Why Character Attacks on Hillary Won’t Work

The right wing noise machine continues to bluster about the book "Clinton Cash" even though the books author has been forced to admit that he found no "smoking gun."  Meanwhile other detractors of Hillary Clinton often make unattractive pundits - think Ann Coulter who looks like an anorexic drag queen in my view - and run the risk of alienating women if the appear to beat up on the only viable female presidential candidate to date.  A piece in The Daily Beast suggests that efforts to attack Hillary Clinton's character will likely fail - or backfire.  Here are excerpts:

If you’re Martin O’Malley, or one of the other potential Democrats pondering a race against Hillary Clinton, you’ve been presented with an unexpected opportunity—and a very, very tricky challenge.

The spate of stories about the interconnections between the Clinton Foundation, the Clintons’ wealth, and Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State have opened up a line of attack against the prohibitive Democratic favorite that was once the province of her ideological foes. For close to a quarter-century now, the willingness—make that eagerness—of voices on the Right to embrace every accusation against the Clintons has proven to be a pearl of great price for Bill and Hillary, serving to insulate them politically from allegations that were, in fact, credible.
Throughout their political lives, the Clintons have successfully—and often accurately—argued that the criticism have come from those opposed to their agenda. Now, two news outlets that embody the “Mainstream Media” so much scorned on the Right have weighed in with stories that undergird precisely the same argument.

And herein lies the opportunity—and the dilemma—for O’Malley or any of the other possible Democratic challengers: what do you do with the argument that the case against Hillary Clinton is a matter not of ideology, but of character?

As far as I can tell, no intra-party campaign against a prohibitive favorite has ever been waged on such grounds.

Up to now, Clinton’s potential rivals have been taking the traditional route of arguing that she does not truly reflect the Democratic base on issues like income inequality and corporate regulation. Now, they have been handed a much more potent argument: that the financial behavior of the Clintons demonstrates that they identify with the one per cent—or one-tenth of one per cent—and that their conduct will be as big a liability to Hillary Clinton as Mitt Romney’s business career and tax returns were to him in 2012.

But, as with nitroglycerin, a potent substance can also be highly dangerous. Bill Clinton is the most admired man in America; and among Democrats, his approval rating is stratospheric. Up to now, there has been no significant unhappiness within her party at the prospect of a Hillary Clinton nomination—not to mention the significant cohort of voters eager to see a woman elected President.

[N]othing is more likely to rally Democrats around Clinton than the assaults from across the political divide. Throughout their public lives, Bill and Hillary Clinton have benefitted enormously from the fury of their ideological enemies. Making a case that will persuade Democrats to move away from Clinton on character grounds will be the political equivalent of defusing a ticking bomb.

Gutless Personal Attacks

I guess it goes with being a LGBT blogger, but it is interesting how homophobes and Christianists who visit this blog - for the male beauty photos perhaps? - always (1) post their personal attacks anonymously, and (2) somehow attribute my posts that are 100% accurate in reporting anti-gay issues as some form of self-loathing on my part. For the record, the only loathing that I have is for Christianists and bigots who knowingly lie and denigrate others who disagree with their religious views all the while patting themselves on the back in a falsely pious and self-congratulatory manner. Here's a sampling of today's poison:

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It is obvious you are filled with self-loathing. You project your hate onto others...just like Wayne Besen, the queen of hatemongering. . . . But, of course, this is not about truth...it's about raging against yourself for abandoning your family. You should really get some help.

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Candidly, it sounds to me that it's the author of the comment rather than me who needs some help. Maybe the author of the comment is Michael Johnston, since he has such an axe to grind with Wayne Besen. Or maybe it's one of the folks at Exodus International or some other ex-gay "ministry" who feels threatened by growing revelations that gays cannot change their sexual orientation, thus causing the author more self loathing because in his heart of hearts he knows that he's really gay.

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I'd also note that I never abandoned my family - my youngest daughter will be in my office most of the day today - as she is most days. As for my other children, I suspect that someday they will realize that they were never abandoned.

Self Righteous, Abusive Comments

I began moderating comments to this blog some time ago largely due to the insane and/or abusive comments that would be posted from time to time by right wing lunatics and anti-gay Christianists. Sadly, from time to time I also receive abusive comments from self-absorbed and sanctimonious older gays who seem to think that they have a monopoly on being gay and that those of us who lived for years in the closet have no standing to express our views or comments on events past or present. Often these gays making such comments seem to think that only they have done anything to "make a difference."

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My recent post on the Christianist conniption fits over the possible designation of a "Harvey Milk Day" apparently sent one such self-absorbed individual over the top and he sent me an extremely nasty and abusive comment - which will NOT be published - attacking me and some other gay rights activists. Had he bothered to really read that post - this individual always seems in a rush to pontificate - he would have realized my comments were really about the Christianist desire to erase gays from sight rather than any commentary on Milk and/or the time period of his activism other than to paraphrase some historical information from the Sacramento Bee's article.

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I have never denied that I was in the closet for many years. In fact, the title of this blog states that fact very clearly. Does that make my thoughts and comments irrelevant? Apparently to some it does, but I respectfully disagree. Each of us has unique life experiences and COLLECTIVELY we have a larger story to tell. But that doesn't mean our individual experiences are invalid. Nor does it mean that we can't make a difference at whatever age we come out.

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Not to brag or give myself unwarranted credit, I do feel that I am doing my best to make a difference now that I have come out of the closet. I helped found HRBOR, which was the brain-child of a friend and myself, which is growing in strength literally monthly. Moreover, to my knowledge, I am the ONLY self-acknowledged "out" attorney in this region of the state. Oh yes, we have our "family friendly" attorneys and closet cases, but no other attorney to date will publicly say that they are gay. They all fear the potentially negative consequences such as being forced out of their law firms (Virginia has NO employment protections for LGBT citizens).

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Why have I chosen to be out professionally? One reason is that I refuse to hide any longer. More importantly, only by being out and visible will the climate perhaps change where other attorneys will feel they can be open about who they are. Yes, there is a down side. Many firms in this area would never hire me even though they lie on the non-discrimination forms required by the state's leading law schools and say they abide by the non-discrimination policies of the law schools that protect LGBT individuals. My divorce where I was basically put on trial by the judge for being gay is another case in point. But other judges and attorneys have acted more decently toward me when they saw a face put on the word gay and the sole issue has become my competence, not who I sleep with. The process has to start with someone.

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Do I often wish I had come out earlier? Most definitely. On the other hand, if doing so would mean that I would not have the wonder of my three children, then no, I'd do it all the same all over again, including all the emotional pain and torment. Bottom line, attack me if you will. Just don't expect me to give you a platform for nasty, vile comments.