There’s a news story in the current cycle about Hillary Clinton apparently only using her private email, not gov’t email, while Sec. of State. Her camp says she did nothing illegal or improper (not an exact quote). Meanwhile some are aghast, going so far as to say she put the country at risk.
We know that there were let’s just say some email issues in the Bush admin, too. Such things are not unheard of or even rare, however else we might characterize them.
My question is mainly for those who are essentially supporters of Hillary Clinton and/or those who have been open to the possibility of voting for her, should she run and secure the nomination. Does this affect how you feel about supporting her?
I presume anyone else is delighted by this turn of events, so I don’t really need to ask them how they feel about it.
My initial reaction is that it was a dumb thing to do, possibly with impure motives, and certainly giving ammunition to her adversaries. I’m not broken up over it, and I would still vote for her over any of the Republican nominees I can foresee. Unless she really impresses me in the next 12 months, I doubt I’ll support her in the primaries.
I imagine this “scandal” will blow over pretty quickly.
The Republicans have been screaming nonsense about her for so many years – Vince Foster, anyone? – that if, just perhaps, they actually have something real here, it’s too damn late. They’ve cried wolf a thousand times. Now, a wolf has appeared? Too bad; they should have shown responsibility from the first.
Far as I’m concerned, it’s all fabricated outrage. It’s just throwing crap at the wall, hoping it will stick. The only place it’s sticking is to their own hands.
I’m a vague (as in, “if she’s the Dem candidate, I’m a likely voter for her”) supporter and this does bug me a bit. I would presume that the email protocols for the Secretary of State would be a bit more secure than her personal address “SecOfState420@Hotmail.com”.
I view her as a profoundly intelligent and effective politician and administrator who is fairly cynical and not particularly interested in following the letter of the law. I don’t particularly admire her personally, but unless I’m forced to vote for Buddy in Chief, it won’t really affect my inclination to vote for her.
I have a friend who took a government job and was told to use her personal email for anything that she didn’t want to be completely public. Email - she wasn’t working with highly secure information - could be easily requested, and was requested, by the press.
I’d expect this behavior from anyone in a government job for privacy reasons. Just because you are Secretary of State doesn’t give the public the right to paw through your underwear drawer.
Interestingly enough there have been so many hyperinflated cry wolf scandals about her I don’t even have the interest to click through, read, or think about what ever the latest is.
I wonder if the shear amount of past mudslinging has had an that same effect on many other voters be they fence sitters or otherwise? If so the past record of trumped up and sensationalized accusations against her by her foes, to some degree may have immunized her against the impact of the other side actually finding a real wolf … if they ever did.
As far as where I sit, FWIW, she’s not someone who excites me (yeah a bit boring, little sense of connection, maybe a bit of self-aggrandizing even) but she strikes me as competent. Against any in the crowd running for the chance to be destroyed by her next election she would have to found in bed with a dead choirboy to lose my vote … and even then probably not. Both because they are so weak and/or nuts and because a Congress, Executive Branch, and Judiciary, all dominated by the current GOP with the current place the GOP is at … scares the shit out of me.
The price of their success may be a bunch in the middle wanting split government no matter who it is.
I’m more of a supporter of her than any of the other options. I mean, politicians, right? I think you have to be kind of an bizarre-awful person to even want to be one. Except Obama, who seems genuinely nice, smart, and well-meaning, and look where that’s gotten him. Many people believe (literally!) that he’s the Antichrist! Who has time for that shit? Anyway, I digress.
So, Hill (gasp!) used the wrong e-mail address! Whatever. I have a bit of trouble believing this is going to enrage the populace, but who knows?
I’m not a huge fan of either Clinton, but I would vote for her against any person willing to align themselves with the current GOP.
I think using private email is ridiculous and almost certain was guided, at least in part, by improper motives. I don’t think it’s a huge deal, but I think it’s a negative.
If you work in corporate America, you sure as hell do NOT use private email for corporate business. I expect the same for government employees. There are government retention of email laws and requirements on the books for private sector. I personally don’t have any good dirt, but am required by the US government to retain email IIRC for 7 years. How in the hell can anyone think the Secretary of State wouldn’t need to have an email trail?
Sarah Palin got castigated as Gov of Alaska for using private email accounts to avoid scrutiny. Rightfully so.
It is simply not acceptable for any government leader to use private email exclusively for government work. Use private email for private business. I’ll forgive some grey area or occasionally forgetting, but jesus h Christ, private email generally is not secure, there is no “paper trail.”
I’m non party affiliated, but the chance of me voting republican for president is the slim side of none. That said, this is a negative for Hillary although I’d be surprised if it has legs.
