Our minds are extremely malleable. We constantly adjust our thoughts and ideas as we gather new information and are exposed to new viewpoints. When we find ideas that “fit,” that make sense to us, and that align with our values, we tend to seek them out and hang on to them. When we encounter ideas that clash with our values or that which we’ve decided is correct, we tend to discount, ignore or “pretzel” them. The former is called confirmation bias, the latter is associated with cognitive dissonance.

Both are known phenomena, both are within our ability to manage or overcome. All that is required is the will to do so. That will seems nonexistent in this presidential election.

It was recently announced that the FBI has recovered 14,900 additional emails from Hillary Clinton’s server from her tenure as Secretary of State, emails that were not part of the collection provided by her lawyers. As you might recall, her private server supposedly had about 60,000 emails on it, and her camp told us that half of them were “personal” and therefore were deleted rather than provided to investigators and records keepers. This latest batch reportedly contains a number of emails related to the Benghazi incident. While it is not yet determined if some or all of these are new or merely duplicates of those already released, they are obviously not “personal” and therefore should not have been deleted or withheld.

I can hear the excuses already. “Nothing was marked classified.” “She acted within the law.” “They’re duplicates, and besides, Benghazi’s been investigated and there’s nothing there.” “This is a Republican witch hunt.” “They’re out to get her.” “Sexism!” Some of the excuses and rebuttals are more risible than others, but they all ignore a fundamental reality. Clinton and her camp have obfuscated, deflected and lied, over and over again, about this and other matters.

The fact that she not only won the Democratic nomination but continues to lead in the polls despite this reality is proof of the malleability of the human mind. This malleability requires two ingredients: time and plausible excuses.

The Clinton camp has managed the release of problematic information and damning evidence in a way that has minimized its impact on Clinton’s support, and with the assistance of a compliant and complicit press have spun all sorts of tales to feed to her supporters. Through delays, partial releases, moving-target narratives, and laundry lists of excuses, they have provided the necessary ingredients for people inclined to support Clinton to encase and encapsulate all the damning evidence and sequester its implications in a dark and unvisited corner of their minds. Moreso, some have managed to turn all these negatives into something to be admired, the way an oyster turns a piece of grit into a pearl.

That grit is not a benign irritant, however. It’s a malignancy, and it speaks of a very dark time for the nation under a Clinton presidency. As I’ve written before, if people elect Clinton despite all that we know, they are in essence telling her that anything she does will be excused and accepted. All bad behaviors, and yes, that includes the DNC shenanigans, will have been vindicated. Armed with that knowledge and with the power of the Presidency, Clinton will be free to operate without restraint or moral compass. Attempts by a GOP Congress, provided its majority actually survives November, to restrain her will be met with “she won, we elected her, we don’t care about your accusations.” A fawning press will continue to carry her water, beating back all challenges and accusations, no matter how legitimate.

Clinton supporters, is this what you really want? Do you want the power of the Presidency invested in someone who knows she can operate virtually without restraint? Who has engaged in selfish and deceitful shenanigans? Whose behaviors have already demonstrated contempt for the electorate and the trappings of representative government? Who shows not the slightest whiff of regret or penance for her transgressions? Who has no reason not to continue acting as if she’s untouchable? There are more appropriate titles for such a leader, and it speaks to the place where we find ourselves: Dictator, Autocrat, Despot, Tyrant, Overlord. And, of course, Queen.

Yeah, yeah, I’m exaggerating. There will still be a Congress, there will still be a Court (and before you go leaping down my throat over the liberal shift her appointments will cause, keep in mind that even Obama’s picks haven’t always toed his line), there will still be elections, and the Republic will have another Presidential election in 4 years. Her election may even create an opportunity for the Republican Party to step away from the Trump-nativist lunacy.

Eight years ago, then-candidate Obama promised to undo the executive overreach of his predecessor in the White House. We all know that he so thoroughly defenestrated that promise that it isn’t even a stain on the pavement any more. His defenders, malleable in mind, justified that broken promise with arguments about “historic” obstructionism from the GOP. I’ve discussed that nonsense in the past, so I won’t rehash it here. Clinton has made no such promise. She will inherit Obama’s greatest legacy: the expansion of executive branch power to near-authoritarian levels. She will do so having been rewarded for serial deceit and moral paucity.

The Clintons have turned the political landscape into a personal piggy-bank. Before the hundreds of millions in speaking fees and donations to their foundation, there was the renting-out of the Lincoln bedroom and the raiding of White House furniture. It speaks of a certain character. Obama came into office with grand visions and highfalutin ideas. Clinton’s offering no such “vision”, and her presidency holds no such promise. Everything points to a continued pursuit of power and riches, a base selfishness, a “croniest of cronies” White House. America does not have an aristocracy, but it is developing an equivalent, and the ascent of Clinton to the Oval Office will be the highest example of that equivalent.

Do I expect any of this to change a Clinton supporter’s mind? Nope. If you haven’t turned from her by now, there’s nothing that little old me can say to open your eyes. I’m just warning you from now, I will say I told you so. If she wins, she will disappoint you. When she disappoints you, don’t look at the folks who didn’t vote for her for comfort. She’ll be your fault.

• About the Author

About Peter Venetoklis

I am twice-retired, a former rocket engineer and a former small business owner. At the very least, it makes for interesting party conversation. I'm also a life-long libertarian, I engage in an expanse of entertainments, and I squabble for sport.

Nowadays, I spend a good bit of my time arguing politics and editing this website.

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