The irrelevancy of the Clintons

Just like a bad meal, and when you think you got over it, “it’s back!” If it were a movie it would be called “Clintons Re-visited Part III. This family is like a weed;: no matter how much vinegar you saturate it with; it grows back with a vengeance. We have been subjected to this family for 30 plus years.  We can actually tell time by “Clinton” years. There isn’t one past president or first family in history (the jury is still out on the Obamas), that thrives on notoriety and publicity like the Clintons.  I wonder if they wake up every morning wondering how they can intrude in our lives.  Why have they made it their mission in life to surface and resurface? Why do they feel we are interested in them? Why does the country give them the time of day? And why do they continually put themselves out in the public arena only to be slapped back into their dysfunctional existence?

The Clinton “years” were fraught with scandal, drama, and self-indulgent behavior that put our nation on par with a banana republic.  It was a train wreck in slow motion. It was also a shame, because President Clinton eventually forged a political discourse across party lines which gave us a great economy and reformed welfare. But this was lost amid inane scandal and impeachment. This family raised indiscretion and soap opera behavior to another level. We sometimes fail to understand that The White House is only rental property and “we the people” are the landlords.  First Families are temporary occupants at the service and discretion of those who elected the President. The Oval Office is not a private escort service.  Nothing in the White House belongs to the residents. Everything belongs to the people, and “the republic” for which they stand.  The White House Clinton “years” were a precursor to reality shows. They were The Kardashians of the 90’s. “We, the people” had front row seats to an eight year long political quagmire that was partly entertaining, partly annoying, but mostly pathetic. When they should have ridden into the political sunset like former presidents normally do; (maybe ranch, build homes for the poor, or just chill out) the country was subjected to a myriad of Clinton political resurrections.

Controversy seems to stick to this family like the proverbial cloud of dirt on Pig Pen.  There is too much baggage to decipher and dissect for a fair determination on what makes this family “tick”.  They are their own worst enemy. They possess a unique synergy that defies logic and yet manage to pull us right into their dysfunctional vortex like a Star Trek anomaly.  Their “Teflon”  coating aversion to telling the truth or  omitting fact is insidious. Even when caught distorting the truth (I am being generous),  they still manage to convince us that truth is irrelevant.  The Clintons are a therapist’s dream.  A psychiatrist’s lifetime can be spent researching why some people find a “Clinton” relevant. The Clintons are poster children for narcissism and pathological disorders.  In an article by BPD Central (Borderline Personality Disorder), author Randi Kreger makes correlation between narcissism and BPD.  BPD is an inherent sense of self-importance, entitlement, and exploitive behavior.  The rest of the “symptoms” include arrogance, self-worth fantasies, and in need of continual admiration.  “Mythomania” or “pseduologia fantastica”. are also conditions relating to pathological lying. Such folk find it hard to determine between truth and fantasy. They also exist by manipulating others in believing them.  Sounds familiar?   (http://www.bpdcentral.com/blog/?Why-Do-Narcissists-and-Borderlines-Lie-So-Much-24).

What exactly was Mrs. Clinton’s call to political fame? As the Jeopardy clock ticks away and your answer is “absolutely nothing”;  you can safely take the cash price in jubilation. Mrs. Clinton’s call to fame was being Mrs. Clinton. She rose up the ladder of political success on a name and a pretense that was conjured up as qualification. She saw herself  qualified by virtue of being in the White House for eight years. That’s like saying I’m a chef because I work in a restaurant. Equally inane and redundant. Unfortunately, some of  “we the people” bought into the White House residential experience as sufficient for elective public office.  We had all admired Mrs. Clinton’s tenacity when she faced her husband’s Oval Office indiscretions stoically and with courage; although we now wonder why he did not “creep” her out?  I digress. But that stoic stance came with a price tag. The nation went through the turbulent and distasteful period of time with Mrs. Clinton; but eventually admiration turned  into annoyance, as in Clinton fashion she  attempted to discredit women in defense of her husband’s perverted behavior.  It was the first step toward achieving political power that out trumps (excuse the pun) integrity, ethics, and truth.  She found her perfect niche. The world of the ethical deficient politicians living together in a Washington swamp.  It was a match made in political heaven. Political intrigue and pond scum behavior fitted Mrs. Clinton  like O.J’s glove.

The Clintons are a caricature of the stereotypical greedy politician. It has always baffled us, the average American, how a public servant can mass millions. What are they doing that we are not? Is it possible to become rich on the back of people you vow to serve and protect? How can an ex-president with a retirement pay of approximately $200,000, earn $153 million in 16 years? If you do not believe me you might believe CNN; the network fondly referred to as the Clinton Network. Even this obvious liberal media giant had a tough time coming to terms with this number. According to Robert Yoon of CNN ($153 million in Bill & Hillary Clinton Speaking fees, documented. Updated: February 6, 2016), between 2001  and election year 2016, Mr. & Mrs. Clinton earned $153 million in speaking engagements, that comes to approximately $9,562,500 a year. I cannot fathom anyone paying almost a quarter of a million dollars to hear Bill Clinton speak. What exactly is he going to speak about? His presidency? Maybe his marriage? The economy? A good possibility. But while the Clintons made the money. the tax payers paid for secret service protection. A win-win situation.

The Clintons are the epitome of  self gratification. Whatever they create has their own interests at heart. The Clinton Foundation is a good example. Created in 1997 as a modest non-profit organization to help Little Rock, Arkansas; the foundation eventually moved its offices to Harlem in New York City. This came at the same time that Mrs. Clinton was elected as a New York senator. To be fair, initially, the foundation provided entrepreneur skills and assistance to the fledgling neighborhood and small businesses. But Bill, being Bill, became restless. Probably not to be tempted with another intern, he decided to launch the foundation globally and the hobnobbing began in earnest. There is no short story where the Clintons are concerned; so condensing is essential. David A. Fahrenthold, Tom Hamburger, and Rosalind S Helderman, of the Washington Post (The inside story of how the Clintons built a $2 billion global empire. June 25, 2015), another liberal leaning newspaper, enclosed that $26 million in Clinton speaking fees came from foundation donors.  Anyone who is surprised, raise your hands. The Clinton Foundation donors were not the Jerry Lewis Telethon type.  These were rich businessmen and oil moguls from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. To give perspective on the obscene sum of money this foundation is worth; the American Red Cross with $2.5 Billion in assets ranks 27th on Forbes list. The Clinton Foundation ranks 36th. Most of us know how the American Red Cross assists at home and overseas; can anyone mention one thing that the Clinton Foundation has ever done to assist Americans at home? I don’t think I have ever seen anyone from the American Red Cross, the USO, or the Salvation Army in Davos Switzerland, or in Saudi Arabia discussing donations.  It brings to mind President’s Kennedy’s words: “And so my fellow Americans; ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  The Clinton version would read: “And so our rich fellow Americans and dudes all over the globe, ask what you can do for us and we might do something for you.”

The Clinton self-absorption machine mows everyone in its path.  Mrs. Clinton ran for president twice and lost both times.  That track record should have given her a hint that the elective do not want her to occupy the White House again. Controversies follow her like rats follow the Pied Piper.  Her ineptitude as senator (because she never accomplished much and voted safe along party lines) was further enforced as Secretary of State. Under her watch we witnessed the death of four Americans in Benghazi to which she could not give a straight answer but instead a desperate banshee cry of: “What difference does it make?” Really madam secretary? Why don’t you tell that to the families of the deceased?   The email debacle unraveled any minutia of trust in her. The Clinton syndrome of lying followed by a feeble explanation attempt at patronizing into believing that we are idiots; is chronic in the Clinton Dynasty.  The idiotic and moronic narrative of feminism and “war against women” was another weak Clinton attempt at deflection from the truth. Reminding me of Jack Nicholson’s famous line in a ” A few Good Men”; lady “you can’t handle the truth.” The truth exposes your vulnerability. You are incapable of taking accountability for your actions. You whip up the victim card as an excuse for your political and personal poor judgments.

Normal people take “time out” when faced with an inevitable loss. They humbly reflect on their weaknesses and take a different course of action toward positive change. They try to make amends. But most important: they own up to their mistakes. Soul searching improves one’s life and ability to recover. These are steps taken by organizations like Alcoholic Anonymous. The first step is to acknowledge the problem, make amends, and develop discipline regimes. Mrs. Clinton is not even at step one. She refuses to acknowledge she has an image problem, hence her new book “What Happened.” A book that could have been written on one page and probably in three sentences. I would like to be a good Samaritan and assist Mrs. Clinton in recognizing “what happened”. “You madam, lost the election because you are not likeable. You have a strong penchant for lying and what is worse; you attempt to cover it up with patronizing double talk.   You pretend to be a feminist but you and your foundation took donations from countries like Saudi Arabia where women are treated like crap. That makes you a hypocrite. Your Clinton dynasty is irrelevant to most of us mere mortals. We neither care nor are interested on why you think you lost the election. But maybe if you were a little more humble you might have crossed the finish line. Instead you were petty and insulting; labeling voters “deplorable”, racists, misogynists,  and stupid, which frankly does not endear you to the masses. You should have realized that they were potential voters. You lost them because you are a nasty piece of work whose interests do not represent ours.  As a woman, I find you offensive to my gender.”

Do we remember Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney, or even Geraldine Ferraro writing a sequel to their election losses? Better still; would we have cared? Who would write such a book? Dovis McManus a columnist in the Los Angeles Times summed it up brilliantly: “Airing grievances, even when they’re justified, rarely shows anyone’s appealing side.” (Stars and Stripes. September 14, 2017). According to McManus, Mrs. Clinton partially blames Trump’s “Make America Great Again” for her loss because she did not have an equally catchy slogan. Really? Her list of blame is endless and not only aimed at the Trumpster, but at James Comey (which is insane because he had the power to slap her in jail and didn’t), Julian Assange, Vladimir Putin, Bernie Sanders (even though her campaign tried to sabotage his campaign), Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Her heart warming (cough) excuse for a book  is that she “had to get it off” her chest! Well, most of us wish it had remained hidden in that untouchable special place (ugh). McManus brought it home by noting that the only other loser who memorialized his defeat  was Richard Nixon in 1960. I am sure that this little emulation detail escaped Mrs. Clinton when getting it off her chest. Oh for a tag line; but unfortunately I am fresh out!

The Clintons have become the most irrelevant of public figures in our lifetime. Which is a pity, because Bill Clinton, like him or not, is intelligent. He is a Rhodes Scholar and charismatic. Unfortunately, his weaknesses overshadow his strengths. His obvious desire for popularity is noticeable and pitiful.  His wife is no better. Together they make a formidable team, but their personal and political baggage has cast an unforgiving public dark cloud over them.  The public is getting tired of political intrigue and dirt. The past election is one we all want to forget rather than rehash. This family has also risen to the level of a Jerry Springer show; eventually even that was cancelled and Jerry got a life. Those who refuse to accept defeat are prone to repeat it; if allowed.  McManus thinks that the book is Mrs. Clinton’s attempt to resurface in the political world. “There were plenty of people hoping that I, too would just disappear…But here I am.” (What Happened). If that is not the last desperate act of a desperate disillusioned woman, I don’t know what is. Her party is still angry and in disarray from her loss. She should have won. She run against a non-politician with baggage of his own. The cat was in the bag but the American voter smelt a rat!

A final word of advice to the Clinton family: take the hint and retire. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. In your case it is the opposite. We have been trying to break it to you gently but it is time for tough love. We do not want another Clinton in politics: please notify your daughter. We do not want to read another word about your lives; we know too much already and none of it is relevant to our lives. It is time that you left us alone. Your attempt at returning to the political arena is pathetically futile. Eventually even your supporters will find you annoying because an unrelenting loser sucks every positive energy out of everyone. Do not fret about us. We have gotten over you, and we would like nothing more than for you to get over us.  In the words of the bard: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”  So please: GO!