With the controversy surrounding the Clinton e-mails, many people wonder why she, and her husband, can get away with the dishonesty they have displayed over their years in public office, or in the public eye.
When he left the Presidency, George Washington was asked what he should be called, now that he was no longer president. His reply, “Mr. Washington, I am a citizen, just like you.”
The Constitution reads: “No title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States.” Exceptions to this are very narrow, and almost exclusively allowed for military officers.
A noble is defined as a person with a higher and separate legal and social status than a non-noble. (My emphasis).
Mrs. Clinton, trying to be a victim, said this recently: “There seems to be a standard for me, and then for everyone else. As I said, she meant to portray herself as a victim, but instead pointed out why she and her husband have gotten away with so much over the years: they are judged under a different set of rules than the rest of us.
When Harry Truman left the White House in 1953, he and his wife drove their car from Washington, DC to Missouri. There was no contingent of Secret Service agents, no entourage of strap hangers, such as public relations, press secretary, aides, or similar personages. He returned to his life as a private citizen.
Dwight Eisenhower, was a slightly different story because he requested, and Congress granted, that he be returned to his retired status as a five-star general. The retired pay for generals was then higher that what a retired president received.
However, today, we hear commentators, on both sides of the political spectrum talk about:
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: No, John Kerry is the Secretary of State.
• Secretary Clinton: Unless she has taken a job with a temporary agency, she is not a secretary.
• Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich: No, Paul Ryan is Speaker of the House
• Governor Mike Huckabee: No, the governor of Arkansas is Asa Hutchinson
• President Bill Clinton: No, Barrack Obama is President
• President George H.W. Bush: see above
• President George W. Bush: see above
• President Jimmy Carter: see above
All of these political personages should be called “former,” as in “Former Speaker of the House,” and so forth.
This goes beyond politics, however, probably, also starting in the late sixties or early seventies, entertainment personalities became experts on things political. Jane Fonda was quite notable in this with her anti-Vietnam protests where she aided and abetted an enemy. Twenty years earlier she would have been shot for treason. Instead, she was feted, wined and dined by the leadership of the country.
Leonardo Dicaprio is an entertainer, but he is heralded as one of the more brilliant minds involved on the global warming scene. He brags about his environmental efforts at reducing carbon footprints by the cars he chooses to drive, but forgets to mention that he flies nearly everywhere in a private jet. It is difficult to find what education or experience he has had that qualifies him second only to Al Gore in environmental science, but I’m sure there must be some in the background.
Elected members of Congress also have created an aristocracy among themselves. The President Pro Tem of the Senate is the third ranking official behind the President and the Vice President. This individual would become president if something happened to the elected leaders. For years, the racist Harry Byrd was the Democrat Party’s choice for President Pro Tem. Byrd opposed the Civil Rights Act and the Federal Marriage Act. He supported partial birth abortion. Byrd was in the Senate for 51 years.
Another aristocratic family is the Dingell Family of Michigan. This clan can claim the prize as the “noblest” political family in America. The late John Dingell, Senior, was elected to Congress beginning with 1933! He served there until his death in 1954 and was succeeded by his son, John, Junior. Junior served from 1954 until he retired in 2015. He was replaced by his second wife, Debbie. So, as of 2016, this family has occupied the same seat in the House of Representative for 83 years! Hardly the Republic and representation our founding fathers visualized.
Strom Thurmond served in the US Senate for 49 years, nine as a Democrat then as a Republican. Thurmond was a third-party candidate for the Presidency in 1948. His candidacy did nothing to defeat Dewey, as Truman handily won the election.
Barry Goldwater, the much beloved Conservative on the 1960s, served in the Senate 30 years. One of his sons served in the House of Representatives for 14 years. Because he had a grandson who was gay and HIV positive, Goldwater dumped his conservative credentials and became a proponent for gay marriage.
Goldwater also violated an article of the Constitution. Since that time, many other members of Congress, including Lindsey Graham, have violated the same article. It states that an elected officer of the United States cannot be appointed to nor receive compensation for other offices. In other words, when Goldwater did not just retain his military rank, but watched as it grew, he was showing his disdain for the law. Every time his records were put forward for advancement, the Senate, of which he was a member, voted on them.
Of course, no political discourse on American politicians would be complete without the Kennedys. As stated at the beginning of this essay, in seems that the election of John Kennedy began the creation of the special class in America. True, Hollywood stars and some athletes had enjoyed a special status, but none soared to the skies as did the Kennedys.
The First Family was very photogenic, and Jackie displayed a grace that had not been seen since Dolly Madison occupied the White House. I also think the elitist were taken by the “Boston” accent, it was so, how can one phrase it, polished and upper class.
When JFK was elected president, Massachusetts held an election in 1962 to replace Kennedy. His younger brother, Ted, won the election. For decades, this was known as the “Kennedy Senate Seat.” Ted Kennedy held the seat for 47 years, despite having a sordid personal life, which included killing a young woman in his automobile. Other Kennedys in office were Robert F. Kennedy, Senator from New York, Robert Junior and Patrick.
The senate seat that RFK held is the same seat that Hillary Clinton held, before becoming Secretary of State. Neither of these individuals were New Yorkers. Apparently, the good citizens of this state do not really care if a native son or daughter, or resident, is in the seat, as long as it is a Democrat.
There are also ‘notables’ that are untouchable because of their race. Al Sharpton, in particular, has incited riots, accused a former Prosecuting Attorney of rape of a minor, and has been a frequent visitor to the Obama White House.
He is called Reverend, although he never attend a seminary or religious school. Some bishop ‘ordained’ him when he was ten years old. However, the media would be terrified to call him Mr. Sharpton. So they go with the politically correct reverend.
How did the degradation and near destruction of our Republic come about?
To quote Walt Kelly’s Pogo from decades ago: “We have met the enemy and he is us!”
The people of the country created the entitled classes noted above. This probably began with the Kennedy election to the Presidency in 1960. Through the intoxication of being on the “A” list in Washington, DC and New York City, major news figures, such as Walter Cronkite and the New York Times writers and editors, found it very easy to gloss over the misdeeds of the elites, the elected.
Cronkite fawned over the Kennedys to an embarrassing degree. He was copied by others in the media that discovered this was the way to get on the list. They would party together on Martha’s Vineyard during the Kennedy, Clinton and Obama years.
The sexual perditions of Bill Clinton were far worse than Ted Kennedy’s. Kennedy was joined in his depravity by a senator from a neighboring state, Chris Dodd.
The favorite mantra seemed to be: what they do in their private lives does not matter, it is what they do for the people that counts. For decades, allegedly devout Catholics (elected ones) have said, “personally, I’m opposed to abortion.” I do not have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body.
Tommy rot! Of course they do. In almost the entire country,
• a woman cannot be a prostitute.
• If under 21, she cannot drink,
• If under 18 she cannot smoke
• If under 16, cannot drive a vehicle.
All laws passed by legislatures or similarly empowered agencies.
The release of thousands of e-mails from the poor folks from Arkansas, the Clintons, openly show the disdain they had and continue to have for the common people. Promise them, cajole them, accuse them of ridiculous nonsense, such as the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy,” call them deplorables, or Red Neck Bible Thumpers, and always, always accuse them of racism.
One of the great ironies on the day after the election was one of Clinton’s supporters talking about her great campaign, how she never talked down to the people, unlike Trump. She never called Trump supporters ugly names like he did her supporters. The denial of reality is incredible.
An hour or so after the polls closed Tuesday, a man said he would be glad to see the end of Trump supporters attacking Clinton supporters. I asked him what he was talking about and he said a friend of his had flown back from the east coast a few days earlier and there was a woman on the plane wearing a Trump hat and t-shirt. I asked if he was equating that to the paid mobs that attacked Trump supporters and he said: “Yes, terrorism is terrorism.”
You cannot reason with people like. There is old saying, “do not get in a battle of wits with an unarmed man!”
Tags: Media Politicians
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