FlaviusAetius

Probably not a deliberate ploy. More likely an assumption that the rules don't apply to her, and it doesn't matter anyway because her supporters don't care, the media will protect her arse, the public will be bored; and those who complain about it will be attacked and ridiculed as part of a vast right-wing conspiracy...so vast it even encompasses the NYT and the WaPO, at times. So was a no-brainer for her and an early indication that her presidency will be even more transparent than Obama's.

Michael

I guess for republican presidential candidates that did the same and Romney that had all the computers replaced and destroyed when he left office, that's not the same thing?

FlaviusAetius

Interesting point. Apparently in Massachusetts, the Governor's Office is not included in the Public Records Law. The Tampa Bay Times looked into the charge and found Mittens' claim to have followed precedent and the law to be true. Romney says he followed the law and precedent in deleting e-mails | PolitiFact

The charges against Romney on this issue fizzled and we didn't hear of it during the election campaign. Huckabee did the same and it may be the rule for many or all governors when they leave office.

Hillary, as Secretary of State, was subject to different regulations that required her to use a federal server and to turn over all her official emails. But her failure to do so probably also will fizzle out as an issue before 2016 heats up because of her built-in protections as noted in my earlier post.

SultanOfSwing

This email thing is getting kind of ridiculous though, especially given that it's most likely all she did was delete a bunch of spam. What would they rather she did, send money to those Nigerian princes and relatives who are all of a sudden trapped in London and need $1,000.00 for a flight home?

Of course, this is the single most important issue that the Republicunts need addressing right now, because unemployment, homelessness and poverty, the broken healthcare system, crumbling infrastructure and climate change are all just minor pains in the arse, right?

username.exe

Just summed up my thoughts exactly.

Politicians are all playing games, are practiced at sleight of hand and are out to eat each other's lunch. The Republicans are not disappointed because she broke a rule, they're annoyed as they were looking forward to having a rummage through her correspondence in order to attack her future campaign.

If only they bothered putting this much energy into improving the country for everyone.

SultanOfSwing

Sadly, the only current candidate who is actually talking about doing this, is the one who is least likely to actually be elected (and if he was, he'd have the House and Congress stopping him at every turn anyway).

FlaviusAetius

You're talking about Bernie, right? He would indeed be a great standard bearer.

Jerseygirl

Oh come on...do you really believe that all she deleted was spam?

SultanOfSwing

Yes, I was.

Why do I think you're being sarcastic, though?

It was an indication of how insignificant this stupid business over the email is, compared to the real, actual, tangible problems that the US faces. Of course, conservatives don't inhabit reality so they have to find straw men to give them something to occupy themselves.

FlaviusAetius

Not being sarcastic - I honestly believe Bernie best represents the thinking amongst Democrats and would give the people a genuine choice between the future as envisioned by them vs. that envisioned by whichever Republican eventually emerges.

Let's be honest: Hillary is motivated by raw ambition, not principle like Bernie. So we're on the same side here, my Sultan.

As for the email, to the extent it impacts her credibility and honesty, it has substance. In politics, perception is reality and if she is perceived as dishonest...

sir_eccles

I think genuine choice is non-existent due to the party system and primaries. Here in AZ in particular, the primary election is the general election. Once the candidates are selected everyone just votes R v D and R wins (likewise in Dem states). Turn out in the general election is substantially lower than in the primary as a result.

SultanOfSwing

OK, we do agree on Bernie, then. Sadly, as Sir Eccles pointed out, the American system is stacked against him. Even though I've read anecdotally that some Republican voters agree with his ideas, I'm not sure Bernie would win the electoral vote in the election. I think he'd get the popular vote though, or at least come close.

As for Hillary and her perceived honesty - well, she's a lawyer and a politician, so do the maths there. A few deleted emails aren't going to tip the balance much farther against her

Michael

Republicans are aiming at Hillary since she seems to be the most probable democratic nominee just like 2008. Fox and all the right wing programs relentlessly attacked her but when it appeared that she probably would not win the democratic nomination, the republican strategy was in flux and they started attacking Obama saying that he wasn't born in the US, he was a socialist and communist, he was a Muslim, and anything else they could think off since he didn't have much of a record to attack when he was in the Senate.

If the same happens this time and Bernie gets the nomination, the first thing out of a republican's mouth will be that Bernie is a "declared socialist" and that will scare the hell out of Americans. Bernie is an easy target for the republicans if he gets the democratic nomination.

SultanOfSwing

That's my point. He's actually the one candidate we actually need to win right now, but it would never actually happen because we have such an ill-informed and uneducated electorate who think buzzwords are more important that real policies.

zargof

I disagree. Republicans have been crying wolf about Obama being a socialist so much for the last eight years, that the supposed pejorative has lost its sting now. The only people that will freak out about it are Fox News muppets that wouldn't vote Democrat any way.