"Is Huma Abedin Hillary Clinton's Alger Hiss?"No. She isn't.
(Moreover, Alger Hiss was not "Alger Hiss." That is to say: I don't think that the guy was a spy. And yes, I know all about the Venona thing: That's not Hiss. Perhaps we'll go through that argument in detail one of these weekends.)
Viguerie and his comrades-in-lunacy may be McCarthyite freaks, but we live in freaky times, and the freakiest among us have a tendency to take over our national conversation. No-one can deny that Hillary -- fairly or unfairly -- has suffered some wounds in recent days. Those wounds may prove fatal.
Where, then, do we turn? There's much talk of Joe Biden running for the presidency -- perhaps with Elizabeth Warren as his running mate. NBC is arguing that a Biden run could actually aid Hillary:
First, it would force Clinton and her campaign to step up their game. "She's a terrible front-runner but she's a marvelous candidate when she gets into the middle of the race," as NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) put it on "Meet the Press" yesterday. In other words, give her a real Democratic race -- a la what she experienced in the spring of 2008 when Clinton trailed Barack Obama -- and it'll force her to be a stronger candidate. Two, Biden jumping in would swap the scandal-focused coverage of Clinton and replace it with horserace-focused coverage. It has become increasingly apparent that Hillary Clinton might not be able to beat a unified political press corps on constant scandal patrol. But she could beat Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.Let me explain my personal quandary to you. As some of you know, I have been apprised of a scandal involving Joe Biden. I'm fully aware that you, the reader, have no reason to take this claim seriously until you see details. Your skeptical attitude is understandable. At this stage, skepticism would be the correct attitude for you to take.
Let me therefore phrase my quandary as an intellectual exercise -- a hypothetical situation.
Suppose that I'm telling the truth. Provisionally, temporarily, for the sake of argument: Suppose that I really have been given some information by a source (or, rather, by a source who talked to a source).
Furthermore: Suppose that this information concerns a story that is rather bizarre and tabloid-friendly. Suppose that there might even be a celebrity or two (or three) involved in this matter, perhaps peripherally.
Suppose we are talking about a story that, if revealed and verified, probably would not make America gasp in shock and horror. (At this point, most Americans don't shock very easily.) Instead, it would make America giggle -- and the resulting fit of giggles might injure the entire Democratic brand.
Again: This is all hypothetical. Just for the sake of argument.
Now ask yourself: What would you do in my situation?
You see, I like Joe Biden, and I honestly would not mind seeing him become president. He is preferable to Hillary Clinton, in my opinion. Moreover, his family has endured a good deal of pain and stress, and I would not care to add to the burden.
But.
If I know about this "Gigglegate" scandal, then it is fair to presume that the Republicans may also have gotten wind of it. (This presumption would explain why publications like the National Review seem so weirdly enthusiastic about a Biden run.)
All of which leads us to the Nightmare Scenario: Biden runs, Biden trounces Hillary in the primaries, Biden nabs the nomination -- and at that point, Gigglegate is unleashed on the country as an October Surprise. The Democratic brand is tarnished. The end result: President Donald Trump (or whoever the GOP nominee turns out to be) is given the nuclear launch codes.
Would it not be better for Gigglegate to come out now, as opposed to later?
Here's another point to consider. I have decided not to name my source. She's a very nice lady, uninterested in politics, and she has no direct link to the scandal that I am provisionally calling Gigglegate. So if I reveal what I know, I won't be able to provide proof. All I will be able to divulge is a name -- a very interesting name.
It will be up to Biden's opponents to research the matter from there -- if they even bother to note what goes on in this humble blog. (They may not). Further investigation by others may confirm that claim. On the other hand, confirmation may never come.
(There will, of course be many harsh words said against yours truly. As if I care.)
This is a horrible situation! If Joe Biden becomes President Biden, I'll be a happy man. But the Nightmare Scenario -- the possibility of an October Surprise -- scares the hell out of me. So I'm asking you to give me the best advice that you can give. Please don't ask for more information, because I can't give it right now.
17 comments:
Q: "Would it not be better for Gigglegate to come out now, as opposed to later?"
A: Yes.
Joe Biden is a creep and a charlatan, and I hate that he's gonna run. From his son's natural gas dealings with a shady oligarch in Ukraine (no conflict of interest, the administration risibly insists), to his leaking his presidential ambitions to the execrable Maureen Dowd and his putting them in the dying breaths of his other son, the man is a boil. He masquerades as the solidly middle-class dad with the power tools in the garage on a quiet Sunday, but strip away the fakery and he's just a monster of ambition and calculation and cynicism. He's not eloquent - in fact, he's a gaffe machine - and he's also creepy, touching women's hair and complimenting young teens' looks. The Republicans are rooting for him because they know he's a weak opponent.
As for Jim Webb, he's pro-Confederate, uninteresting, unelectable. Bernie Sanders: admirable principles, utterly unelectable. O'Malley is fine but a lightweight - a Mondale, in a word.
That leaves Clinton. I've said it before on this blog, and I'll say it again: it's Clinton or bust. The right fears her and for good reason. When you stack up the 90s under Clinton against the 2000s under Bush, it's just no contest. And that's what the Jeb-Hillary contest will come down to fundamentally, psychologically. The left's revulsion at Hillary, I'll never fully understand. It's too quick to hold n emotional grudge against its own and forget the enemy. It should rediscover the Bush hatred that Obama so stupidly doused. Do we want another Bush in the White House, or not? That's the only question that should matter to leftists, and there are only two answers: I do, or I dont. If you don't, stop undermining Hillary. Now.
Joe Biden must be a cross-dresser in private.
You know a source, who knows a source, of this potentially devastating revelation? That sounds familiar...OH MY GOSH, Joe Biden was the guy who recorded Michelle Obama's "Whitey" speech! And then he destroyed the tape after showing it to some people who know some people who know Roger Stone! No wonder he was chosen for Vice President!
Anonymous -- all that stuff I said went right over your head, didn't it? I carefully used words like "hypothetically" and "suppose" -- and yet here you are, pretending that I am offering this thing as proven.
Not very bright, are you?
By the way, I happen to be the guy who spent an entire day tracking down a witness who could confirm or debunk that "Whitey" thing. (It was debunked, and I so reported.) So don't lay that one on ME, asshole.
OTE: No. Not at all. You're thinking of someone else.
No no, unimaginative "anonymous." Biden became VP because he had his son whisk the gay prostitute off the national stage to Delaware. Some of us remember.
I say Joseph do the best of both worlds. A cryptic tabloid cartoon. Sooner rather than later. Then let others do the digging....or not.
If either becomes the comes potus we little people of the little blue sphere hurling thought space are not doomed but is the so-called human race is. It's not a bad thing is it?
Way off-topic, but you might (or might not) want to see this bit of propaganda and the resulting comments. I don't think it went the way the DM hoped.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3205754/Blood-oozed-soil-grave-sites-pits-alive-secrets-Ukraine-s-shameful-Holocaust-Bullets-killing-centre-1-6million-Jews-executed.html#comments
The problem with the rumor is if there really was something on Biden, it would have already come out.
Not another plagiarism scandal, I hope.
No doubt it is better if it comes out earlier. The only questions are how sure are you that it is true and how sure that it will come out. You say it's from a source or a source, that doesn't sound totally reliable to me but obviously you are in the best position to judge the specifics. Is there a paper trail for this, or video? If there's no documentation and it's something that would rely on one specific person to confirm and defend, then it very well may not come out.
Anon, I trust my source as if he or she were a member of my own family. But I really can't put this person on the spot, so...really, all it would come down to is for me to put the allegation out there. There will be a few "semi-confirmatory indications" that what I am saying is true, but they won't be probative.
However, the claim will (presumably) be so odd and interesting that someone with resources -- a tabloid newspaper, an oppo researcher -- might very well see fit to do further investigation. And I think there is a good chance that such an investigation would verify what I'm saying.
Look, if I were a writer who gets, y'know, a regular paycheck, I'd be concerned about what people said about me. But I'm not. So, frankly, I don't care what people think.
One further point: The earlier Anon compared what I've said to the "Whitey" rumor which that creep Larry Johnson spread in 2008. Here's one big difference: Johnson had a motive to spread a fake story, because he did not want Obama to become president. I, however, DO want Biden to become president. Or at least, I find Biden less objectionable than a lot of other candidates. My concern is a subtle one: I think the scandal will be considered forgivable if it comes out early, but will be devastating if it comes out in October of 2016.
It's the Inspector Finch Dilemma from V For Vendetta. I found myself in a similar position during the first Skippy the Shrub run when I was given some eye-witness first hand info on Darth. What I was told was so unbelievable, though I believed the person telling me, that I was stuck between a rock and and a nuclear meltdown. I could've published the story and attracted a few blog hits but without video it would have ultimately been me blowing my head off. I still mull that decision. Was it cowardice on my part or good sense? I'll never know. Oh. And drop it sooner than later if Biden jumps in. Remember we have four SCOTUS nominations to worry about.
How devastating can it be for someone to impugn the solemn dignity of Joe Biden with giggles?
However, the claim will (presumably) be so odd and interesting that someone with resources -- a tabloid newspaper, an oppo researcher -- might very well see fit to do further investigation. And I think there is a good chance that such an investigation would verify what I'm saying.
The only question you should be crowdsourcing here is what would the tabloid's budget be for the investigation?
Because you will do a Kickstarter to get the money you need to research this story yourself. You promise to publish what you know by some deadline. Kickstarter campaign donors will be the first to be notified by email of the results of your investigation (whatever they may be).
Your budget will include a proper salary for yourself: air travel, hotels, dining sources, etc. Budget for the serious investigation you'll be doing.
What the hell? Why would I do THAT?
You still don't get it. It's a little difficult to believe that skulls attain your level of thickness, but apparently, yours does. So I'll say it again -- for the last time, I hope.
I LIKE Biden. I have no desire to make his life harder. In fact, I would not mind seeing him in the Oval Office. Normally, I would say nothing about what I (accidentally) came to know. In fact, I have kept mum since October of 2008. My only fear is this: If I know about this thing, the Republicans probably know about it as well -- and they will release the information at the worst possible time.
My gut feeling feeling is that the "scandal" isn't so very bad by modern standards, and that Biden could ride it out easily enough if the bad news came out early. If it comes out in October of 2016 -- different story.
Someone said he doesn't understand the revulsion the left has for Hillary. Let me explain it to you. Because most of them are liars and hypocrites. they love the rich, the old money filthy rich like the Kennedy etc. They salivate at been at their feets licking their boots and selling the public to them. But someone making money in front of their eyes and getting rich that is a cause for revulsion. I bet they still fuming at the fact that Bill Clinton get to be a president and neither Ted Kennedy or Karry didn't. It's class warfare waged by the left. I have been a leftist since I was 14 years influenced by a relative who was a professional. In fact I consider myself to the left to most of the democrats, so I recognize the symptoms. Now Hillary go public and say her mother used to clean houses, she should have known better. Democrats will never have anything to do with that. They only want to ride that boney of the working class to the white house not to be in their company.
Post a Comment