of it but," said Jeff Greenfield on "Meet the Press" this morning.

He ended on a "but" because Chuck Todd broke in with: "Well, and I can tell you, there are some in Clinton world who are very nervous about this, very nervous about this." And a bit later: "[T]he Clinton folks suddenly acted different this week as that became-- you could just see it."

Earlier Todd had played a clip of Sanders going "as close as you're going to hear Bernie Sanders going after the Clintons" and "more than [Todd] expected." What Bernie said was:
Look, Hillary Clinton is not Bill Clinton, but Bill Clinton did, I think what we all can acknowledge was totally, totally, totally disgraceful and unacceptable. But I am running against Hillary Clinton, I'm not running against Bill Clinton, though I gather he's been in Iowa recently.
Totally, totally, totally... he went with the 3 "totally"s. Now, I wish Greenfield had been allowed to say a little more, because he was getting critical of the notion that what Bill Clinton did was "a private matter." If he'd gone on — beyond "philandering is a private manner" — he would have talked about how Bill Clinton is accused of rape, which is a very serious crime and thus something in which the public authorities do involve themselves. Or he might have said that what happened with Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky happened in the workplace and thus involves the problem of sexual harassment and the equality of women in the workplace. To pass that off as private is to sell out the women's movement.



But somehow Chuck Todd had to break in just to say that the Clinton people are very nervous.

42 comments:

Sebastian said...

"To pass that off as private is to sell out the women's movement." It was sold out long ago.

Original Mike said...

"the Clinton people are very nervous."

They have a lot to be nervous about. Besides the First Rapist, an email was released Friday in which the Chief of Staff for the Defense Dept. informed State that they were "spinning up" a Benghazi rescue mission. A mission which was never released.

traditionalguy said...

Silly Rabbit. Don't you know that "It's just Sex Defense" is the all purpose defense for Sexual Harrasment and Perjury Under Oath charges.

It's the Clinton Law straight out of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

And for that matter, everybody now knows that any Clinton getting blow jobs from young people on the payroll "is not Sex."

Bob Ellison said...

The Clintonistas are like the Nixonists of the 1970s. They were there, and said it was nothing; every President does it.

CatherineM said...

It doesn't just happen in the workplace. I know a woman who asked to take a pic with Bill in Martha's Vineyard about a year he left office. Bill groped her bottom while taking the pic that included her husband and teenaged son. She told me this story with shock because she was a big D Democrat (she almost bullied co-workers into voting for Hillary for NY Senator) who didn't believe the stories about Bill and because it happened behind the backs of her son and husband. Brazen.

There are also plenty of stories in Little Rock if the news media were interested in the truth. Bill would hear at the country club that another member was out of town and would send a state trooper to the house of the traveler to invite the wife out to meet the Governor. The woman I knew hid in her house until the trooper went home. She knew what was up due to the stories she had heard from other ladies at the club who were harassed by Bill.

Vile Pliskin said...

Ask Bill if he:

Raped Juanita Brodderick?

Had consensual sex with her?

Invited her to his hotel room for coffee?

The answer will be the same as the sound of one hand clapping.

Gahrie said...

The women's movement sold itself out in order to protect abortion.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

I don't think you can sell out something that was given away for free by the feminists.

Chuck said...

I have to say that I look at this whole thing through new eyes, after the last three years of the Obama Administration's Title IX jihad on college campuses.

I used to be an all-purpose Clinton-hater, and anything that was bad news for them was welcomed by me. I would easily accept the allegations as having been worthy of discussion.

Naturally, we probably know enough via undisputed information about the Clintons to make a normal person's skin crawl.

But after the long run of bogus collegiate rape stories, where women with ample opportunities to report alleged crimes to police, and with layers of official protection in doing so, failed to assist with criminal prosecutions... I am a bit leery of any further public outcry.

These cases should not be litigated in collegiate conference rooms. And they should not be litigated in the press. They belong in courtrooms. With a burden of proof, and with due process rights accorded to all parties.

Jimmy said...

Women's movement?? seriously? All I have seen for decades is another arm of the Democratic Party, following orders. The hypocrisy
involved in being a 'feminist' these days is staggering. it is only the Democrats who are above the law, above everything, when it comes to feminism, racism, etc.
there really isn't a womens movement or environmental movement. they are just part of the great new religion that everyone believes or is exiled and pilloried. dissent, disagreement isn't tolerated. you are either all in with the orthodox religion, or you are an enemy to be destroyed.

Bob Boyd said...

I bet they're not nervous about what journalist Chuck Todd may do.

The Godfather said...

Although I'm no political guru, I was very uneasy about the idea of impeaching and then trying Clinton. I thought that it would be preceived as purely partisan, and in the end wouldn't succeed in the Senate. But at the same time I wondered what I would do if I were a Congressman. The sexual shennanigans weren't the big thing: The perjury was. Could we really tolerate having a president who had been proved to haver lied under oath? Nixon lied, and when the lies became undeniable he was forced out of office, in part because of the lying.

This is a legitimate issue about Hillary! not because of what her husband did in his sex life, but because of the active role she took to help him avoid responsibility for his actions. And her actions regarding her "secret server" and the Foundation, and the lies about Benghazi, etc., etc., and so forth, are all relevant because they show her to be an amoral person who puts nothing higher than her own self-interest. With all the powers that have accumulated in the presidency, is she really the kind of person you want to give such power to?

rhhardin said...

rape, which is a very serious crime

The intensifier the equivalent of NOT FUNNY.

rhhardin said...

thus involves the problem of sexual harassment and the equality of women in the workplace.

On the other hand, there's the rogue sentiment favoring Clinton, and also historically women knew how to deal with a Lothario until recently. That was back when women were equal to men.

Now women are into whining.

Clinton's problem is Trump putting sand in the gears, not women stamping their feet.

YoungHegelian said...

No, in this case "philandering" is not a private matter, even if all Bill Clinton did was perfectly legal but still cad-like "philandering".

Here's why: every time some Republican gets caught "going homo" or in an affair, the Left is all "Hypocrites! How can you lecture us about family values when you guys do shit like this? Mr. X has got to resign!"

So now, back at ya, Lefties: Hypocrites! How can you lecture us about a "War on Women" when the Clintons have either enabled or committed all sorts of perfidy against womankind? The Clintons have gotta go!"

Michael Fitzgerald said...

The Clinton people are very nervous because Hillary is the candidate on the stump, and she is dreadful. If Bill was the one running, they'd be yukking it up as Slick Willy soaked up the attention and rallied the democrat party around him.

Birkel said...

I find it interesting that people still believe Hillary Fish need Bill the Bicycle for anything.

Which of those female pundits was it that said she'd blow Clinton so long as he kept abortion legal? Oh. All of them? Really? I could have sworn it was only one.

I'm not sure if this is where Thomas starts Shouting but it might be...

Michael said...

The press is trying very hard to make this about Bill Clinton's behavior. We all know and agree that this was bad, very bad. But we aren't talking about Bill Clinton's private behavior, we are, or should be, talking about Hillary Clinton's slut shaming of the accusers. That should be the focus and we should not let it go. Because it happened and 1/3 of voters were not alive when it happened. They need to know that Hillary is not a friend of women who have been assaulted.

JackWayne said...

I think the Clintons are wrestling with 3 huge concerns: Bill, emails and Bernie. It's still my bet that Hillary will not be the candidate in November.

Pete said...

News about Bill Clinton's actions singe new. You may have already answered this Althouse but I want to know why you voted for him the 2nd time. Was this a mistake on your part? Were you wrong about Bill?

mezzrow said...

But somehow Chuck Todd had to break in just to say that the Clinton people are very nervous.

That's a big part of what Chuck is paid to do, deliver the party message. Timing is very important, just like with comedy. Message received.

Good. Only they really know how much they have to be nervous about. Or do they?

sunsong said...

I'm glad to see this getting national attention. I haven't seen any reports or indications that Bill has changed his ways.

rehajm said...

Apparently Jeff Greenfield hasn't been around many Democrats.

PB said...

In so many ways, Hillary is unfit for office. She claims victims of sexual assault are to be believed, but she won't extend that position to the women Bill Clinton preyed on. She has a history of trashing them publicly.

Read Scott Adams blog for some interesting/funny commentary about Trump and this political cycle.

David said...

Or he might have noted that, without that splash of sperm that Monica wisely preserved, they were about to go on a dishonest campaign to destroy her reputation. Or the perjury. Or the Whitewater tax files that were in Bill's residence (aka White House) Etc Etc.

Shane said...

Everything is a calculation with anyone tangentially associated with Clinton, Inc. (as it is with all politicians, in gradations.)

Consider Clinton's highest political status, hers only through carpetbagging achieved through the charm and goodwill engendered by eight years of a dull world stage and a crashing wave of tech prosperity ridden by her predatory husband and his coattails, is "Secretary of State." An enabling and protective press calls her "Senator" because "Secretary" Clinton is to remind people of Benghazi, and lies to the families of those killed, and water carried by Susan Rice for weeks despite telling her daughter and those with connections the "truth."

Clinton is the cackling giant red reset Staples button, laughing with the Russian Foreign Minister as he looks down upon her with thick contempt. Clinton is the architect of foreign policies that have lowered our standing around the world with democracies that have long relied upon the US, but now await these last fourteen months with dread. Nations that respected us now have every reason to take what they want because there is no reason to fear any payback. If Taiwan is ever going to be tested, this will be the year. Clintobama has sold out our interests in befriending theocracies, weakened failed states who now have a reason to at least try and further stretch their muscle, and lost the Middle East that we had long kept from Russian domination. Jordan, France and Mexico, long our putative allies only when in need, see us for the paper clown Obama/Clinton have made of us.

As Sebastian rightly put: The women's movement sold itself out long ago. The same women's movement that today proclaims every "victim" should believed and everyone a collegiate mail heretofore "presumed innocent" is a luxury we can no longer afford, only fifteen years ago defended a man repeatedly accused of rape, and sexual harassment, who lied to the nation he represented until his DNA was found to be a match, because of a vast rightwing conspiracy.

Petraeus went down, in more ways than one, trying to impress a woman. His loyalty to the country was never in doubt. He never displayed contempt for the rule of law and the country he had spent his career protecting. The only explanation for such a repellant hereditary dynasty is the dependency by so many in society on the government welfare state, and appeals to their special interests. The only appeal Donald Trump has, should he win the nomination, is the alternative if Clinton is his opposition. If Clinton was anyone else, the FBI would have already submitted their report and charging requests. Even this was anyone else, all of the game playing by the State Dept and Clinton, Inc would not have been tolerated.

Setting aside partisanship, is there anyone who really wants to return to the embarrassment, explanations, equivocations and lies of the nineties? We need someone, literally anyone else, who will think not of their own interests, but of the country. If we do not, and if we have not already, we will destroy the fabric that has survived more than two centuries and bankrupt us as a people in every conceivable way.

virgil xenophon said...

What Shane and the Godfather@4:52 said!

Oh, question for Bob Boyd@4:49. Chuck Todd is actually a journalist?? I thought he was a giant Democrat suck-fish..

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

So it's OK now to dip into the secretary pool? Whooda thunkit?

Michael K said...

"The Clintonistas are like the Nixonists of the 1970s. "

No, the Nixon people turned him out of office for offenses that were beneath the threshold for the Clintons.

Nixon was actually driven from office by a coup engineered by Mark Felt who was enraged that Nixon had passed him over for an honest man, L Patrick Grey.

cacimbo said...

The currently favored term at NPR, PBS and most mainstream media outlets is "indiscretion". Rape accusations, charges of sexual harassment and affairs are all lumped together when discussing Bill Clinton as "indiscretions".

eric said...

Bernie Sanders is such a weakling.

I will love to see him win in the Primary, as a huge surprise even to Bernie.

Then, will he make all these excuses about the Republican he is running against? When the story comes out that Trump put his dog on the roof of his car, will bernie shrug that off and say it's not relevant?

Somehow I think all of his excuses only apply to the Clintons.

And people are calling Trump the candidate of the Clintons? I think they have the wrong guy.

sunsong said...

Dateline NBC Juanita Broaddrick interview

Unknown said...

Shane- We need someone, literally anyone else, who will think not of their own interests, but of the country.

This^^^^^

LYNNDH said...

Bill Cosby's actions are private also?

Paul said...

This all reminds me of the quote from "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"...'pull that off and you would have them smother their children in their own beds to keep them quiet'.

And thus Hillary, to stop the cries of rape did smother, and destroy, other women to keep Bill, and thus her, in power. And her groupies still do.

eddie willers said...

My eyes usually glaze over a sunsong post, but she has at least earned my respect by the honesty she has shown linking to the Lisa Myers interview of Juanita Broaddrick.

I watched that when it aired and found her to beyond just credible. If she was lying she was a better actress than Meryl Streep.

averagejoe said...

The Clintons are nervous because Donald Trump is the guy bringing up the rape stuff on Bill, and people listen to Trump, he has millions of fans, and reporters know that they are not the equal of Trump and have no ability to resist if Trump decides to make this an issue. Any other politician would be mugged and pummeled by the democrat party press. Another candidate would be undone by allegations of infidelity or cruelty or derangement. But they can't bully Trump like they do to the average republicans. He can parry anything they say or write, he can use the topic to hurt democrats worse, and he can't be shut out of coverage and hidden on the back pages. Trump is too big and too good for the Lilliputians in the democrat party press to handle, and it looks like they won't be able to protect their candidate from him, so they're afraid, they're very afraid.

wildswan said...

No matter what happens, we owe Trump - Bill's rapes, Hillary's attacks on the women Bill assaults (present tense), Hillary's lying and the problem of massive unchecked Moslem immigration would not be issues in the media without Trump. The Cologne attacks - 400 and rising - will make Trump look like a prophet.

PS
Though they say that Germany is not changing I met someone who was traveling in Germany and Austria after the New Year and the German border is closed. You have to go through passport controls.

Unknown said...

"Being President is a great way to meet girls" or something

grackle said...

You may have already answered this Althouse but I want to know why you voted for him the 2nd time.

The answer: She voted for Romney. Don’t feel bad. I made the same mistake some time ago. Assumptions can be tricky.

SGT Ted said...

"I am stunned by the willingness of Senator Clinton supporters to fold everything Bill Clinton is accused of as a private matter."

Actually, that narrative was the original defense held to by the Clinton enablers in the 1990s. Since it was "consensual", it was nobodies business.

The non-consensual sexual harassment and predation was defended against using the "nuts and sluts" tactic of impugning the women making the accusations. It was used to the very end, even against Monica Lewinsky, until she produced the semen stained blue dress.

Sigivald said...

To pass that off as private is to sell out the women's movement

The Democrats Winning An Election has always trumped "the women's movement", hasn't it?

We first saw this in the 90s, and it's unlikely to stop any time soon.