For the latest twist in the Republican Party’s ongoing comedy of errors, the GOP has turned to old, failed attacks on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and preparing those attacks as though they are new again. Perhaps this is the Republican way of “going green,” to recycle their old attacks that have already failed.
Today’s article in the Daily Beast reads, “America Rising is ‘very, very focused on Hillary every single day. Our research department is as well,’ RNC press secretary Kirsten Kukowski stresses.”
The attacks this effort has produced, as laid out in the article, were already made and discredited. Clinton’s standing with voters suggests the attacks failed, implicitly. Clinton’s poll numbers have leveled out since leaving her diplomatic post, but she remains the most popular public figure tested in a recent survey by YouGov and leads both the Republican and Democratic figures tested with nearly every subgroup of voters.
RECYCLED: Using a 2007 video clip, America Rising “hung the whole [‘if you like your plan you can keep it’] thing around Clinton’s neck.”
DEBUNKED: Hillary wasn’t talking about Obamacare. In the clip America Rising “found,” Hillary Clinton is talking about her own campaign health care proposal, the “American Health Choices Plan.” In the very same speech America Rising is citing, Hillary went on to say, “Second, your coverage will be guaranteed. If you pay your premiums and follow the rules your insurance company will be required to renew your coverage each year at a price you can afford, even if you lose your job, even if you decide to start your own business or stay home with your children for a few years.”
RECYCLED: RNC wondered if Clinton movies would explore “certain ticklish topics, such as Benghazi.”
DEBUNKED: The Benghazi conspiracy theories have been discredited. Right-wing myths surrounding Benghazi have been thoroughly debunked and denounced and have even led to the current removal of 60 Minutes anchor Lara Logan.
RECYCLED: The RNC wondered if Clinton movies would explore “the SEC probe into Clintonite Terry McAuliffe’s business dealings with Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham.”
DEBUNKED: This is much to do about nothing. Clinton-backed McAuliffe won 48-46, switching a Southern swing-state Governor’s office from Red to Blue. McAuliffe became the first member of the party occupying the White House to become Virginia governor since 1977. According to the Washington Post, Clinton-backed McAuliffe won unmarried women voters by nearly 40 points and unmarried men by nearly two-dozen points.
RECYCLED: RNC wondered if Clinton movies would explore “the scandal that swallowed Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu”
DEBUNKED: This failed attack from 2008 has been leveled at Clinton and President Barack Obama, without effect.
The Republican National Committee and its henchmen at America Rising seem to have ignored the old adage most often attributed to Albert Einstein, that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”