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Hillary Clinton - Unaccomplished and Unqualified

Updated on May 13, 2016
RJ Schwartz profile image

I'm on the right side of politics and enjoy a good debate on government, the economy, common sense, and the rights of the people.

The Question

Hillary Clinton claims to have a long list of accomplishments while serving in public office, yet most people cannot seem to be able to recall a single one. She served most recently as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration and prior to that was a US Senator. She also was the First Lady of the United States while her husband Bill served as President. With a lengthy career in public office American voters should be able to measure her ability to get things done, provided she actually did anything of value. Many of us have watched Presidential hopefuls stump loudly and proudly about what they are going to accomplish in office, but voters today demand results, not rhetoric. The catalyst to this type of thinking stems from the election of Barack Obama; a Jr. Senator who was an amazing orator, had a great message, but really had no track record other than being a community organizer. With baited breath, America put the first black President in office and waited for a return on their investment. Eight years later the Obama portfolio is at a negative value and America and the voters are in a state of turmoil.

With the primary season coming to a close, Mrs. Clinton has not performed as expected and her coronation is being hotly challenged by an admitted socialist, Senator Bernie Sanders. She has flipped on several topics and strengthened her position on others to counteract the consistent message Sanders is delivering, but her resume just doesn't back up what she says. Taking a quick look at her website should easily pacify even the most skeptical person, or at least one would think so. I’ve done just that, looking at her accomplishments and then offering counter points and facts. She lists her top seven achievements as follows.

The List Begins

1. Fought for children and families for 40 years and counting

This is what she lists on her website as her top accomplishment, when in fact it isn’t an accomplishment at all. It may be her personal passion; however there is no way to measure success or failure on the topic. An accomplishment is something that has been successfully achieved, so at best this is a work in progress. Hillary Clinton fails to provide any hard facts of where she was successful or partially successful.

2. Helped provide millions of children with health care

Bill Clinton attempted to pass health care reform while he was President which failed. On her website Hillary makes reference in helping to to helping create the CHIP program (Children’s Health Insurance Program) which provides health care to uninsured children. There is no criticism of anyone trying to improve health care. However the problem with her statement is that although the CHIP program was passed in 1997 by her husband, it's not something she can claim as her own. Being in favor of something isn't actually helping. A more realistic statement would be that she was married to the guy that that signed a bill that was drafted and passed by Senators and Congress People, of which she wasn’t one. Nowhere does it identify where she “helped” in the process. She could certainly come forward and provide documentation to America on what meetings she attended or committees she served on while working to forward the legislation, but again, she wasn't a member of government, only the wife of someone who was.

3. Helped get 9/11 first responders the health care they needed

This is another instance of being “present” while others were doing amazing things. She voted yes on a wildly popular bi-partisan bill which she had no part in drafting, or sponsoring

Flip Flop and Pandering

4. Told the world that “women’s rights are human rights”

This is another non-accomplishment that she is trying to dress up and somehow make it appear to be. Being the only woman candidate in the race, many feel she is obligated to appeal to her feminist supporters so I suspect this is her generic statement of solidarity with them. It might resonate with all voters if she could show some measurable results from her direct involvement. When the Republican nominee, Donald Trump says he built a golf course, you can physically see the course and play a round if you wish. When Rand Paul says he visits underdeveloped nations to work on the teeth of children, the results are clear and can be counted. When Hillary Clinton says she's spoken up on behalf of an issue, it’s really meaningless and does not provide any real change.

5. Stood up for LGBT rights at home and abroad

Hillary became a big LGBTQ supporter a few years ago. She opposed same sex marriage but changed her position in 2013, just as President Obama did in 2012. Making a change based on shifting political winds isn’t really an accomplishment. Bernie Sanders, her opponent has had the same platform for his entire career; his loyalties do not shift based on popularity.

Life in the Senate

6. Helped expand health care and family leave for military families

She introduced a bill while serving as a US Senator - S.3517 - Heroes at Home Act of 2006, but it failed to pass. She tried again the following year with the same results. In the end she voted in favor of another bill which had strong bi-partisan support. She neither sponsored nor drafted the bill, in fact Lindsey Graham, A Republican Senator was the author. Her version of helping seems to mean that she voted on bills as part of her job as US Senator. In fact, research will show that there are only three bills which then-Senator Clinton sponsored which became law and none of them were of any real significance.

S. 1241: A bill to establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in the State of New York. Bush signed the bill Dec. 3, 2004.

S. 3613: A bill to name a post office the "Major George Quamo Post Office Building." Bush signed the bill Oct. 6, 2006.

S. 3145: A bill to designate a highway in New York as the Timothy J. Russert highway. Bush signed the bill July 23, 2008.

In eight years in the Senate these three bills are all that she can lay claim to. Additionally, she missed 9.5% of all roll call votes while the average in the Senate at that time was 2%.

Foreign Policy Fiasco

7. Negotiated a cease fire between Israel and Hamas

Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State and yes, Mrs. Clinton did help to broker a temporary cease-fire, which didn’t hold. Other major events such as The Arab Spring and continuing turmoil from the Middle East were directly tied to her policies and the policies of President Obama, in the region. Most of her foreign policy in retrospect is considered a failure. Her efforts to “reset” relations between Russia and America are considered a failure, especially with the aggressive incursion Russia made into the Ukraine while America watched from the sidelines. If her idea for a reset was to start the cold war again, then she succeeded. The way she distances herself from her part in the Iran nuclear program, really demonstrates that she sees it as failing in the long run. The highlight of her foreign policy is a huge black eye and led to the death of Americans in Benghazi. Many Americans, both Democrat and Republican alike blame her for the fiasco and her part in creating a false narrative about a YouTube video being the catalyst for the attack.

When being interviewed she was asked about her major accomplishments as Secretary of State. She answered, “My accomplishments as Secretary of State? Well, I’m glad you asked! My proudest accomplishment in which I take the most pride, mostly because of the opposition it faced early on, you know… the remnants of prior situations and mindsets that were too narrowly focused in a manner whereby they may have overlooked the bigger picture and we didn’t do that and I’m proud of that. Very proud. I would say that’s a major accomplishment.” I’m not sure that says anything at all.

Summary

These are the top seven things which Hillary expects voters to measure her on. The fact that she hasn't sewn up the nomination yet certainly lends credence to the fact that she hasn't convinced the voters of her Party that she is ready to lead. With no clear change to clinch the nomination based on voting, it will be up to the Super Delegates at the Democratic National Convention to make the final choice.

Comments are welcome from both sides. Please be civil, don't hijack my thread, and stay on topic - which means no "but the Republicans do this...or Trump said this..." This thread is purely on Hillary Clinton's claims on her website and my research and commentary on why they are not of value to consider her Presidential material.

Blessed Be!

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