Hillary The Duck

Greeting Lost Iowan Diary readers. I hope that everyone had a safe and Merry Christmas, but with one week to go to the Iowa Caucuses, it’s time to get back to business.

Prior to taking a couple day break for Christmas, we were discussing Hillary Clinton and her run for the White House. Now many of you may believe that my motivation for stopping Mrs. Clinton from becoming our Commander in Chief stems from the fact that I am a conservative, and it is my “duty” to stop a Democrat from becoming President. While it is true that I am a conservative, what I am NOT is a Republican, rather I am a Libertarian. So that means I am supporting the Libertarian candidate, right? Well, while Libertarianism is a growing movement in the American political scene, at the same time it is also a minor player in national elections. So therefore, my goal is to support the candidate that best embodies the Libertarian ideals AND has a chance at winning. In 2004, I did vote Libertarian for president, because I was (and remain) disappointed in GW Bush, and of course Kerry was an even worse option.

Who I will be supporting this time around has not been determined, HOWEVER I can say with certainty it will not be Hillary Clinton. And while I am not pleased with the options on the left – with the possible exception of Obama – I could live with a Democratic President in 2008 as long as it is not Hillary Clinton. And if it is Hillary, well then I will just have to live with that to, but I will be able to do so knowing that I truly worked to stop her election. When I started my “Don’t Vote For Hillary” campaign a few days ago, my goal was to alert you to some of her past actions, actions that prove she is not a worthy candidate. I assumed that this would take two or three days of my blog, but I have become convinced that not only is there enough “dirt” on Hillary to keep this blog going up to the Caucus, but probably up to the November election – without repeating a single charge.

Today, we’re going to look at Whitewater. Generally the call of the left is that Whitewater amounted to nothing – after all, neither Hillary or Bill were convicted of any wrongdoing. True, and O.J. was acquitted of murder, so I guess he is 100% innocent as well. Lets look at a few facts:

Here’s what Bill and Hillary got:
n Jim & Susan McDougal paid 91% of the costs associated with the deal, Bill and Hillary retained 50% of the Equity

n When the property began to lose money, the McDougals paid off the loan the Clintons took out to finance their downpayment

n McDougal hired Hillary at a retainer of $2,00 per month to represent Madison Guaranty S&L as it’s attorney

n Jim McDougal held a fundraiser that netted $35,000 for Bill’s gubernatorial campaign.

And Here’s what McDougal got:
n Clinton appointed McDougal’s close friend Beverly Lambert as Arkansas Banking Commisioner. McDougal also got “control” of the Savings and Loan board through several appointments he says he “arranged.” Clinton, McDougal explains, was “amenable” to his suggestions to fill these positions.

n Lambert approved McDougal’s purchase of a bank in Kingston, Arkansas. “It was good to have the right connection in state government,” McDougal said.

n Clinton named Beverly Bassett, McDougal’s candidate, as securities commissioner.

n Bassett allowed Madison to issue preferred stock to raise capital. Hillary was McDougal’s attorney on this deal.

n Clinton sat in on a meeting McDougal had with the state’s Health Department after a state inspector refused to grant septic permits to a subcontractor on one of his developments. McDougal got the permits. As the banker put it: “If I kept up my connection with Clinton, I would never encounter any bureaucratic roadblocks.”

Whitewater was an ill-timed investments, just as interest rates were starting to climb. “I felt responsible” McDougal said “for bringing the Clintons into an unprofitable deal and I decided to make the payments myself rather than ask Bill and Hillary for more money.”

The Clinton’s have always claimed that they never made money on Whitewater, but that misses the real point: Jim McDougal stopped them from losing their shirts. But McDougal didn’t lose HIS shirt, as the deals he made through his relationship with Clinton paid off. This is a classic quid pro quo – a largely questionable relationship between a governor and his wife and a banker/developer.

The Clintons have claimed that the final report of the Independent Counsel on Whitewater exonerated them, that the report found no wrongdoing? The facts are this: All the Independent Counsel said was that “the evidence was insufficient” to prove the Clintons did anything wrong. Why were they unable to find the evidence? Well, Jim McDougal was dead and Susan McDougal was jailed for contempt rater than cooperating with the investigation. Why not cooperate if there was no wrongdoing? Instead Susan waited it out expecting a presidential pardon, which she received. Who was left to testify? The IC’s report was a far cry from exoneration.

As a side note, when it was apparent that Susan McDougal might turn on the Clinton’s, good friend Hillary exclaimed “She’s such a Liar. She worked for [famous conductor] Zubin Metha and stole his silver. She’s crazy, unstable and totally dishonest. You can’t trust a thing she says” Susan was eventually acquitted of stealing for Metha.)

Sheesh, and this is how she talks about a FRIEND. Look, all I know is when you look at all of the facts, it reminds me of a saying my Uncle Clarence was fond of: “If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.” And Hillary quacks the loudest of them all.