General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: All other concerns aside, would you prefer Sanders or Clinton? [View all]Divernan
(15,480 posts)And I agree with Dr. Dean - regarding age and the office of the presidency. This drawn out game HRC is coyly playing re not formally declaring candidacy for President is perfectly designed to add millions to the starving Clintons' nest egg. Between the obscene amounts she collects for her speeches, to the millions donated by Big Money interests to the Clinton Family Foundation -- all with the self-interest of getting quid pro quos down the road when she's in the Oval Office. Once she stops running, whether officially or unofficially, what happens to her war chest/accumulated campaign donations and PAC funds? That's the beauty of it - she keeps that $$$. There are some limitations on what it can be spent on, but the Clintons are way clever enough to get around those. Here's another post on that topic which I'd saved to my journal:
Then consider how important increasing their personal wealth and hanging around with powerful members of the One Percent has been to both Clintons since Bill left office. They are quite aware that One Percenters look down on politicians as people whose services you buy - basically well-dressed servants. One percenters well understand that if they want to control policies and influence world affairs, they do it with their checkbooks. Why would either Clinton want to spend their 70's in the White House, with all the public scrutiny entailed, when they could be living the high life with those the Clintons most admire?
On the other hand, as long as HRC delays officially becoming a candidate, the Clintons' tax returns remain secret; the salaries and five star perks they award themselves and their daughter from the "non-profit" Clinton Foundation remain secret, and Big Money keeps paying her outrageous speaking fees. And although she claims some of her speaking fees are turned over to the Clinton Foundation, no proof of that has been provided to organizations monitoring charitable organizations. The day she states she will not run, those speaking fees will drop like a stone, as will fat contributions to the Clinton Foundation from parties interested in quid pro quos if HRC became president.
And her latest, preposterous excuse for not declaring? "I want to try on being a grandmother first." Way to set the women's movement back about a century, Hillary! This from a woman who ridiculed staying home to bake cookies! I'm hoping my fellow Dems will nominate the likes of Elizabeth Warren or Maryland governor Martin O'Malley.