By Keagan White, Contributing Writer
Ever since Jerry Zeifman said he fired Hillary Clinton from the Watergate investigation in 1974 for being a “liar” and “unethical behavior,” an aura of corruption has surrounded her. She has developed a scandalous reputation both in her career and the public eye that trumps many political candidates of the past.
According to Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, as first lady, Clinton helped to cover up her husband’s affairs. As secretary of state, her disastrous policies in Libya and her attempted cover-up of the email scandal have had even more of an impact on her campaign.
Her insensitivity to the protection of classified material indicates that she is not to be trusted as a viable option for our future president, and according to a campus-wide survey, many students agree with that statement. When asked how well Clinton would be able to handle matters of national security on a scale of 0-100, the average response of the 118 students was 23.
According to Wikileaks, another accusation also suggests that Clinton has blackmailed women who have accused her husband of rape into dropping their cases.
“I am dissatisfied with Hillary’s character and the lack of serious consideration we give to crimes of sexual misconduct (Brock Turner for example),” said senior Tommy Otley. “I feel deeply sorry for the women who Hillary forbid from obtaining justice for the actions of her husband.”
Most recently, Wikileaks hacked into Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta’s private email server to gain access to her paid speech transcripts. These suggest Clinton expressed different agendas to her donors on Wall Street than she did to the public. Clinton was paid approximately $21.6 million for the speeches she made to these donors between 2013 and 2015.
“You just have to sort of figure out how to — getting back to that word, “balance” — how to balance the public and the private efforts that are necessary to be successful, politically,” the Wikileaks excerpt reads. “It is unsavory, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be. But if everybody’s watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.”
At the second debate, Clinton justified her two-faced agenda between the voters and her donors by comparing herself to Abraham Lincoln. She referenced the Steven Spielberg film “Lincoln,” saying, “It was a master class watching President Lincoln get the Congress to approve the 13th Amendment. It was principled, and it was strategic.”
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]I am dissatisfied with Hillary’s character and the lack of serious consideration we give to crimes of sexual misconduct[/perfectpullquote]
Freshman Noah Ansert disagrees. “I do not believe you should be two-faced to get the job done,” he said.
Surrounding this election is the belief that one must pick the lesser of two evils, making it obvious that both candidates are less than ideal. However, many students still believe that electing Clinton would mean total disaster for America.
“Both Clintons should be in prison right now,” said freshman Frederick Thacker. “I’d rather someone who has said mean things be president than two criminals that haven’t gone to jail for their actions.”
Clinton’s corruption and dishonesty have forever tainted her name and continue to overshadow her experience.
“Hillary Clinton has gotten away with too much,” Ansert said. “Her supporters know all the laws she’s broken and all of the evil things she’s done, yet they continue to support her. I’m honestly amazed at how little her supporters care about the future of this country.”