Comparisons between Hillary Clinton and Gerry Adams aren’t at first glance, terribly easy to spot. But thanks to the FBI’s latest statement on Hillary’s emails, the similarities become clearer.
Whatever your opinion of Hillary as a person and/or as a politician, it is undeniable that the right in America have made every conceivable charge against her and her husband Bill – and failed. Since Bill was elected in Arkansas, and more particularly when he was US President, the right was unrelenting in its attempts to destroy him politically.
Who does that remind you of? Correct first time, Virginia – Gerry Adams. Few figures in Irish public life have been accused of more crimes; few politicians have been subjected to such unremitting assaults from opponents and their proxies in the state.
All, alas, in vain. A few years back, Adams found himself in a prison cell just as an election in the south was getting into its stride, This weekend, Hillary Clinton is being linked to wrong-doing over her use of email servers when she was US Secretary of State. With the Presidential election just over a week away, there is hope in the Republican camp that this will do her candidacy fatal damage. Even before this latest FBI claim, her opponent Donald Trump was leading supporters in chants of ‘Lock! Her! Up!”
But then that’s what they did with Gerry Adams. He was arrested and held for several days a short time before the general election in the south. His arrest did have an effect, but not the one hoped for. Republicans were enraged and support rallied behind the incarcerated Sinn Féin president. Within days the PSNI had to release him without charge and Sinn Féin went on to have a very good general election in the south.
It may well be that the FBI’s cack-handed attempt to ensnare Mrs Clinton will also backfire. With the polls generally showing her as winning, the great danger for Democrats was that they might become complacent and assume she was home and dry. The FBI intervention, if nothing else, should stiffen the determination of Democrat voters to put their candidate in the White House, and to kick Donald Trump from the political stage and back to his money-grubbing, distasteful existence.
Spot on Jude.
Many of my relatives in the USA, that would have blown hot and cold about Hillary up to now, are convinced that the FBI , led by a GOP registered supporter, is a conspiracy , will undoubtably react the same way as you say !
They will certainly now come out and vote for her – I’m certain of it now – as the dust settles !
Hilary and her husband are the dodgiest of characters. If this had been a further revelation about Trump she would be commending the FBI rather than criticising them.
I pity the American electorate for the hand they have been dealt in having two of the most obnoxious and ill suited candidates ever to run for the presidency.
Your comparison of the two politicians is quite apt, Jude.
But fortunately for Hillary, she does not have to cope with the poisonous vitriol spewed out by the Denis O’Brien publications and the ‘national’ broadcaster RTE, who supposedly have a duty of impartiality!
Heard a Russian commentator last night on BBC, Esteemed Blogmeister, and he was in no doubt but that the eleventh day manoeuvre from the FBI was a stroke, and a hokey one at that.
What gave him particular credence was his unapologetic admission that he had served his time as a Spin Doctor in the Kremlin. An Apple laptop a day keeps the media at bay, just as much in Moscow as it does in Washington.
Nonetheless, EB, there is a way in which Gerry A. and H. Clinton differ from each other. : big time and prime time. The blanket media slant in favour of the latter and a Ulysses S. Grant of a slant against the former.
As one who has been following the Stateside Candicide via three different media outlets – CNN, BBC World Service and RTE – the level of unanimity in their kitty-cornered Bias towards the Girl is mind-boggling in an eye-popping way.
The Far-Eastern fried pullet of the mullet-haired Kim Jong-un must surely be sticking in his gullet as he watches from a distance with envy. Incredulous envy, the sort that goes pyongyang, pyongyang in the still of the night.
So shameless and blatant indeed is the bias that one can only conclude that the participants on the panels on Presidential programmes of the above mentioned Networks are hidebound by a rule which compels them to sign a pledge to direct their predge in one direction only.
Up to this, one was of the secure opinion that was only one immutable law on Planet Earth, one that was more sacrosanct than even the Four Law of Thermodynamics itself.
This was the unwritten and unspoken law that ordained, since time immemorial, that NO intercounty goalkeeper in the GAA, under any circumstances, gets to play in goal for his club. Ever.
Now, one is not so sure.
TRUMP INVOLUNTARY
The Jazz Trumpeter par excellence is Wynton
Marsalis; he is, alas, mediocre at badminton;
Each lass is Networkin
For the Class, Dworkin
Worse still: H. Clinton rhymes with (gulp) Fintan.
“But then that’s what they did with Gerry Adams. He was arrested and held for several days a short time before the general election in the south. His arrest did have an effect, but not the one hoped for.”
But can you really compare the politics/electorate of the United States with the Electorate of the North/Ireland? For a start, I would say the Irish people are much more politically astute than most Americans. For example, most people knew Adams arrest was politically driven and that there was no way he was going to be charged. Of course some people in the North were happy at Adams being arrested, him being guilty or innocent was irrelevant to them. Whereas many other people were outraged.
Would the American electorate behave in a similar way if Hillary Clinton was arrested? Would they believe its politically driven? I don’t think so. I think most would regard Hillary’s arrest as legitimate and all above board. I’m not saying some core Hillary voters wouldn’t be upset but most peoples vote in the USA is largely up for grabs, many are still undecided, and I do think these recent revelations about Hillary (whether true or false) will turn them off voting for Hillary.
“and to kick Donald Trump from the political stage and back to his money-grubbing, distasteful existence”
I really do think Donald Trump will be the new President. To be fair, the Clintons are just as money grubbing as Trump is, how much does Bill charge to do a speech? I cant remember exactly but I read it was in the hundreds of thousands…..
I would be more concerned about Sinn Féin’s election results in the north. The party is loosing ground among its traditional base and I think it is time to re-engage with people and listen to their concerns.
“I would be more concerned about Sinn Féin’s election results in the north. The party is loosing ground among its traditional base and I think it is time to re-engage with people and listen to their concerns.”
A great start would be for SF to stop pandering to the DUP, its hardly going to do any good, it only encourages their bigotry. They aren’t the type of people who reciprocate good gestures, especially from “them’uns”.
SF and SDLP would be better off going to each others conferences and building bridges that way.
You cannot confuse Clinton and Adams.Here are the differences. One 1 has a murky past, steeped in violence, incuding an indiscriminate bombing campaign which it refused to condemn 2 lies about the past 3 spouts about justice while effectively supporting neo-Liberalism 4. The other candidate has a beard.
I have to admit that I’ve not been optimistic about world politics watching the US election campaign unfold. I have always considered Trump an egomaniac and possibly a sociopath so the combination scared me when I saw that American people were flocking to him in such huge numbers. However I only ever considered Clinton as the lesser of 2 evils – and then I watched Trumpland on Channel 4 at the weekend – it’s a stand up show by Michael Moore – I know he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I’d recommend it – Moore himself says he has never been a Clinton voter but he does manage to give a more human side to her – which I think her own campaign has failed miserably at.