In life — and in politics — there is always the possibility of Divine Intervention. That’s just as well, because according to the latest Electoral College projections, Donald Trump may need some help from above to win the required 270 votes. RealClearPolitics, for example, predicts Hillary Clinton will squeak by winning only 273 electoral votes, while FiveThirtyEight puts Hillary at a more comfortable 295 (Predictions change daily, but neither site has ever projected Trump to win 270.)
Sure, there may still be a few “November surprises” piling on from October’s multitude, but the effects of any new surprises are likely already “baked in the cake” and unable to shift significant numbers of Clinton voters over to Trump in key battleground states.
I therefore expect that next Tuesday night Democrats will be celebrating the election of the first female president — along with the return of the Clintons to the White House. That political reality calls for Wednesday, November 9, to be a National Day of Mourning and the wearing of sackcloth and ashes.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
A Clinton victory should cause millions of Americans to bemoan our national future — and for good reason.
Back in May, I said, “America, we are stark raving mad if we elect the Clintons back to the White House” on a Breitbart radio show hosted by Stephen K. Bannon, (who in August was named Trump’s campaign CEO).
I expect to repeat my statement next week, knowing that never in the history of our nation has a president-elect assumed office as the subject of two active FBI investigations over which, as the nation’s chief law-enforcement officer, Clinton will preside. How the heck it that going to work?
First, is the newly reopened email controversy. Undoubtedly it will take months to review 650,000 of Huma Abedin’s emails. Then, expect more interagency fights over whether the messages were “classified” when sent or received. The second investigation is looking into the Clinton Foundation scandal involving years of “pay to play” financial and political corruption.
The Wall Street Journal ratcheted up the controversy this week when it reported that “FBI field agents — in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, and Little Rock, Arkansas — wanted to pursue subpoenas and impanel a grand jury. Senior officials at [the Department of] Justice, likely political appointees, refused to give the FBI agents permission.”
That news comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Clinton Foundation’s shady dealings and wondered why there was no IRS or Justice Department crackdown.
But, what happens when Hillary Clinton is in charge? Will there be a Stalin-like purge of FBI agents who want to continue unraveling the foundation’s international and national web now known infamously as “Clinton Inc.”? (More on this below.)
There is no doubt that the twin dark political clouds will handicap Madam President as she tries to govern under hostile, hyper-polarized conditions. That hostility will be most pronounced if Republicans keep control of Congress or even if Democrats win control of the Senate by a small margin. The bottom line is: We should officially rename our nation the Un-United States of America to reflect who we are and where we will stand on the morning of November 9.
The angst and stress accompanying the National Day of Mourning would only be the beginning of the trials brought on by a third Clinton administration. Here’s a preview:
Increased use of executive action
We can expect that a President Hillary Clinton will increase the use of executive action as a tool of governing to reign in and over the legislative branch — even more than President Obama. This strategy may be due to John Podesta, Hillary’s campaign chairman, who has an affinity for using executive orders as I detailed in these pages in late November 2014.
It was in the run-up to the disastrous 2014 midterm elections, when Obama lost control of the Senate, that Podesta joined Obama’s White House as “counselor to the president.” Now, it has been reported that Hillary wants Podesta to be her White House chief of staff (Podesta reportedly does not want the job). Either way, we can bet that Podesta will be advising Madam President on how to best execute and enforce her liberal agenda without the help of Congress.
New corruption and scandals in addition to the old ones
How could it be otherwise? The track record of several decades of Clinton political history includes secrecy, dishonesty, unending lies, payoffs, foreign intrigue, enemies lists, tawdry behavior, stonewalling, cover-ups — and even the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
If you were too young to remember the first Clinton presidency, simply google “Clinton 1990s scandals” to prepare for what lies ahead. You will quickly understand why I said Americans would have to be “stark raving mad” to allow the Clintons back in the White House.
How will the current scandals be handled?
How will Hillary and Bill attempt to unpack tons of personal and professional baggage? Will James Comey be forced to resign from his post as FBI director? Will Attorney General Loretta Lynch remain in her job? (It has been rumored that Hillary wants to retain Lynch; that makes sense as Lynch wouldn’t have to be reconfirmed by the Senate.) Does that mean Lynch wipes the scandal slate clean? (“Like, with a cloth or something?”) Will all current Clinton investigations come to an abrupt end?
Those questions are among the most interesting no matter who is appointed attorney general in a new Clinton administration.
But there is also the open question of whether Clinton aides embroiled in the email scandal will be able to receive the requisite security clearances. (Watch Jake Sullivan especially, for he may be up for a top foreign-policy position.)
Then, of course, there are the Republicans. Will a Republican Congress go full speed ahead investigating current Clinton investigations? All signs say they’ll try — and that means “right-wing conspiracy,” here we go again.
What about impeachment?
My prediction is impeachment proceedings will begin in a Republican-controlled House sometime during the years of Madam President’s reign. Moreover, the chances of impeachment proceedings greatly increase if Republicans retain control of the Senate.
Will our enemies attempt to blackmail the president?
Back on April 29, 2015, in a semi-satirical article headlined “What Kind of Scandal Would Force Hillary to Withdraw Her Candidacy?” I wrote:
But what if WikiLeaks revealed that the Russians were blackmailing Hillary? What if Putin threatened to release Mrs. Clinton’s most damaging “personal” emails — knowing full well their contents could derail her campaign? Then, in order to salvage her presidential hopes, Mrs. Clinton secretly agreed that the Russians could “peacefully expand” into all of Ukraine and the Baltics once she was elected president? Would such revelations topple her candidacy?
I was half-joking to make a point. But now I believe that what is described above is entirely possible. And I am not the only one. National Review’s John Fund recently reported:
U.S. intelligence officials believe it’s likely that Hillary Clinton’s private server was hacked by foreign entities, as the e-mail of her aides John Podesta and Sidney Blumenthal certainly were. I note that “we have to acknowledge the danger that Hillary Clinton could be the target of international blackmail in the White House.” After all, Bill Clinton’s X-rated telephone conversations with Monica Lewinsky were captured by the U.K., China, and Israel, and at least one blackmail attempt was reportedly made in 1998.
How will the ‘First Man’ occupy himself?
Will Bill Clinton personally preside over dismantling his foundation — or will he attempt to maintain it in some form? What happens when all the donors (countries, corporations, and billionaires) want payback now that Hillary is ensconced in the Oval Office? Dealing with all that will be a full-time job.
Finally, in his aforementioned piece, John Fund briefly mentioned the “long national nightmare” in conjunction with the Clintons’ coming back to power. Let me elaborate further because of its pertinence to November 9, 2016.
On August 9, 1974, immediately after Richard Nixon’s resignation letter was delivered to Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger, Vice President Gerald Ford took the presidential oath of office. In his inauguration speech Ford said, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”
(Actually, the nightmare was not officially over until September 8, 1974, when President Ford pardoned Nixon. That decision haunted Ford’s presidency and likely cost him reelection in 1976 to Georgia governor Jimmy Carter.)
Now, as when Jesus wept over Jerusalem, knowing the city would eventually be destroyed by the Romans, millions of Americans will be weeping in their hearts knowing that our new long national nightmare is only just beginning.
Therefore, by no power invested in me other than political knowledge, I declare November 9, 2016, a National Day of Mourning.
Our only hope is that it somehow does not happen.
Cross-posted at National Review Online
