{"id":139569,"date":"2016-03-28T05:38:44","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T11:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=139569"},"modified":"2016-03-28T10:57:48","modified_gmt":"2016-03-28T16:57:48","slug":"your-behavior-tells-people-who-you-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/03\/your-behavior-tells-people-who-you-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Your behavior tells people who you are"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>COMMENTARY:<\/strong> This\u00a0presidential election year\u00a0is\u00a0comparable to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/articles\/2008\/08\/20\/the-most-consequential-elections-in-history-andrew-jackson-and-the-election-of-1828\" target=\"_blank\">1828<\/a> \u2013 the \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/history1800s.about.com\/od\/leaders\/a\/electionof1828.htm\" target=\"_blank\">dirtiest ever<\/a>\u201d \u2013 and for much the same reasons: internal party conflict and a bombastic fisticuffs-inclined candidate (the incumbent\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.badassoftheweek.com\/jackson.html\" target=\"_blank\">Andrew <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/andrew-jackson-kills-charles-dickinson-in-duel\" target=\"_blank\">Jackson<\/a>); one candidate appealing to the \u201ccommon folk\u201d and another to the elitist, white New England establishment; and, the hurling of accusations of adultery, use of prostitutes, and improper use of government funds. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_109002\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 336px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-109002\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Miller-Elisabeth-336x218.jpg\" alt=\"Elisabeth Miller\" width=\"336\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Miller-Elisabeth-336x218.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Miller-Elisabeth-768x499.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Miller-Elisabeth-771x501.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Miller-Elisabeth-1170x761.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Miller-Elisabeth.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy photo<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elisabeth Miller<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019ve almost abandoned looking at Facebook; it\u2019s full of purple-prose\u00a0political memes (e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/imgflip.com\/tag\/hillary%20clinton%20meme\" target=\"_blank\">Clinton<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/PortsmouthKate\/8-bernie-sanders-memes-that-went-viral-on-the-inte-1tu1w\" target=\"_blank\">Sanders<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/heavy.com\/news\/2015\/09\/best-funny-donald-trump-gop-primary-memes\/\" target=\"_blank\">Trump<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/politicalhumor.about.com\/od\/Ted-Cruz-Jokes\/ss\/Ted-Cruz-Memes.htm#showall\" target=\"_blank\">Cruz<\/a>) and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/ad%20hominem\" target=\"_blank\">ad hominem<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/literarydevices.net\/ad-hominem\/\" target=\"_blank\">attacks<\/a>\u00a0betraying the sad fact that apparently many\u00a0people take the easy rhetorical route rather than thinking about the issues at hand and just <em>why<\/em> they consider themselves a Democrat, Republican or Libertarian, or a liberal, progressive or conservative.<\/p>\n<p>Truly, if you cannot articulate what the label you give yourself means, then why are you so meme-proud of it?<\/p>\n<p>Political cartoons, on the other hand, mock in a funny\u00a0or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/schadenfreude\" target=\"_blank\">Schadenfreude<\/a> way that draws attention to an hypocrisy or some detail left unsaid. This too is a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.asjournal.org\/58-2014\/political-cartoons-in-the-efl-and-american-studies-classroom\/\" target=\"_blank\">rich<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.people.vcu.edu\/~djbromle\/cartoon04\/anne\/\" target=\"_blank\">American<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebsco.com\/blog\/article\/satire-and-politicsa-rich-history\" target=\"_blank\">tradition<\/a>.\u00a0In some ways, political cartoons work like ugly memes. If you agree, they make you laugh. If you don\u2019t, you just think its unfunny and perhaps partisan. But in other ways, political cartoons are an important way to keep things honest. They serve a critical function in reminding us all of those things that are ignored in service of <a href=\"http:\/\/ctb.ku.edu\/en\/table-of-contents\/advocacy\/encouragement-education\/reframe-the-debate\/main\" target=\"_blank\">framing an issue <\/a>positively for political gain.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I saw <a href=\"http:\/\/legalinsurrection.com\/2016\/03\/branco-cartoon-obstruction-of-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\">this political cartoon <\/a>that sent me back to 2012:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/legalinsurrection.com\/2016\/03\/branco-cartoon-obstruction-of-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-139573 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Lybia-Losses-600-LI.jpg\" alt=\"Lybia-Losses-600-LI\" width=\"600\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Lybia-Losses-600-LI.jpg 600w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Lybia-Losses-600-LI-336x240.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s true, Hillary Clinton said that <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/ballot-box\/273012-clinton-we-didnt-lose-a-single-person-in-libya\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> verbatim. And she said it when\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/blogs\/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results\/2016\/03\/hillary-clinton-libya-deaths-220762\" target=\"_blank\">referring<\/a> to the 2011\u00a0U.S.-backed overthrow of the Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi. In other words, it is a true statement. But simultaneously disingenuous, because, on Sept.\u00a011, 2012, four Americans \u2013 three\u00a0U.S. Foreign Service officers\u00a0from our\u00a0Department of State and\u00a0the ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens\u00a0\u2013 were killed in Benghazi by terrorists (rebel forces perhaps if you\u2019re Libyan) in a country destabilized by our military intervention in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>I, too, was a Foreign Service officer at that time and had the privilege of attending\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/m\/drr\/\" target=\"_blank\">7th floor<\/a> events at <a href=\"http:\/\/barbaracampagna.com\/state-department-headquarters-harry-s-truman-building\/\" target=\"_blank\">Main State (aka HST)<\/a>\u00a0in Washington, D.C. where then-Secretary Clinton often spoke. One event\u00a0that resonated with me was\u00a0in support of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/r\/pa\/prs\/ps\/2012\/03\/186037.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Amelia<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/secretary\/20092013clinton\/rm\/2012\/03\/186072.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Earhart<\/a>. There Clinton repeated an oft-told story about receiving a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/fact-checker\/wp\/2015\/11\/30\/hillary-clintons-often-told-story-that-nasa-rejected-her-childhood-dream-of-becoming-a-female-astronaut\/\" target=\"_blank\">letter from NASA<\/a> written in response to her adolescent desire to\u00a0become an astronaut. The response she received? A polite letter\u00a0telling her that women just could not do that.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Whether true or merely allegorical, if you want to consider what may have influenced Clinton\u2019s brand of feminism, it may just be that. We forget today what it was like then; even the State Department\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/diplomacy.state.gov\/discoverdiplomacy\/diplomacy101\/people\/205643.htm\" target=\"_blank\">as late as 1970<\/a> expected their own female Foreign Service officers to resign if they married (and men\u2019s annual reviews still rated them on how well their wives planned a party).<\/p>\n<p>And I have to say, whenever I witnessed\u00a0Clinton speaking with\/to State employees, she was unfailingly warm, open, smiling, and encouraging. I suspect that\u2019s\u00a0the Clinton who\u00a0inspires such dogged loyalty among her close circle of friends and advisors. Like pundits say, it \u201chumanized\u201d her\u00a0to me. \u00a0At the time, I \u2013 a\u00a0conservative\u00a0\u2013 actually mused, \u201chmm, maybe I could vote for Clinton one day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And then\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/magazine\/story\/2015\/05\/the-real-benghazi-cia-insiders-account-117828\" target=\"_blank\">Benghazi happened<\/a>. I never had the privilege to meet Ambassador Stevens, although I knew who he was because much was made of re-opening the U.S. embassy in Tripoli and his return at the helm. I was also aware\u00a0about the security aspect of the return because, at the time, I was friendly with\u00a0many of the State Department Diplomatic Security <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/documents\/organization\/178204.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">special agents<\/a> sent to assist with the reestablishment of the\u00a0embassy and to provide on-going protection for staff and the ambassador. They all enjoyed working with Ambassador Stevens and told me stories about what a stand-up guy he was.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a big stretch to blame\u00a0Clinton\u00a0for\u00a0the Benghazi\u00a0attack. While yes, she was leading\u00a0the State Department, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/m\/ds\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bureau of Diplomatic Security<\/a> is a big bureau and when it is in-country, it generally has to work with the Department of Defense or\u00a0the CIA if they are too. And in the tussle of who is top dog, Diplomatic Security usually loses out to the other two.<\/p>\n<p>But then,\u00a0out of the congressional inquiry we learn about Clinton\u2019s use of both\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hillaryclinton.com\/briefing\/factsheets\/2015\/07\/13\/email-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\">personal email and personal server<\/a>. Without a doubt, she <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2015\/03\/state-department-email-rule-hillary-clinton-115804\" target=\"_blank\">willfully ignored<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/documents\/organization\/88404.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">State Department<\/a> policy, and\u00a0she <a href=\"http:\/\/diplopundit.net\/2016\/03\/07\/experienced-diplomats-and-foreign-service-officers-thrown-under-the-bus-internal-screaming-at-125-db\/\" target=\"_blank\">endangered\u00a0staff<\/a>\u00a0in the field by sharing both classified and \u201csensitive but unclassified\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/documents\/organization\/88404.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">SBU<\/a>) information. It seems that Clinton, her State circle, and\u00a0those outside of State were freely discussing classified and SBU information routed through\u00a0an off-site\u00a0server without any security controls as set by State, making it even more <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/2015\/03\/clintons-email-server-vulnerable\/\" target=\"_blank\">vulnerable<\/a> to <a href=\"http:\/\/krebsonsecurity.com\/tag\/opm-breach\/\" target=\"_blank\">hacking<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the deal: when using the State Department\u2019s email system,\u00a0it is possible to mark the classification of all emails personal, unclassified or\u00a0SBU. The latter is still considered close-hold because while each fact may not be classified, if combined they can ladder up to a classified fact. This system is known as Open Net and works like your own Gmail account (including keyword scanning by State to maintain SBU compliance).\u00a0Classified emails are sent on a self-contained system. Thus, if someone was emailing actual classified information on the Open Net, it was deliberate. If an email was marked classified retroactively, it\u2019s because it was SBU information that now that other facts are known, becomes part of a classified whole \u2013 and State employees are supposed to be aware of this possibility and take it into account with their emails.<\/p>\n<p>To me\u00a0it\u2019s irrelevant\u00a0what <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/washwire\/2015\/03\/10\/condoleezza-rice-used-a-state-department-email-address\/\" target=\"_blank\">former<\/a>\u00a0secretaries <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/elections\/hillary-clintons-personal-email-use-differed-other-top-officials-n316611\" target=\"_blank\">did<\/a>\u00a0since State\u2019s email system didn\u2019t exist in the same format during their tenure. Clinton was the first who had this full option and she ignored it.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, with intent, she shielded herself from regular oversight and record-keeping. Had I done either of those things,\u00a0my clearance would\u2019ve been yanked, I would have been terminated, and I would\u2019ve been prosecuted and served at a minimum probation.<\/p>\n<p>My personal opinion is that she did so in service of her political ambitions, thinking that if she <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/itsallpolitics\/2015\/04\/02\/396823014\/fact-check-hillary-clinton-those-emails-and-the-law\" target=\"_blank\">could keep<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/04\/us\/politics\/using-private-email-hillary-clinton-thwarted-record-requests.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">her emails<\/a> away from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foia.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">FOIA<\/a>\u00a0(Freedom of Information Act) requests,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.archives.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">NARA<\/a> (National Archives Records Administration) compliance, and internal controls scanning, she could tamp down on leaks and manage her image better for her presidential campaign. It is my understanding that per NARA, the expectation\u00a0is if personal email is used, then <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/r\/pa\/prs\/dpb\/2015\/03\/238132.htm\" target=\"_blank\">it should be forwarded<\/a> to an official government account. Clinton waited until she departed the State Department to do this, but then <em>did not<\/em> turn over <a href=\"https:\/\/foia.state.gov\/Search\/results.aspx?searchText=clinton&amp;beginDate=&amp;endDate=&amp;publishedBeginDate=&amp;publishedEndDate=&amp;caseNumber=\" target=\"_blank\">what we\u2019re all looking at now<\/a> until the Congress\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.factcheck.org\/2015\/08\/clintons-email-brag\/\" target=\"_blank\">forced her <\/a>hand and demanded it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a bit of irony that what she did instead meant that more of her emails have been <a href=\"https:\/\/foia.state.gov\/Search\/results.aspx?searchText=clinton&amp;beginDate=&amp;endDate=&amp;publishedBeginDate=&amp;publishedEndDate=&amp;caseNumber=\" target=\"_blank\">publicly shared<\/a> than would have been done otherwise. And I think that Clinton\u00a0should be dealt with\u00a0in the same manner as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/04\/24\/us\/david-petraeus-to-be-sentenced-in-leak-investigation.html\" target=\"_blank\">Former Gen. Petraeus<\/a>. Though I doubt that will happen prior to the election. I suspect that if there is any indictment before November,\u00a0the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/in-clinton-email-investigation-justice-department-grants-immunity-to-former-state-department-staffer\/2016\/03\/02\/e421e39e-e0a0-11e5-9c36-e1902f6b6571_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">immunity granted to\u00a0Bryan Pagliano<\/a> will result in a charge against either\u00a0Huma Abedin\u00a0(Clinton\u2019s deputy chief of staff and senior advisor) or\u00a0Cheryl Mills (Clinton\u2019s chief of staff) because most had to email either of them to get to Clinton\u00a0(another key learning from the <a href=\"https:\/\/foia.state.gov\/Search\/results.aspx?searchText=clinton&amp;beginDate=&amp;endDate=&amp;publishedBeginDate=&amp;publishedEndDate=&amp;caseNumber=\" target=\"_blank\">public email release<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Your behavior, not your words, tell people who you are; and past history is future character. The media to date have done a poor\u00a0job explaining the serious nature of what Clinton\u00a0did. It\u2019s disheartening to me that there are voters who\u00a0support a potential commander-in-chief who, with intent, broke the law, ignored the policies of her own agency\u00a0that others would have been fired for doing, and displayed a habit of being\u00a0careless\u00a0with critical information. Democrat or Republican, we Americans all deserve better.<\/p>\n<p><em>Elisabeth Miller is a seasoned communications and government relations expert whose guidance has been relied on by public, private and government organizations alike. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont Graduate University. Her areas of expertise are issue\/crisis management, immigration law, and border issues. Most recently, she was a diplomat with the U.S. State Department serving in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez. Currently she serves New Mexico as a citizen member of the N.M. Law Enforcement Academy Board.\u00a0She moved to Las Cruces in 2015 when her husband opened <a href=\"http:\/\/millergunsandammo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Miller Guns &amp; Ammo<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s disheartening to me that there are voters who support a potential commander-in-chief who, with intent, broke the law, ignored the policies of her own agency that others would have been fired for doing, and displayed a habit of being careless with critical information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[708,2235,226,706],"class_list":["post-139569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-2016-election","tag-national-security","tag-presidential-race","tag-transparency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}