Top Biden Backer: Hillary Clinton Will ‘Die By 1,000 Cuts’ On E-Mail Story - WaPo

[WillyT]

Top Biden backer: Hillary Clinton will ‘die by 1,000 cuts’ on e-mail story
By Philip Rucker - WaPo
March 4 at 3:02 PM

<snip>

One of Vice President Biden's most prominent supporters said Wednesday that twin controversies swirling around Hillary Rodham Clinton should give Democrats serious pause about anointing her as the party's presidential nominee.

Dick Harpootlian, a former Democratic Party chairman in South Carolina, home to an early and important presidential primary, said recent reports about Clinton's use of private e-mail to conduct government business and her family's charitable foundation accepting donations from foreign governments while she was secretary of state could be damaging to her likely 2016 presidential campaign.

"There’s always another shoe to drop with Hillary," Harpootlian said in an interview Wednesday. "Do we nominate her not knowing what’s in those e-mails?... If the e-mails were just her and her family and friends canoodling about fashion and what they’re going to do next week, that’s one thing. But the fact that she’s already turned e-mails to the Benghazi committee because she was doing official business on it means she’s going to die by 1,000 cuts on this one."

The House Select Committee on Benghazi, which discovered Clinton's use of a personal e-mail account during its probe of the fatal 2012 terrorist attack on the State Department's consulate in Benghazi, Libya, is preparing to subpoena Clinton's private e-mails later Wednesday.

In the two days since The New York Times first reported on Clinton's e-mails, many Democrats have come to Clinton's defense. Clinton allies have argued that the story, which has Washington and cable television news atwitter, will not influence the way regular voters view Clinton months from now when they cast ballots.

But Harpootlian -- who has been an active and outspoken booster of a Biden 2016 candidacy -- said the foundation donations and e-mail stories have sparked chatter among South Carolina politicos about drafting other candidates into the Democratic primary. Referencing Biden specifically, he said, “I’ll tell you this: He ain’t got no e-mail problems. He ain’t got no foundation problems. What you see with Joe is what you get. There’s nothing hidden there.”

<snip>

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/04/top-biden-backer-hillary-clinton-will-die-by-1000-cuts-on-e-mail-story/

:donkey

[Albertoo]

1. Anybody but Biden

He's universally acknowledged as a charming individual,

but goofy, gaffe prone and meddling. Top Army people wrote he's unsound.

[Aerows]

3. I'm not ready for Hillary

But nobody has announced their run yet, so it's just speculation at this point.

[Albertoo]

6. To use Thatcher's nickname, Hillary = Tina

Tina is a cute nickname.

It stands for: There Is No Alternative.

[elleng]

7. 'Top Army people?'

[Albertoo]

8. From memory, Gates, Panetta and Petraeus.

The general impression I got is that they said Biden came with ill preconceived notions.

The fact Biden puts his foot in his mouth often is, I think, widely reported.

[TheKentuckian]

11. Why would anyone trust Betrayus and Gates an iota or Panetta further than he can be thrown?

I think they come with plenty of ill conceived notions themselves and if we knew the details might find old Joe was way closer to the target than those spooks.

Not the biggest Biden advocate but he is more credible than any of those cited by a lot and his "foot in mouth" concerns seem to mostly center around occasionally letting the truth out.

[elleng]

12. BS IS widely reported.

They may not have liked his 'notion' of an Iraq solution heavily relying on Kurdistan, but he was supported by some in the know. http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/turns-out-joe-biden-was-right-about-dividing-iraq-20140130

[Aerows]

2. I'd support Biden

I'd also support Martin O'Malley, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

I'm sick of Hillary already, though. I have to say what I feel - she isn't the candidate we are looking for, and that's no Jedi mind trick.

[Kalidurga]

4. Right Wing Faux Tactics really?

Well that's two down for me. I hope O'Malley announces.

[pnwmom]

5. Death by 1000 cuts? Does this mean we can't run any candidate who has an email trail?

Because you can count on it -- some Rethug committee will be after all the emails of whoever runs against them in 2016.

[Major Hogwash]

9. No doubt.

There isn't much wiggle room left to this story.

[wyldwolf]

10. Well, we know ONE person who won't get a job on the Clinton campaign or administration.