A Question of Ethics

There's a very good chance that Hillary Clinton is going to run for president in 2016. That's cool. I liked her better than Obama back when she tried to do it the first time, and I was disappointed when things didn't work out. Now, a lot of people are giddy with excitement at just the thought of being able to have the chance to potentially vote for her again. Here's the problem, though; a lot of these people have already made up their minds without hearing her say a word about her plans for the country.

The United States is so caught up in the very idea of Hillary, that it doesn't seem to matter to them what she intends to do as president, so long as she becomes president. Which is stupid. Sadly, that's the political world we live in. "Oh, she's a Democrat? Well, gee, of course I'm going to vote Clinton! Why wouldn't I?" Conversely; "Oh, she's/he's a Republican? Well, gee, of course I'm going to vote for [insert candidate's name here]!" Why wouldn't I?"

Astoundingly, this train of thought is exactly what's going through the minds of many American voters. Hillary Clinton is the second coming of Jesus Christ and we're just setting up trays of cheese and crackers waiting to greet her at the finish line. Well, I'm not. I want to know what she has to say. I want to know what she's thinking in 2016 when it's time to run. I don't really care right now, when all that talk is so much hot air.

Talk that is, apparently, not cheap. The University of Nevada Las Vegas paid Clinton a quarter of a million dollars to come and talk at their institution. The fee that was charged to the public school was, supposedly, mustered up from a donation to its charitable fund for public speaking, which is the core argument of those supporting her decision to accept the money. At the end of the day, there's just one, simple question to ask; who the hell goes to an American, public university and demands $250 thousand dollars to speak?

The Republicans have been wetting themselves with glee and using the insensitive cash-grab as a means to smear Clinton, but don't let their political grandstanding fool you; both sides of the aisle have absolutely no problem reaming American taxpayers for money. Whether you vote Democratic, Republican, or American Idol, you should be looking at Clinton and any other politician speaking at a public school and asking why they would even have the audacity to ask for money from them, in the first place.

Defenders of Clinton are arguing that the donation the school received could only be spent on a public speaker, so that makes it ok for the university to do what it did. Wrong. As I already said, she shouldn't have had the lack of sense to even ask for it from them to begin with. She should have looked at the school and said, "hey, I was first lady, secretary of state, and a senator; I know all you public schools need every dime you can get. I'll talk for free". That didn't happen.
Rather than do the right thing, Clinton had her assistant or whoever sign the paperwork and turned the other cheek. A foolish move for someone who should more than know better, but the other problem is the school itself.

How an ignoramus could hike tuition up, only to then go and spend a quarter mil on a single public speaker, is beyond me. If the fund is only good for public speakers, and you're so broke that you need to fleece students and parents to make ends meet, you cut that fund off. Then, you tell prospective donors that you appreciate any and all help, but that for the time being, all donations will go towards keeping costs down for students and their families. Period. End of discussion. However, if you happen to get $250 thousand in that should-have-been-closed fund, you don't idiotically turn around and spend it all on a single speaker! For no other reason than to say, "hey, look! Clinton is here!"

Hillary, beloved as she might be, did nothing for the students at that school who are hurting from the tuition hikes they were recently subjected to. There are students there who now probably don't even know what they're going to do to keep attending. Yet, there's Clinton, swiping all that money and skipping town. It's disgusting. People, however, don't want to hear it. It doesn't matter to them. Clinton is their hero. She's Jesus 2.0. So what if the school and Clinton should have been more fiscally responsible; she's going to be our president.

Well I'm sorry to tell you, but no, it's not ok. Whether it was Clinton, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Al Gore, or Mickey Friggin' Mouse, no responsible human being should be going to a cash-strapped public school and demanding a fee to speak. They want cash, want to make a living? Go talk to Apple. Flap your gums at Oracle. Get cozy around a campfire with Starbucks. But you keep your sticky fingers away from our public schools. You have the good sense to think that the struggling parents and students who are doing everything they can just to step through the door might need every penny a university can muster.

When 2016 comes, I'll be sitting in front of my TV like many Americans and watching the debates, weighing my options. The difference is that I'm not already going to have my mind made up. I'm not going to come up with excuses for some vaunted candidate and their bad behavior simply because of archaic loyalty to a corrupt political party. It doesn't matter that Clinton is a Democrat. Or a woman. Or a historical figure. What Clinton did at the University of Nevada was wrong. She should have spoken for free, or taken that donation money and donated it right back to the school. As it stands, it's just more mindless behavior from a politician, and it's long-past gotten old.

Don't listen to the Republicans who are using this to push an agenda. Don't listen to the Democrats who are using this to push an agenda. Listen to your mind and all the memories you have of tax increases and tuition hikes that come out of your pocket and know that Clinton should have known better.