Swiftboating Hillary . . . Again

Republicans with the complicity of the so-called liberal media, are expert at undermining Democratic candidates on the basis of bogus allegations that are repeated so often they become part of the political fabric.  Al Gore said he invented the internet -- which he never said.  John Kerry misrepresented his war record -- which he never did. And now, Hillary Clinton while Secretary of State provided access in exchange for contributions to her husband's charity that has done little more than enrich the Clintons themselves -- which, despite a raft of explosive headlines and breathless reporting does not appear to be the case.

Having learned nothing from the trumped up controversies of the earlier Clinton Era, from Whitewater to Travelgate, the New York Times, The Associated Press and other supposed credible media outlets continue to uncritically echo and amplify the conspiracy theories of right wing ratfucking operations whose sole aim is to take the Clintons down.

It is worth noting that Bill Clinton did not go home and paint himself in the shower after his presidency ended.  He established a charitable foundation that, according to CNN, is made up of 11 non-profit groups that work on four major issues: global health and wellness, climate change, economic development and improving opportunities for girls and women. 

It is worth noting that Charity Watch has given the Clinton Foundation an A grade, finding that in 2014, 87.2% of the Foundation's funding went to its programs, and stating that the Foundation does "really important, valuable work that saves lives of lots of people."

According to Inside Philanthropy, the Clinton Foundation runs an initiative that focuses on saving the “lives of people with HIV/AIDS in the developing world by dramatically scaling up antiretroviral treatment” and has expanded to address malaria and maternal health.  Another program works to prevent deforestation, develop clean energy, and help island nations meet the challenges of climate change.

What does the Donald J. Trump Foundation do again other than offer golf games and buy Tim Tebow jerseys?

It is also worth noting that neither Bill nor Hillary nor Chelsea receive any salary from the Foundation.  In fact, they have donated millions to it.

It is true that some people who gave to the Foundation also happened to have met with Clinton while she was Secretary of State but there is no evidence that they met with Clinton because they gave to the Foundation.  And there is no evidence of any quid pro quo -- that those meetings affected any action at the State Department.

Matthew Yglesias, among others, has ably debunked AP's purported expose:

The State Department is a big operation. So is the Clinton Foundation. The AP put a lot of work into this project. And it couldn’t come up with anything that looks worse than helping a Nobel Prize winner, raising money to finance AIDS education, and doing an introduction for the chair of the Kennedy Center. It’s kind of surprising.

As with so many things about the Clintons, there is an appearance of impropriety but no evidence of actual impropriety. But that doesn't seem to matter.  Under the rules of false equivalency, Donald Trump is awash in conflicts of interest and so it must be reported that Hillary Clinton is too.  Add Republican swiftboating techniques and the special media rules for Clinton-related conspiracy theories and you now have a full blown scandal that will become endless fodder for pundits, talk show hosts, Trump tweets and Republican calls for yet another Clinton investigation.

It is going to be a long eight years.