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NY Times: Hillary Clinton Enlists Blumenthal for State Dept. Post
Flashback: Sidney Blumenthal Uses Former Right-Wing Foes To Attack Obama
Almost every day over the past six months, I have been the recipient of an email that attacks Obama’s character, political views, electability, and real or manufactured associations. The original source of many of these hit pieces are virulent and sometimes extreme right-wing websites, bloggers, and publications. But they aren’t being emailed out from some fringe right-wing group that somehow managed to get my email address. Instead, it is Sidney Blumenthal who, on a regular basis, methodically dispatches these email mudballs to an influential list of opinion shapers — including journalists, former Clinton administration officials, academics, policy entrepreneurs, and think tankers — in what is an obvious attempt to create an echo chamber that reverberates among talk shows, columnists, and Democratic Party funders and activists. One of the recipients of the Blumenthal email blast, himself a Clinton supporter, forwards the material to me and perhaps to others.
Not exactly the sort of light touch one often associates with the state department.
I’d like the pros of the Clinton era (strong economy, international respect, relative level of peace, certainly not two wars started by Republicans that they couldn’t finish, general optimism that people are getting ahead, not falling behind) with none of the political baggage. It’s Hillary’s choice, but you’d think she’d have learned by now that hiring her husband’s people is the kiss of death.
Hillary Clinton’s choice of associates and her team’s nasty rhetoric became a HUGE liability for her.
Her association with Terry McAuliffe and Mark Penn were HUGE negatives to me.
But Sidney Blumenthal was acting especially sleazy with his use of right wing attacks, as was pointed out in the article, “a staggering number of the anti-Obama attacks he [Sidney Blumenthal on behalf of Hillary Clinton] circulates derive from highly-ideological and militant right-wing sources such as the misnamed Accuracy in Media (AIM), The Weekly Standard, City Journal, The American Conservative, and The National Review.”
He’s really only a slight cut above Lanny Davis, and that’s only because fewer people know who he is.
I guess with Axelrod, the Chief Master of Black Operations for Obama sitting comfortably in the White House meddling with policy and spinning furiously, Blumenthal at State balances things out, at least he is a fine writer, so we know she will get good speeches. Don’t worry, Blumenthal won’t be plotting against Barack, the President’s timidity on the Banks and the stimulus has already put the shiv in 2012 all by himself. Hillary and co should sit at State and sadly watch the coming of Carter 2.0.
I’d say he’s a major cut below Lanny Davis who is simply a sycophant. But Davis at least has a veneer of civility about him. Blumenthal is a sycophant and a nasty one to boot. He’s a malicious twerp who makes Charles Krauthammer look like Ms. Manners. Nope, don’t like him and never did.
I’d rather she hire Max Blumenthal
I’d rather she’d hire Samuel Huntington or Bernard Lewis (if he’s still alive) – they seem to be the only ones who know what’s going on in the world today ; and liberals hate them. That ’s two pluses in my book.
None of the commentators seem to even know who Blumenthal is or his connection to the Clinton’s; it appears their only exposure to him has been that allegation over the e-mails during the campaign. For the record, Sidney and Hillary go way back. He is not one of “her husband’s people.” He worked for President Clinton but his roots lay with Hillary.
That entire article written by Dreier was carefully written smear of Blumenthal – touting as evidence second hand e-mails Blumenthal would exchange with a group of friends who mostly all work in the media (which is not suprising since Blumenthal started out as a member of the media and went back to it after his White House years).
For example, Dreier says – “Before and after his service in the Clinton White House, Blumenthal wrote for the New Yorker, New Republic, Washington Post, the Guardian, and Salon, where he was often accused of engaging in partisan journalism. In the Clinton administration, Blumenthal was primarily a behind-the-scenes strategist, but often found himself speaking in front of the cameras and on the record. In both roles, he was known as a committed Clintonista who played hardball.”
This is a rather artful way of painting a less than flattering portrayal of Blumenthal as a political hack FOB. But when you unpack the references, it doesn’t exactly sound so bad – he was considered a partisan journalist because he specialized in covering conservatives, during his time at the New Republic, which inspired the by now familiar backlash. He often spoke in front of cameras and on the record because he was one of those dragged into the grand jury proceedings by Starr and Blumenthal ended up as a part of the media firestorm as a result.
Dreier’s column was a total hit piece and was part of the overall Obama campaign strategy to claim the high road in campaigning tactics – which was B.S. but fairly typical; all campaigns compete for it.
Seriously, folks, the election is over and there were unflattering character attacks coming from both sides. Obama got over it and so has Hillary. Let it go.
Dreier’s column was a total hit piece
Except that the emails and memes he says Blumenthal pushed did, in fact, happen just as he says.
Yes, he sent e-mails to a select group of friends which contained his slanted take on things happening in the campaign. Everyone I know who worked for any campaign did the same thing. Dreier made much of the fact that Blumenthal’s “friends” were all in the media and insinuating that the only conclusion you can draw from that was he was trying to taint coverage of Obama. But, no, that’s not the only conclusion that can be drawn and it isn’t even the most likely since Blumenthal is a lifelong journalist – many of his friends are also be in the media.
It’s a hit piece because it alleges things as if there’s no other explanation when in fact there are other explanations. And the evidence he uses to support his views were nothing but circumstantial conjectures. That’s what hit pieces are.
To me, the tell-tale sign of Dreier’s intentions in that article was the way he painted Blumenthal’s involvement in the Starr investigation – as if he actively sought out that role for the benefit of his ambition!
You’re a very smart man, Oliver. One might even say you’re like Kryptonite to stupid. I think you can see I have a point – and since the campaign is over and Hillary and Obama have more than made peace with each other, I think it’s time we start evaluating their supporters outside the paradigm of our election-colored glasses.
By the way – “are also be” is the new slang. Lol.