by Richard F. LaMountain
In this devastating 220-page book, Peter and Timothy Flaherty compile the most complete account of the life of Hillary Rodham Clinton published to date. Peter is NLPC President and Timothy is his brother.
A legacy of corruption
The book contains the specific detail of the dishonesty and ethical
corner-cutting that has characterized Hillary’s entire adult life. For
instance, the authors conclude that Hillary was the benefit of “allocated
trades” in the cattle futures trades of the late seventies. The questionable
dealings of the Rose Law Firm throughout the eighties are examined, including
lesser-known scams like one known as the Iowa Nursing Homes Deal.
The account of Whitewater is refreshingly brief, spanning only several pages. The reader is spared more arcane and confusing details about Whitewater. The key facts are persuasive enough and they are presented in a clear and understandable fashion.
Legal Services and health care
Peter’s vantage point as NLPC President allowed for detailed exploration
of the corrupt nature of two major projects chaired by Hillary: the Legal
Services Corporation (LSC) in the late seventies and the health care task
force in 1993-4. NLPC is a leading authority on the history of legal services
abuses and the current sponsor of the Legal Services Accountability Project.
NLPC successfully sued to open the secret meetings and records of the health
care task force.
Virtually ignored in other accounts of Hillary’s life is the massive and illegal “survival campaign” under Hillary’s LSC Chairmanship and the severe ethical problems with the health care task force, including her possible complicity in perjury by her top aide, Ira Magaziner.
Hillary’s Motivation
The book is a useful account of scandal, but it is much more. The authors
challenge the conventional wisdom in seeking to identify Hillary’s motivation
and the elements of her character and background that have allowed for
a lifetime of corruption.
Both liberal and conservative writers have sought to explain Hillary’s life as a series of ideological transitions. The Flahertys instead see consistency in Hillary’s journey from high school Goldwater girl to Wellesley College liberal to Yale Law School radical to 1992’s feminist hero to today’s Traditional First Lady. They argue that she is more opportunist than ideologue, readily adapting to the people and circumstances around her.
This analysis is even more damning than those ascribing Hillary’s primary motivation as ideological. At least ideologues believe in something, even if it is the wrong thing. This opportunism is exacerbated, the Flahertys say, by the constant humiliation brought on by Bill Clinton’s infidelity. In this sense, Hillary has not broken new ground at all, but has pursued a very traditional role, that of betrayed spouse.
Hillary and the Left
The book contains the most comprehensive record found anywhere of Hillary’s
involvement with left-wing and extremist groups and causes, including her
Chairmanship of the radical New World Foundation. A chapter entitled “Hillary
the Activist” begins with the account of the murder of a U.S. serviceman
in El Salvador by communist guerrillas, and the bitterness his father carries
to this day about Hillary’s support for the guerrillas’ American front
group.
The Flahertys are brothers separated by a decade in age. Timothy did much of the travel and interviews while Peter did much of the writing and editing in Washington. More than two years of research paid off in a highly credible and very readable work.
To order the book, send $11.99 and $3 shipping to NLPC, 1309 Vincent Place, McLean, VA 22101.
- Richard F. LaMountain, the former editor of Conservative Digest and other publications, is a writer living in Portland, Oregon.
EW