Flashback: Rove Erases 22 Million White House Emails on Private Server at Height of U.S. Attorney Scandal – Media Yawns

Rove
Rove

Now that they’ve taken control of Congress, Republicans are wielding power much the same way they did in the Clinton era and for the six years afterward when they controlled the White House and Congress under George W. Bush: ineptly — examples: 1, 2 etc.

Then as now, it’s clear that the only thing Republicans do very well is inflame the media with bogus scandals — which is a handy way to distract attention from their ineptitude. They are doing this with their usual aplomb, and considerable success, in the matter of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server to send emails.

Clinton has said she deleted about 50,000 emails that dealt with personal matters, citing her daughter’s wedding and her mother’s funeral as examples. All the correspondence pertaining to official business was turned over to and archived by State. The deletion of the emails, though perfectly legal, has excited House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner, who has announced plans to deploy House committees to investigate what might aptly be called Servergate.

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Who’s Lying — Hill or Bill?

The server contains personal communications from my husband and me and I believe I have met all of my responsibilities and the server will remain private and I think that the State Department will be able, over time, to release all of the records that were provided.

— Hillary Clinton, asserting that “personal emails between her and her husband, former President Clinton, exist on a private account. But the former commander-in-chief’s spokesman has said Clinton has only sent two email messages in his lifetime, and both were when he occupied the White House,” The Hill reports. The ex-president’s spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that Mr. Clinton doesn’t use email.

D’Souza Denounces Clinton’s ‘Lawlessness’ — from Jail

There’s a kind of lawlessness that seems to be at large here.”

— Wingnut Dinesh D’Souza, commenting on Hillary Clinton’s email kerfuffle via Skype from a “community confinement center” while serving an eight-month sentence for violating campaign-finance laws, reports Mediaite. Despite the convicted felon’s assertion, legal analysts from both The Wall Street Journal and Fox News agree that Clinton did not break any actual laws by using a nongovernment email address to conduct official business.

Republicans Think Clinton’s Campaign is Over

A brief note to my Republican friends; go dark. Seriously. Stop talking. … The Clinton machine in all its arrogance and inertia is careening toward political disaster as the story of her illegal private email servers collides with a Washington and New York press corps that can’t, for once, easily look away. The story has a lot more stink in it than even what’s come to light so far. Only the GOP and conservatives can save her. … The press is possessed of a boundless desire to Change the Subject right now, and some intemperate remark would fit the bill perfectly. Don’t give them a shiny object… For God’s sake, take a deep breath and skip talking about your favorite social issue.

— Rick Wilson, writing in the Ricochet blog.

‘ServerGate’ Unlikely to Have Lasting Effect on Clinton’s Campaign

The actual public response to the controversy is likely to be a combination of apathy and partisanship. Few Americans are paying attention to any aspect of the campaign at this point. Those who do notice will most likely divide largely along partisan lines, with Democrats interpreting her actions more charitably, especially once they see Republicans attacking Mrs. Clinton on the issue. … Any significant political costs are also likely to be fleeting because the revelations came so early in the campaign cycle. It is hard to believe that a lack of transparency in Mrs. Clinton’s use of email will have a significant effect on a general election that will be held some 20 months from now.

— Brendan Nyhan, writing in the New York Times.