Today’s outrage by those who call themselves “Republicans” regarding FBI Director James Comey’s decision not to suggest that criminal charges be filed against Hillary Clinton, is once again nothing less than pure hypocrisy. The history of accepted corruption by Republicans is long and not forgotten by most Americans. Let’s just review a few of the more well-known instances.
In the 1990’s, under the Bill Clinton Administration, Newt Gingrich was the Speaker of the House. He called his plan for our country the “Contract with America.” His contract was for personal gain. He was eventually charged with 84 ethics violations; some which could have resulted in criminal action. Republicans removed all charges with the exception of one. A violation of the federal tax law forced Gingrich to resign in 1999. He is now under consideration as Donald Trump’s vice-presidential candidate.
Dennis Hastert was Gingrich’ replacement. Last year he was convicted of ‘illegal monetary transactions.’ The reason for the transaction; a cover-up of the sexual abuse of a minor. He was giving money to one of the boys who he performed sexual acts upon when he was a high school wrestling coach. It is impossible for me to believe that other Republicans were totally unaware of Hastert’s past. But one truism about Republicans is that they support each other; not the country, but always each other.
Mark Sanford was the Governor of South Carolina when he decided he needed a vacation. He told his constituents and his family that he was going to ‘hike the Appalachian Trail.’ What he actually planned to do was visit some ‘Argentinian tail.’ He traveled to Argentina to be with his mistress, María Belén Chapur. His lie was discovered, and he was forced to resign. His wife divorced him. But that’s not the end of the story. In typical hypocritical fashion, South Carolina’s Republican voters elected him to the House of Representatives in 2013.
Who remembers the worst president in our nation’s history, George W. Bush? He stood before a joint session of Congress in 2003 and lied to them and the American people. He swore that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction” stockpiled, and Saddam Hussein was supporting and harboring members of Al Qaeda. Every word was a blatant lie, composed by Bush and his vice-president, Dick Cheney. Republican voters were not concerned; they reelected him in 2004. Tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi’s died along with more than 4,000 Americans. The cost of this illegal invasion ran into trillions of dollars.
Donald Trump is the latest in a long line of hypocrites. His many alleged illegal business practices, along with his refusal to pay his employees, places him on this list. Add to his corruption a series of lectures he called “Trump University,” which bilked millions of dollars from “students” who were misled into attending this “university.”
He is now creating a “conspiracy theory” after the decision regarding Hillary Clinton’s personal e-mail accounts.
“Our adversaries ‘almost certainly’ have a ‘blackmail file’ on Clinton based on a successful hack of her server.
“Clinton used the State Department for ‘her personal gain, trading favors for cash.’
“It was not an accident that Hillary Clinton was able to ‘sneak’ into the FBI during a busy holiday weekend.
“It also was not an accident that the statement from the FBI was released on the same day that Obama is campaigning with her.”
“Folks,” he concludes, “the system is rigged.”
How desperate can this horrid and poor excuse for a presidential candidate become? He cannot win on a discussion of the issues; he has no answers for the American people. He is running a campaign based on innuendos, lies, accusations, fear, and hatred.
The media is harming Clinton and favoring Trump. They report all the negative attacks by Trump, but fail to offer the American people Clinton’s solutions for our nation’s problems. Because she is factual and intelligent; she is also apparently boring.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
The Truth With No Restrictions 