It’s Just Sex. It’s Just Email.

Many Republicans and conservatives (original Coke-style, not New Coke) find it confusing that more people are not appalled and outraged by Hillary Clinton’s evasions and untruths (I’m trying to avoid the word “lie” here) concerning her use of a private email server.  The falseness of her public statements about her private email account/server have been pretty conclusively shown by FBI Director James Comey¹:

• She said there was no confidential information in the emails on her server.  He said there was.
• She said there was nothing marked “Confidential” on her server.  He said people who know or should know that information is confidential should protect it.
• She said she was careful with national security information.  He said Ms. Clinton and her aides were extremely careless with how they handled national security information.

And yet, outside of the right, where is the outrage; i.e., real job disqualifying outrage?  While some might say it’s not there because Donald Trump is so bad, that doesn’t work – because it wasn’t there before Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, either.

Is it, somehow, like Bill Clinton’s lies re Monica Lewinsky?  It was just sex.  It was personal; it wasn’t government-related.  In other words, in former Secretary Clinton’s case, it’s just email.  Everybody gets all kinds of email.  Who can keep their Inbox clean or organized?

That may be closer to it.  At least Secretary Clinton was smarter than her husband in that she hasn’t lied under oath (or, in her case, to the FBI).

But that can’t be all of it because Hillary Clinton’s email was exactly government.  In fact, it was national security.  At least according to the FBI.

So what is it?  I think it is more along the lines of the lack of outrage about the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups.  For many people, that was no big deal.  It was Tea Party groups.  They’re crazy.  Who cares.

And so, Hillary Clinton, at least with a significant part of the electorate – and especially the media, of course – gets a pass.  After all, like “it’s just sex,” “it’s just email.”
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¹ Also, see this summary from the print edition of The Wall Street Journal on July 6, 2016:

“I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email.  There is no classified material …” – Hillary Clinton, March 10, 2015
“Seven email chains concern matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level…  hese chains involved Secretary Clinton both sending emails about those matter and receiving emails.” – James Comey, July 5, 2016

“Nothing I sent was marked classified or that I received was marked classified.” – Hillary Clinton, March 7, 2016
“Even if information is not marked classified in an email, participants who know, or should know, that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it.” – James Comey, July 5, 2016

“I take classified information seriously.” – Hillary Clinton, February 1, 2016
“…. There is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.” – James Comey, July 5, 2016