Maureen Dowd, "Trade Winds Blow Ill for Hillary": How Hillary Turned the US Into a Banana Republic

There was a time in my professional life when I spent much time in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where money could buy anything and the rule of law was non-existent. I always thought that these countries were some 50 or so years behind the United States in their evolution as constitutional democracies. Hillary, however, has proven me wrong. Even in America today, money and power can apparently insulate you from scrutiny.

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Trade Winds Blow Ill for Hillary," Maureen Dowd notes Hillary's flip-flops on the issue of Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership. Observing that "we have to play this silly game with her, as she dances and ducks, undermining President Obama by siding with Nancy Pelosi after Pelosi filleted the trade deal on the House floor," Dowd caustically writes:

"CNN reported that Hillary had enthusiastically promoted the trade pact 45 times as secretary of state."

Declaring that "the greater danger for [Hillary] is in looking disingenuous," Dowd concludes:

"Surprisingly, I received a fund-raising letter recently. Hillary Rodham Clinton was in large letters on the upper lefthand side of the envelope and above my address was the typed message: 'Maureen, this is our moment . . . are you with me?'

Not at the moment."

"Not at the moment"? How about never? The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the least of it. Should American voters simply ignore Uranium One and the suggestions of influence peddling that this embarrassment raised?

Should Americans forget how the Clinton Foundation accepted millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, a country which whips and imprisons women who have been gang-raped, and from banks convicted of conspiring to rig currency valuations?

And what about her use of a personal server while secretary of state and her subsequent erasure of 30,000 emails?

When do Americans wake up and just say no? Or will $2.5 billion in campaign funds prevent this from ever happening?