# Hillary supporters or fencesitters: Do you care about her email "problem"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 4, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150 "2015-03-04T00:07:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/41 "2015-03-04T19:43:00Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It shows poor judgment, but a quick visit to teh Google (which they apparently don’t have at _The New York Times_) shows that it doesn’t violate the laws and regulations as they existed at the time. Not the laws. It did violate the technical requirements of the NARA records retention policy as it existed at the time. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/42 "2015-03-04T19:53:51Z")
When you consider how much effort is put into trying to dig up dirt on presidential candidates, the fact that this is what they run with says a lot. If they can’t find anything worse than this, than she’s pretty damned clean. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/43 "2015-03-04T19:58:10Z")
I’m a lukewarm Hillary supporter but a strong left-leaner (i.e. if she runs, I’ll probably vote for her while holding my nose), and the email thing does bother me. It’s very Clintony. Arrogant, high-handed, rules-don’t-apply-to-me. I mean, **I’d** be fired if I conducted work business on my personal email, and a lot less than national security depends on my job. . ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/44 "2015-03-04T20:01:08Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Yup. Obama over McCain in 2008. Wow! Color me impressed! You are officially on my not-too-bad list. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/45 "2015-03-04T20:37:58Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Yup. Obama over McCain in 2008. Yeah, anyone with half a brain will cross the aisles once in a while. I voted Schwarzenegger over Davis\* and there were several Dems I just could not support for Prez. But Hilary will be a good president. - in retrospect, perhaps not my best choice, but Grey Davis?!? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/46 "2015-03-04T21:12:43Z")
There is no way in hell I would ever vote for Clinton. That being said this email thing is stupid. It’s a non issue and I personally don’t think it’s a big deal at all. I’d rather Hillary opposition focus on substantive issues. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/47 "2015-03-04T21:16:40Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I’d rather Hillary opposition focus on substantive issues. The GOP hate machine wouldnt know a _substantive issue_ if it bit them in the butt (which substantive issues often do). They’d just rather make up crap UL, like Obamas Birth Cert and him being a closet Muslim. See, the GOP know it cant win the General Election, so their best tactic is to preach to the choir and get the Tea Partiers all riled up and donating- and voting in local elections. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/48 "2015-03-04T21:27:32Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > . . . she’s so polarizing that if she got elected president, the next four to eight years of her term would be even worse gridlock than Obama’s. . . . > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Who is \*really \*doing the polarizing, please? And what Democrat would \*not \*be the target of it? . . . This: Any Democratic president will be “divisive” in this sense, because the Republicans, at this point, cannot govern, only obstruct. If Saint Francis was the Democratic president, they’d hate him. > [@DrDeth](#): > > The GOP hate machine wouldnt know a _substantive issue_ if it bit them in the butt (which substantive issues often do). They’d just rather make up crap UL, like Obamas Birth Cert and him being a closet Muslim. See, the GOP know it cant win the General Election, so their best tactic is to preach to the choir and get the Tea Partiers all riled up and donating- and voting in local elections. And: This! Absolutely correct. The Republican Party has lost touch with reality, and can only make sit up (or exaggerate trivial shit) in order to rouse the morons at the very bottom of the barrel. They’ve raced straight to the bottom, and that is their own reward and punishment. (One might also mention voter suppression, and fantasies about constitutional nullification. Oh Moon, of Alabama, we now must say goodbye…) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/49 "2015-03-04T21:30:01Z")
Like a lot of others here, I’m lukewarm about Clinton, but I’m highly likely to vote for whoever gets the Democratic nomination. I understand that Secretaries of State using personal email was a common practice and not against the law when Clinton did it. I still think the practice is awful for a number of reasons. I wish Clinton had broken with this precedent and conducted all her business through an official email account. The fact that she didn’t is a negative, but not enough to make me pull the lever for any of the likely Republican nominees. I disagree with **Procrustus** , though. I think this will be added to the list of scandals that won’t die, and will be repeatedly trotted out by everyone still screaming about Benghazi. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/aeb1de/32.png) [@Lee\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lee_Q)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/50 "2015-03-04T22:16:06Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I think she’s a smart cookie but I doubt she’ll ever win a Presidential election because she polarizes people. > > I think this email thing is a bunch of hooey. That’s an interesting thought, about polarizing and electability. I think it can safely be said that Obama polarized people to a huge degree. In my neck of the woods, so did GWB. So I’m not sure if that keeps someone from being elected or depending which direction the polarization is strongest actually _helps_ them. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/aeb1de/32.png) [@Lee\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lee_Q)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/51 "2015-03-04T22:30:27Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I am an opponent of Mrs. Clinton, and very likely won’t vote for her. I will likely vote Republican (although I make room for the possibility that the GOP will field a candidate so awful that I will vote for Clinton after all). > > Your presumption is that I’m delighted by this turn of events. > > But I posted [a thread in GD](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750725) ten hours before you started this thread, in which I said: Sorry I didn’t check everybody’s posting history before I presumed anyone might be delighted. 😃 Ok, got it. You think there’s “manufactured outrage” over the email thing. Even if I’d seen that previous comment/thread, I wouldn’t necessarily think an acknowledgement of manufactured outrage precludes a certain amount of delight from those who dislike or (as in your case) oppose Clinton. Any particular reason you felt compelled to “correct” my presumption, especially since you stop short of actually saying you’re NOT delighted?! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/52 "2015-03-04T22:37:58Z")
I’ve stayed out of this up til now because, Meh. Whatever. Her using an email service outside of the officially designated ones is nice fodder for conspiracy theorists and opponents who want to accuse her of dodging and throwing up obstacles to official requests for emails. IMO, they are probably correct and I would believe it of any politician, not just the ones on the other side. But with the latest information that she [has administrative and probably physical control of the email server](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clintons-email-server-traced-to-home-based-service-ap/), it’s looking more like she really did have something to hide. Or a level of paranoia that puts her right up there with the CT crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/53 "2015-03-04T23:36:24Z")
Well, you see, when Hillary fell on her head and couldn’t testify about Benghazi, which was of course completely honest and of purest intentions, she also forgot to set up her government email account and instead opted to buy her own server to store (and erase) official emails. Done, of course, with the purest of intentions. She will make a fine, fine president. Nixon would be proud. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/54 "2015-03-04T23:59:07Z")
I’ll admit to not having followed the email story closely and my understanding of it is that she’s done nothing or not much wrong. I think that the people who really, really dislike her are desperately fishing for something, anything, to paint her badly with. This email business seems like a real stretch to me; a very small potato. If this is all they’ve got, I almost kinda feel sorry for them. If she’s the candidate, I will vote for her. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/55 "2015-03-05T11:05:03Z")
I don’t have a say in this since I’m not American, but just as an opinion I’d support Hillary over any Republican because we (UK) seem to follow your lead like a little puppy dog and in general I’d prefer us follow a Democrat than a Republican. (An aside - are Dem and Pub the appropriate shortenings? Dem and Rep doesn’t seem right because of the HoR). Still, what is the actual scandal? I can’t see one. Apparently senior Republicans did it too and I can’t see any scandal there either. It’s not as if personal email can’t be investigated and even deleted emails recovered so nobody would be able to hide anything this way. Or the cops have been lying to us when they investigate murders and child porn charges and the like. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/56 "2015-03-05T12:47:30Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I disagree with **Procrustus** , though. I think this will be added to the list of scandals that won’t die, and will be repeatedly trotted out by everyone still screaming about Benghazi. It’s like [you are some sort of prophet, or something](http://www.businessinsider.com/report-hillary-clinton-emails-getting-subpoenaed-2015-3). 🙂 > [@](#): > > A House of Representatives committee dedicated to investigating the 2012 terrorist attack on the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya issued subpoenas on Wednesday in an effort to examine Clinton’s use of a private email address when she was secretary of state. I hereby move that instead of adding “-gate” to the end of every scandal, we now start adding “-ghazi”. … Deflateghazi … Emailghazi … NSAghazi and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/57 "2015-03-05T21:54:36Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > . . . (An aside - are Dem and Pub the appropriate shortenings? Dem and Rep doesn’t seem right because of the HoR). . . . They’re pretty much acceptable. There isn’t any hidden antagonism in them. They’re just breezy abbreviations. Agreed that “Rep” is ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/58 "2015-03-05T21:59:58Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > (An aside - are Dem and Pub the appropriate shortenings? Dem and Rep doesn’t seem right because of the HoR). Both are OK buy fergawdssake dont use “Democrat party” some poster went off on a spittle laced tirade against me for using that. (even tho I have party cred) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/59 "2015-03-05T22:02:09Z")
> [@Lee\_Q](#): > > Sorry I didn’t check everybody’s posting history before I presumed anyone might be delighted. 😃 > > Ok, got it. You think there’s “manufactured outrage” over the email thing. Even if I’d seen that previous comment/thread, I wouldn’t necessarily think an acknowledgement of manufactured outrage precludes a certain amount of delight from those who dislike or (as in your case) oppose Clinton. > > Any particular reason you felt compelled to “correct” my presumption, especially since you stop short of actually saying you’re NOT delighted?! Yes. I felt compelled to correct your presumption because I am not delighted. I would love to see the country reject Mrs. Clinton as a presidential candidate because they reject her preferred policies. I do NOT want to see her rejected for reasons that amount to belief in voodoo. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150/60 "2015-03-05T22:11:23Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Well, you see, when Hillary fell on her head and couldn’t testify about Benghazi, which was of course completely honest and of purest intentions, she also forgot to set up her government email account and instead opted to buy her own server to store (and erase) official emails. > > Done, of course, with the purest of intentions. > > She will make a fine, fine president. Nixon would be proud. Hilary did testify about Benghazi. It’s on video, even. But who cares because the whole Benghazi thing is swiftboating bullshit. It’s not like she forgot about something important, like, say, selling arms to Iran or anything. I’ll vote for her if Warren doesn’t run. I’m not impressed with this stunt but it doesn’t change anything. If she’d used the government email, the Republicans would be whining about some other dumb shit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-supporters-or-fencesitters-do-you-care-about-her-email-problem/714150.md?page=4)