海角大神

'The Hillary Papers': How will GOP use them against Clinton?

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, has issued notice that his organization will make use of 'The Hillary Papers' 鈥� beginning now. The RNC has already found a health-care nugget about Clinton.

How will the Republican Party make use of "The Hillary Papers鈥�? That鈥檚 an open question after the conservative Washington Free Beacon published a from Diane Blair, a longtime friend of ex-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who died in 2000.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, on Monday issued notice that his organization will make use of that material 鈥� beginning now.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to have a truckload of opposition research on Hillary Clinton, and some things may be old and some things might be new. But I think everything is at stake when you鈥檙e talking about the leader of the free world and who we鈥檙e going to give the keys to run the United States of America,鈥� Mr. Priebus told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.

Much of the initial coverage of this material has focused on Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 judgment of Monica Lewinsky as a 鈥渘arcissistic loony tune鈥� and on a 1992 memo from Clinton pollsters, which asserted that the qualities voters deemed slick in Bill Clinton they judged 鈥渞uthless鈥� in his wife.

But the RNC has mined the papers for a health-care nugget, which they鈥檝e already featured in an attack on the unofficial front-runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

In her notes, Ms. Blair at one point writes that Mrs. Clinton thought a 鈥渕anaged competition鈥� approach to health-care reform was a 鈥渃rock鈥� and that a 鈥渟ingle payer,鈥� government-run system might be superior.

The RNC pairs this with a quote from a 2008 New York Times interview in which Clinton said she had never seriously considered a single-payer system.

鈥淒uring Her 2008 Presidential Run, Clinton鈥檚 Records Were On Lockdown ... Now We Know Why,鈥� .

That鈥檚 standard-issue opposition research. Comb through your opponent鈥檚 record looking for things that can be portrayed as inconsistencies. Then present them with the implication that more is hidden behind that discrepancy.

What鈥檚 maybe more interesting here is how early the GOP is ramping up the attacks. Perhaps its goal is partly to show Clinton how tough a general election would be, just in case she harbors some doubts about whether she really wants to go through all that again.

鈥淒oes she want to relive the nastiness?鈥� Jay Newton-Small, Time magazine Washington correspondent, wondered aloud on MSNBC鈥檚 鈥淗ardball鈥� Monday.

And nastiness there was. If a theme comes out in the 40 pages of documents released by the Free Beacon, it鈥檚 the overall frustration and anger that Clinton felt in the early 1990s as her husband ascended to the presidency and she had to accustom herself to Washington political culture.

According to Blair, she called the press 鈥渉ypocrites鈥� and said they had 鈥渂ig egos and no brains.鈥� She was exasperated by the slowness of the decisionmaking process in Bill鈥檚 West Wing and powerless to get him to do anything about it.

At one point Blair says Clinton told her she had had a long conversation with Sharon Rockefeller, wife of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) of West Virginia, about the 鈥渟uperficiality of the D.C. scene.鈥�

鈥淏onding with creeps鈥� had been the story of her year, Clinton told Blair in 1994.

Decades of public life have surely hardened Clinton against the media and Washington鈥檚 self-importance. Her public service as senator and secretary of State has given her independent political stature. Republicans may regret dredging up memories of the 1990s, given that older voters may remember that the Clintons' approval ratings were strong throughout that period, and younger voters won鈥檛 remember them at all.

But it is not impossible that Clinton won鈥檛 run. "The Hillary Papers鈥� may jog her memory and raise the question, why should she return to the White House?