History Matters

"I thought I had acted in good faith and made the best decision I could with the information I had," Hillary wrote in her book, Hard Choices, about her Iraq vote in 2002. This is the kind of comment that inflames me as a citizen, because I know, based upon my first-hand experience, that Hillary had been provided the opportunity to gain access to the kind of hard facts that could have pushed her to a different result when it came to her vote.

[...]

In the summer of 2002, on the eve of Senate hearings about Iraq, I paid a visit to Washington, DC, where I sought to gain an audience with those Senators who would be called upon to pass judgement on the president's case for war. For some, this was an exercise in futility -- John McCain, Joe Biden and John Kerry didn't even bother returning my phone calls, despite past promises to consult closely about the issue of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Senator Dianne Feinstein did agree to meet, and we spent a good amount of time together, during which time she informed me that, as of that time, she had yet to receive anything resembling a "smoking gun" when it came to intelligence reports about Iraq's possession of WMD. Feinstein went on to vote in favor of military intervention.

[...]

Senator Chuck Hagel -- a Republican who had previously met with me in length about Iraq -- gave me an audience with his staff, where I addressed the lack of a case for war in depth. Hagel went on to vote in favor of the war, giving voice to an earlier observation, made to me in the Spring of 2000, that I should not "expect any profile in courage moments" out of Congress when it comes to the issue of Iraq.

[...]

The meeting -- or lack thereof -- that had the biggest impact on me was the one I didn't have with Hillary Clinton. Hillary was, at that time, one of two Senators from the State of New York, where I was a resident. She was my Senator, and as a constituent who possessed unmatched qualifications on the issue of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, I felt I had a duty to brief her; and as her constituent, she had a responsibility to give me a hearing or, in the absence of such (recognizing Senators are very busy people), to assign a staff member  [...]  to hear me out. I made several calls to Hillary's Senate office, trying to arrange a meeting at her convenience. Even after explaining to her staff that I was not only a former Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq, but also a citizen of the State of New York who wanted to meet with his Senator, all I got was a promise to take my information down in the hope that "someone would get back to me." No one ever did.

In the immediate aftermath of my meeting with Senator Feinstein, I decided that, armed with the insights of that meeting, I would simply go to Hillary's office and seek a meeting in person. I did so, only to be treated like a leper trying to enter Old Jerusalem in biblical times. I have spent many, many hours on Capitol Hill, waiting in the anterooms of Senators with far more tenure and qualifications than Hillary Clinton possessed in 2002. These were busy men and women, often chairing important committees, for whom time was a precious commodity. But I never saw them ignore a constituent.

[...]

Did I have an appointment? No, I replied. Then there would be no chance for a meeting, she replied. Is the Senator in? I asked. No response to that question, just a reiteration of the previous statement -- there was no chance for a meeting. Could I speak with a member of Senator Clinton's staff who dealt with foreign affairs? I asked, reiterating my qualifications for such a request -- a constituent with first-hand experience about an issue of great importance, only to be told that there was no such staffer available.

[...]

But the operative question  [...]  is why so many others fail to hold her to account for issues that resonate among their respective constituencies with the same resonance that Iraq has with me? Why, for instance, would Hispanic voters believe a woman who so brazenly tells a 10-year-old Latina girl who worries about being deported to "Let me do the worrying ... I'll do all the worrying, is that a deal?," when she is on the record favoring the forced deportation of similar children in order to "send a message"? Why, after Hillary Clinton labelled black youth as "super predators" and supported policies in the 1990's that led to the mass incarceration of so many black males, would black voters give her the time of day, let alone their vote?

  HuffPo

You got me. ??

I can't speak for either the Hispanic or Black communities as to why they seem to be gravitating toward Hillary Clinton in the face of such an abysmal record when it comes to minority rights. But on issues of national security, where Hillary similarly seeks to separate herself from Bernie Sanders, the myth of competence and integrity has been shattered, regardless of one's gender, racial or ethnic status.

That's the beauty of a myth - it doesn't have to be rational.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.