Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   A few points about Hilary Date:   7/3/2016 2:55:54 PM

1.  unless the democrats find a way to sweep the Congressional contests, we will be dealing with a Republican Congress.  I do not see how electing Hilary will avoid 4 more years of the same kind of gridlock between the WH and Congress, i.e., getting nothing done. 

2. Perhaps it would be a good thing if some of the global agreements were undone.  Having dipped my toes in that world a few times, most of these global agreements aren't worth the paper they are written on.  They have no teeth in the even our partner doesn't meet the terms of the agreement.  How will that be different with Hilary, when as SecState she was involved in developing some of these agreements.

3.  The state of our diplomacy and influence in the world is not what it once was.  GWB certainly had a hand in that, but I don't see that much has changed during our 8 years with Obama.  For years now, we keep handing over money, trying to buy influence, but that doesn't work.  We need to be able to negotiate from a position of strength.  And I don't see that happening under Hilary. 

4.  And then there is Bill.  He is a liability, he is tainted and he has just shown he is lacking in judgement.  I'm not sure what he has accomplished as a former President, and more importantly what would he do with Hilary in the WH.  He desperately loves the center stageand I don't see him being willing to sit on the sidelines. 

5.  It is pretty clear that the Clinton Foundation, took foreign funds from other govenments. No matter what you say, it is not clear yet what strings are attached to that money; and what accomodations Hilary will be obligated to make, having taken the money.  You realize, I am sure that bacsheesh is a way of life in much of the world - one hand washes the other.  They didn't give the money out of their goodness of their hearts.  They are buying influence.  Do you want a President who has started out obligated to foreign governments?

6.  Most of our trade agreements benefit no one but the foreign governments, and any attempts that have been made to make them more equal have failed.  Not all agreements are good things.  Again, no teeth.  Think about our trade with China. 

7.  Just the fact that Hilary is a Washington Insider is reason enough not to elect her.  We badly need change, we badly need a new direction and and someone that understands the use of leverage.  If you say that Trump has never served in government, well Hilary has never served in business, and many of our problems are economic.  I know far too many policy people in Washington that are so insulated from the real world.  They think in terms of theoreticals, with no hard experience. 

8.  While I am in favor of head start programs, the real question at this point is what shoud we give up to have them?  Helping students with college debt is a nice thought, but how practical is that?  Do you think Hilary will lean on colleges and universities? No, she will turn to the U.S. taxpayers through increases in taxes.  It would be nice to think that all the extra tax money will come from teh 1 percenters, but the truth is that Hilary is a 1% herself and I can pretty much guarentee that she isn't going to be willing to accomplish this on the backs of her peers. 

9.  Hilary has revised a lot of things she said, i.e. the talking points for Susan Rice about the Benghazi affair.  What she said publicly vs. what she said privately about Benghazi.  And then we find out that there was a lot of dithering about uniforms - do you know who dithers about uniforms and how it will appear to the host country? The State Department.  And who was SecState? Hilary. 

10.  Rather than saying that her experience qualifies her, I tend to think her very insiderness in the political culture of Washington is the very thing that makes her unqualified.  We really don't need a policy wonk as President.  In my mind that has been part of the problem with Obama - at heart he is a policy wonk too, preferring to think in terms of theoreticals than the actual facts.

11.  With regard to the health care initiative, I was very much in favor of it, until I learned the details.  I know some people that are covered under it.  Yes, they have affordable premiums, but they don't have any much in terms of useable coverage.  Very high deductibles are not what the working class needs.  I doubt it will be dismantled, because too much money was spent putting it in place; however, it is hardly a panacea for health care.  It needs changes and I don't see Hilary making them.