Discussion: Clinton Camp On Trump’s Foundation Dig: It's His Turn To ‘Come Clean’

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There is also a “Trump foundation”. How does it get its money? From whom, for what? How does it spend its money? On whom, for what?

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It’s important to always note, when the Clinton campaign comments about the Clinton Foundation, that the work of the Foundation benefits the underprivileged and underrepresented among us, while Donald Trump’s far-flung undisclosed business interests benefit only Donald Trump.

The implicit false equivalence that the Foundation is somehow just like what Trump does needs to be vigorously debunked at every turn.

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As if his tax returns would be truthful …

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This is starting to look a lot like swiftboating to me.

Clinton Foundation was a charitable enterprise that functioned as a conduit between donors and recipients for things like disease prevention in Africa. It collected money and disbursed money, saving many lives.

Of course, the Trump Foundation is yet another scam run by the Donald for the purpose of collecting other people’s money to pay for his trinkets.

Republicans learned from Atwater and Rove that when their opponent has an issue advantage, the best strategy is to run straight at the issue to discredit.

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“Donald Trump should stop hiding behind fake excuses."

But, but, fake excuses are all he’s got!

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All the soap in the world isn’t enough to clean Trump.

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It’s also worth noting the Clinton Foundation’s financials are available online.

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It’s all they’ve got
But what’s especially striking about Team Trump’s baseless offensive is that Republicans feel like they have no choice but to go down this unfortunate road.

The eight year olds run a presidential campaign . Full press co-ordinated lunatic attack with paid shills. The crime here that the MSM actually gives them air time ( but I know those poor cable nooze outlets got 24 hrs they need to fill.)

Yo Trumpettes ! We see what you are doing here , trying to do a Clinton Foundation Swift Boat a Hillary Health Swift Boat. Not going to work . Never

We ain’t sitting back like we did in 2004.

Just wait

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American voters need to see:

  1. Donnie’s US tax returns
  2. Malaria’s immigration records
  3. Donnie’s Russian tax records
  4. An expedited Trump University trial
  5. Donnie and his Klan expelled to Russia when the landslide hits in November…
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It is indeed swift-boating. I’m rather surprised Podesta’s remarks were covered as the media’s line for today is obsessing on “appearance of something really bad for Clinton” instead of focusing on Trump’s inexhaustible financial conflicts of interest, his taxes, his medical records, his lack of actual, detailed policy proposals. Today the media line on Trump is “flipflop” on immigration (his really nice and fair deportation force) and his “tone” (is he softening or ???).

I wish her campaign would send out a single page of bullet-points re: Clinton Foundation. Sigh.

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Just a comment on the lazy press and “churnalism” and what appears to be a new meme/narrative regarding the Clinton Foundation:

The WØRD: “sprawling”

In the NYT article yesterday, In Buzzfeed, repeated in TPM. Also Fox News, AP, NY Post, Bloomberg – and that’s just what I could find in a minute on the Google. Churnalism indeed. Pffft!

Edit: Need I say this is surely Ailesianism at work.
Edit of the Edit: And the press is pissed off because Hillz doesn’t have press conferences. Golly, I wonder why she doesn’t?

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How CAn YOU BElive ANYTHING te CLINTons sAY. HORNy BILL PLAGERized CroOKEd HITLAry’s GOOD HOUSEkeepinG COOKIE recipe. WHERE DID HITLAry GEt IT. SOMe PEople Are SAYING that CROOked HITLAry GOT The chocolate CHIP OATMEAL cookie recipe from THE MUSLIM brotherhood by WAY of HUMa.

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The difference between a bully and a fighter:

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“the most corrupt enterprise in political history”

Trump’s whole campaign is based on projection. There is not a single accusation he makes that he knows could be said of him. He is just obsessed with saying it first of his opponents.

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This is how Clinton needs to respond to Trump’s daily dose of insanity. Keep it up Hillary. Hit back promptly and hit back harder.

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Per Wikipedia:

It was established by former President of the United States Bill Clinton with the stated mission to “strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.” The Foundation focuses on improving global health and wellness, increasing opportunity for women and girls, reducing childhood obesity and preventable diseases, creating economic opportunity and growth, and helping communities address the effects of climate change. The Foundation works principally through partnerships with like-minded individuals, organizations, corporations, and governments, often serving as an incubator for new policies and programs.

… these are all things that Trumpites explicitly or implicitly oppose:

  • Global interdependence - Trump wants strict isolationism and the rest of the world to fear us so much that they bow down and become vassal states.
  • Health and wellness - reeks of Obamacare or worse, Socialized Medicine!!! Never mind immunizing school children in Africa. Those are socialist vaccines!
  • Opportunities for women and girls - goes without saying.
  • Childhood obesity - between Trump and Christie I think we know where the fringe wing of the Republican Party stands here. Okay, maybe unfair. But still, this is the “ketchup counts as a serving of vegetables” party.
  • Economic opportunity and growth - they would be for this if only “for straight, white, patriarchal business owners” were added, but since the majority of the world is not that they don’t like it.
  • Helping communities address the effects of climate change - obviously just a pipe of cash flowing into Big Climate Science funding those greedy “scientists” and their studies!

That said, the vast majority of people, if they knew what the Clinton Foundation actually does, would wholeheartedly support its work. And it has an estimated 11% administrative load, meaning 89% of the money it brings in goes to the specific causes it supports. This is right in line with, say, the American Red Cross at 90%, etc, and generally very good for a foundation which in part (although only about 6%) funds external organizations to do its work (because those org’s administrative costs add to the Clinton Foundation’s).

The main thing that needs to be done is (1) show that the Clinton Foundation is doing good work, and (2) show that the Trump extremists hate it precisely because of the good work that it does.

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Well, perhaps it’s slightly less black and white than that.

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal -NYTimes

The Clintons’ Haiti Screw-Up, As Told By Hillary’s Emails - Politico

What The Heck Does The Clinton Foundation Actually Do? - Inside Philanthropy
This article says that they do do actual charitable work, but that’s not all:
“The final mission of the Clinton Foundation is to attend to Bill Clinton’s presidential legacy.”

Look, they apparently do a lot of good work, but it’s not very transparent; the access that was given to donors while HRC ran the SD is troubling; and fluffing up Bill’s legacy is not charity.

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One thing we know is, almost none of it comes from Trump himself. IIRC, he’s given a total of $10,000 to his own foundation. For comparison, the Clintons gave $3 million to theirs in at least each of the past couple of years.

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Actually, what’s more striking is that this, plus the emails, are actual lines of attack that they could use. Regardless of their basis in reality, the Trump campaign could be using the impression people have of them to seriously put her on the defensive. Instead, the candidate spends his time spouting gibberish about feuds with media people and quasi-racist, sometimes outright racist rants.

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