A Bucket of Spit
by Geoff Metcalf
April 29, 2003
The recent dustup over author-publisher-defender of the indefensible
Steven Brill and his shocking claim Senator Hillary Clinton
made up fictions about how she helped 9/11 families is very
interesting.
The controversy involves three liberal democrat sycophants:
Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and Steven Brill.
I have often noted that it is not a question of WHO is right
or wrong but WHAT is right or wrong. I still hold true to
that axiom despite my unbridled antipathy for all three of
the players in this neodrama. Give the Devil his due.
According to Brill, Hillary Clinton had her staff manufacture/fabricate
records of meetings and phone calls to families of victims
of the Sept. 11 attacks to create the fiction the ice princess
was a warm, caring, compassionate representative of constituents
traumatized by the epic tragedy of 9/11.
Brill said Sen. Clinton's staff tried to persuade him that
she worked hard to help, and offered "an elaborate story,
with an elaborate subtext of memos and phone calls - a long,
long story." However, according to Brill, "None
of it turned out to be true. ... They gave me documents and
phone calls and things like that which just plain never happened."
Subsequently, after five days of "no comment" Hillary
responded. After Bill O'Reilly exposed the story Sen. Clinton's
spokesman Phillipe Reines attacked Brill.
"Brill's accusations are completely false and an obvious
last ditch effort to jump-start anemic book sales," Reines
said. So why didn't the ubiquitous New York Senator speak
for herself?
Efforts to exploit and capitalize on the difficulty of 9/11
victims are regarded as a crime lower than a man killing his
wife and unborn child on Christmas Eve.
During the Monica Lewinsky mess Brill defended the indefensible
ad nauseum. However, reportedly, when Hillary learned he was
writing a 9/11 book, she says she actually sought out and
said, "I hear you want to talk to me about your book."
Brill claims after private talks, "She did follow up
in one non-off-the-record conversation, urging me that the
person responsible for aid to New York City was not Chuck
Schumer but Hillary Clinton."
Although my contempt for Schumer rivals revulsion for the
Clinton's Chuck is guy who did the heavy lifting servicing
9/11 constituents…NOT Hillary. Schumer took time out
on a Sunday to meet with the family victims - "no reporters,
no cameras, no nothing."
Brill details the story of one family specifically, the Cartiers,
who suffered the loss of a relative in the Twin Towers.
"This family had tried repeatedly to get Hillary Clinton
to meet with them," Brill said. "And always the
staff said: 'Write up a memo. We don't meet with any families
unless they write to us first and tell us what they want to
meet about.'"
"They said to me, only time families can meet with Hillary
Clinton is if it's at a press conference." Or, (unstated)
I presume if they have a big campaign contribution check to
deliver……
Meanwhile, Brill notes, Sen. Schumer took time out on a Sunday
to meet with the Cartiers - "no reporters, no cameras,
no nothing." Then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Schumer worked
to provide the Cartier family so they could search for their
relative's remains. Hillary was otherwise occupied.
Brill repeated his allegations on O'Reilly's nationally syndicated
"Radio Factor" show. However, he appeared later
on the talk host's TV show, Brill tried to downplay the impact
of his account.
O'Reilly told Brill, "I think you're afraid." And
he should be…the Clinton's play hardball.
But this controversy should be a no-brainer IF the malfeasance
of the mainstream media were not epidemic. Basically we have
a contradiction of "he said/she said".
· Brill claims Hillary inflated her role in servicing
her 9/11 constituents.
· He claims her staff fabricated phony documentation
of her efforts.
· He claims Chuck Schumer worked hard for 9/11 victim
families and Hillary did not.
· Hillary (through a spokesman) says Brill is lying.
Here's he deal! It is not brain surgery…but it IS important.
To borrow a Drudgism, ABCCBSNBCCNNFoxCNNNewYorkTimesWashingtonPost
need only to follow up and confirm or refute the claims made
by Brill and the counter claims made by Sen. Clinton. The
story cannot be Black AND White and it will not be revealed
to be any shade of Gray.
Either Steven Brill or Hillary Clinton is lying.
This is, or should be, a big deal. If a U.S. Senator (allegedly
with aspirations to run for the Presidency) has lied AND manufactured
false supporting documentation to buff up a tarnished public
image…AND has exploited the tragedy of constituents AND
attempted to diminish the laudable efforts of her Democratic
colleague, New York and American voters need to know.
If a prejudiced fourth estate is incapable of exploring facts
that may contradict their preconceived opinions and personal
wants.... they are not worth a bucket of spit.
©
2002 Tocqevillian Magazine
