Finally! I have found someone else who sees history repeating itself
here. I was beginning to think I was the only person who remembered
how ACORN came down.
Anhvinh DoanvoBecome a fanResearch assistant for the Global Initiative for Civil Society and Conflict. Writer for The Hill.
Posted: 09/06/2015 9:14 pm EDT Updated: 09/08/2015 11:59 am EDT
Hannah
Giles, James O'Keefe, Peter Schweizer, and David Daleiden: These are
names the American public should know. Their writing, which thrives on
catchy headlines and specious content, has embodied modern-day yellow
journalism. Their investigations have masqueraded as a "public service".
But in reality, they have aimed to eviscerate political enemies,
regardless of whether their targets have committed any wrongdoing. In
fact, time after time, these hatchet jobs against Planned Parenthood,
Hillary Clinton, and Association of Community Organizations for Reform
Now (ACORN) have been debunked by federal investigations. Our demand for
accountability of our politicians and national institutions has been
poisoned by a failure to demand the same from our media and liars
operating under the façade of journalism.
Fast forward to the scandals of 2015 and we see quite comically, the same incidents have occurred. Soon after a Republican-dominated panel found that no wrongdoing was committed in the Benghazi scandal, Peter Schweizer published Clinton Cash.
In the book, he alleged that the Clintons used their positions in
government to benefit financial donors, including human rights violators
like Russia. Although the headlines have had some truth to them, in
that the Clinton Foundation's donation policies might need some reform,
they are ultimately deceptive to the American public. Multiple instances
cited in the book, like one where Clinton "could have stopped" Russia from buying a uranium mining company in the U.S., have been debunked by
organizations like FactCheck.org. When asked about the matter,
Schweizer himself noted that there was no direct evidence of wrongdoing,
though he remained unrepentant, saying that such evidence is not necessary to attack Clinton's record.
David
Daleiden's dishonest Planned Parenthood activities have been even more
disconcerting. He's ignited a political firestorm, with conservatives
claiming that Planned Parenthood has profited off fetal tissue, just as
they claimed that ACORN intentionally committed voter fraud. However, five investigations in Pennsylvania,
Georgia, Indiana, South Dakota, and Massachusetts, all thankfully early
enough to help defuse the issue, have found that no wrongdoing has been
committed by the organization. Conservatives have become so desperate
to find any mud to sling at the organization that Florida Governor Rick Scott attempted to scrub statements on evidence clearing Planned Parenthood in his investigation.
Hillary
has a message for the politicians attacking Planned Parenthood and
trying to cut off millions of Americans from lifesaving health care for
women and families—and Republicans should take note. Hillary Clinton
supports and stands with Planned Parenthood.#standwithPP>>>>>>>
With Hillary Clinton's campaign fundraising going into full swing, the New York Times strikes again! Continuing its attempt to capitalize on its deal with the Peter Schweizer, author of the evidence-free, Koch-funded opus, Clinton Cash, the NYT offers this header.
I
will not bother sharing the text. You can go there if you want.
Jeffrey D. Sachs has a history of work on Africa with the Clinton
administration developing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),
but we have seen disaffected Clintonites in the past and are certain to
see more as time goes on. In a codicil, Rappeport notes that
President Clinton defended foundation work. How very New York Timesy to link to another NYT article rather than to the true and detailed story sent out by the Clinton Foundationthis week.
Friend,
For
the past week, President Clinton and Chelsea have been in Africa
meeting people who are directly implementing, participating in, and
benefiting from our projects. This is life-changing work that has been
made possible through your support, and I wanted to take this
opportunity to say thank you.
Along with our partners and CGI
commitment makers, we're working hand-in-hand with smallholder farmers
in Tanzania to help them improve their harvests and increase their
incomes, building new technology to combat climate change in Kenya, and
bringing lifesaving vaccines to people in hard-to-reach places.
Across
all this work, one thing is clear: when people work together,
extraordinary progress is possible. And while this work may not make
headlines, it is making a difference in the lives of so many.
You have been part of our amazing journey, and we hope you're as proud as we are of the results. You can see some of those results on our site,
which features interactive stories, videos and maps of our work in
Africa – and shares why we couldn't be more optimistic about the future.
We appreciate all that you do. Thank you for your commitment to building a better world.
Sincerely,
Bruce R. Lindsey
Chairman of the Board
Clinton Foundation
At the foundation website, President Clinton encourages us to follow the trend lines.
"Underneath the
headlines, the trend lines are going in our direction. You must not be
discouraged by the fact that doing good is not often considered good
news.”
Where are the headlines about this work? The Times
apparently is more dedicated to promoting a book full of meritless
accusations than to showing the good the foundation does. What is the
real target? What is the point? The answer has been clear for weeks.
The Schweizer book and the deal with the Timeshave always been intended to target Hillary Clinton's candidacy.
The
allegations might mean something if Koch funds were curing blindness
and providing hearing aids in Africa rather than publishing a
miscategorized work of fiction which, incidentally, I will not further
fictionalize by pretending to have read much less to have purchased in
order to read. The $18 - $21 dollars Amazon lists it for is better
spent at HillaryClinton.com
and the Clinton Foundation. They, assuredly, will put hard-earned cash
to better purpose than the Kochs and company ever would.
You
and I both know that Republicans will latch on to whatever far-flung
theories they can find in order to try and distract from Hillary's
record of fighting for everyday Americans.
That's why we're kicking off The Briefing, your go-to source for the facts you need to set the story straight.
Today, we're debunking some of the worst conspiracy theories in Clinton Cash, the latest "book" trashing Hillary's record of service. Watch the video to find out more, and then sign up to get more Briefings throughout the campaign:
The
Briefing will be your regular download on what you can do to help fight
back against attacks like these. We'll keep you current on the latest
news stories -- both fact and fiction -- so you can pass on the truth to
your friends and family. Facts matter, and you deserve to
know them. So check out this first video and then put your name on the
list to get regular Briefings: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/
Thanks,
Jennifer
Jennifer Palmieri Communications Director Hillary for America
Hillary
Clinton entered this race to fight for solutions that will help
everyday Americans get ahead and stay ahead. Already, in the first days
of her campaign, she hit the road to discuss these ideas with ordinary
Americans. In Iowa, she described the need to get unlimited, anonymous
money out of our politics — and promised to push for a constitutional
amendment if that’s what it takes. In a speech last week in New York,
she discussed her ideas for reforming our criminal justice system in
order to repair the broken trust between law enforcement and the
communities they serve. And tomorrow, in a visit to Las Vegas, Hillary
will discuss the need to enact comprehensive immigration reform to
address an unsustainable system that leaves families living in fear and
denies our economy the full benefit of their labor.
Republicans,
meanwhile, are far less interested in discussing these important issues
because they know their proposals are out of step with what most
Americans need. Rather than focus on what truly matters in this
campaign, Republicans seem to only want to distort Hillary Clinton’s
record. It is clear that they have a two fisted strategy to try to
undermine her, using unlimited dark money on the one hand and taxpayer
funds on the other.
This strategy will
not work, but that isn’t going to stop Republicans from trying. In
recent weeks, the House Select Committee on Benghazi has signaled that
it will allow proceedings drag into 2016, proving that they intend to
turn what was once a legitimate inquiry into a partisan exercise. Now,
within days of Hillary announcing her campaign for President, we are
confronted with latest in a long list of partisan books attacking the
Clintons.
During her nearly two-year public speaking tour, Hillary Clinton
frequently criticized policy-making in Washington as operating in an
"evidence-free zone." Her point was that data-driven and
evidence-driven policy is effective while ideology-driven policy can be
questionable, faulty, and often ineffective.
On Facebook on Monday, senior campaign spokesperson Karen Finney shared an article from Politico exposing a deal between the New York Times and Peter Schweizer, author of a soon-to-be published book, Clinton Cash, affording the Times early access to his so-called "research."
The
following day, Brian Fallon, Hillary For America's national press
secretary, issued a memo to friends and allies in which he quoted Think Progress.
Schweizer explains he cannot prove the allegations, leaving that up to investigative journalists and possibly law enforcement.
Schweizer, by his own admission, operates in an evidence-free zone. yet the New York Timesover
the past two days has forged ahead in its attack on the Clinton
Foundation and the unfounded allegations that donations somehow figured
into decisions Hillary Clinton made as Secretary of State.
So clearly the New York Times
is not at peace with the Clinton Foundation which, as Fallon points
out, "is a world-class philanthropy that has helped millions of people
around the world tackle issues from HIV/AIDS to children's health to
climate change." Neither is the publication at peace with Hillary
Clinton's presidential campaign as it is very clear that the foundation
alone is not the sole target of these attacks.
It is ironic, indeed mind-boggling that in light of all of the above, the Times teams up with the Daily Beast in sponsoring the Women in the World Summit with which Hillary Clinton has long been associated and at which she regularly appears and speaks.
By the way, don't miss Helen Mirren there this afternoon, either! Always a treat!
Meanwhile,
the New York Times needs to integrate its shattered personality
regarding Hillary, the Clintons, and their admirable foundation.
Hillary with Pussy Riot last year.
****************************************************************************
Adding here the link to Brian Fallon's excellent five-point take-down of the Timesarticles.
Relying largely on research from the conservative author of Clinton Cash, today’s New York Times
alleges that donations to the Clinton Foundation coincided with the
U.S. government’s 2010 approval of the sale of a company known as
Uranium One to the Russian government. Without presenting any direct
evidence in support of the claim, the Times story
— like the book on which it is based — wrongly suggests that Hillary
Clinton’s State Department pushed for the sale’s approval to reward
donors who had a financial interest in the deal. Ironically, buried
within the story is original reporting that debunks the allegation that
then-Secretary Clinton played any role in the review of the sale.
When Republicans attack Planned Parenthood, they’re attacking women’s health. Proud to #StandWithPP—and always will. https://t.co/frqgxI6sjG
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 29, 2015
Friend,
