BEASTMODE: Ralph Peters calls Hillary Clinton #39;demented #39;
After Hillary Clinton said we must find ways to empathize with our enemies, Peters went off.
By: Washington Free Beacon
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BEASTMODE: Ralph Peters calls Hillary Clinton 'demented' - Video
WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented herself as both a staunch defender of Israels security and a supporter of continued negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program in a wide-ranging conversation about foreign policy Friday.
The relationship between the United States and Israel is solid, and will remain solid, and will be part of our foreign policy and our domestic concerns, our values, ideals, forever, Clinton said in response to a question about the sometimes fractious relationship between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She called the relationship between the two countries "mature" and said differences between the two leaders were "honest."
Clinton spoke at an intimate dinner at the eleventh annual Saban Forum, with billionaire Israeli-American media and entertainment mogul Haim Saban. His forum, in partnership with the Brookings Institution, brings together government officials, policymakers and business leaders each year. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have made regular appearances at the Saban Forum, which isnt surprising given that the billionaire has donated millions to the Clintons' philanthropic foundation and was a key player in her first presidential campaign.
As Clinton inches closer to a possible bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, her sit-down with Saban allowed her to stress her support for Israel in front of a crowd filled with members of Netanyahus now-dissolving coalition government, as well as leaders of the opposition parties.
Saban has said that he is willing to give as much as needed to get Clinton elected and that he would pitch in with full might because her presidency is a big dream of his. Yet Clinton's conversation with Saban avoided directly addressing the 2016 question, as the two coyly danced around the subject by talking about her new grandchild.
The billionaire, who was born in Israel and calls himself a one-issue guy when it comes to his politics, has said that he considers a nuclear Iran an existential danger to Israel. He is, however, less conservative than one of his billionaire political donor counterparts, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, and has voiced his support for a Palestinian state.
Clinton, who received flack at 2012s Saban forum for saying that Israel had displayed a lack of generosity and a lack of empathy toward Palestinians, reiterated her support for a two-state solution to the conflict, but avoided chastising Israel for West Bank settlement construction, as she has in the past.
There is a necessary imperative to continue to try to achieve a resolution between Israel and the Palestinians, she said. The two state solution remains an important and, I would argue, essential concept to bring people together around.
Israels government will go to elections next year in an especially fraught period for the stalled peace process. Clinton acknowledged those tensions for those in the room, and beyond, who maintain that Israel cannot relinquish its occupation of the West Bank for security reasons.
Now Im well aware of everything going on and the increasing tensions in the region, in Israel, in the West Bank to say nothing of the continuing aggressive behavior from Hamas coming out of Gaza, she said. But the absence of negotiations leaves a vacuum that gets filled by problems, bad actors, threats, other kinds of behavior that are not good for Israel and not good for the Palestinians.
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Hillary Clinton Gratifies A Major Donor In Israel-Centric ...
In this Dec. 3, 2014 file photo, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at Georgetown University in Washington.(AP)
The State Department has failed to turn over government documents covering Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state that The Associated Press and others requested under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act ahead of her presumptive presidential campaign. They include one request AP made four years ago and others pending for more than one year.
The agency already has missed deadlines it set for itself to turn over the material.
The State Department denied the AP's requests, and rejected the AP's subsequent appeals, to release the records sought quickly under a provision in the law reserved for journalists requesting federal records about especially newsworthy topics.
In its requests, the AP cited the likely prospect of Clinton entering the 2016 race. The former first lady is widely considered the leading Democratic contender hoping to succeed President Obama. She has made scores of recent high-profile speeches and public appearances.
On Wednesday, the conservative political advocacy group Citizens United sued the State Department for failing to disclose flight records showing who accompanied Clinton on overseas trips.
Citizens United, which in 2009 mounted a legal battle that led to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning campaign finance limits, said the department unlawfully was withholding the records it sought nearly five months ago.
The State Department is among the U.S. government's worst-performing federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act. There is no direct evidence that political considerations in a Democratic presidential administration have delayed the release of files about the party's leading contender for 2016. But the agency's delays, unusual even by government standards, have stoked perceptions about what could be taking so long.
"There may not necessarily be political interference, but if the department went out of its way to speed these documents there would be no way for people to accuse them of it," said Thomas Blanton, who has previously sued the State Department for access to records as director of George Washington University's National Security Archive, a research organization.
The department "is stonewalling us," said Citizen United's president, David Bossie. He asserted that "these decisions are being made with Hillary Clinton's intentions at heart," but acknowledged he could provide no evidence of political interference.
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State Department 'stonewalling' requests for Hillary Clinton's files
(L-R) Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Florida, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Getty
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the top choice for president in 2016 among an online panel of 500 millionaires surveyed by CNBC in November.
Thirty-one percent of the millionaires polled said they would elect Clinton, who would be the instant frontrunner for the Democratic nomination if she decides to run. That includes 72 percent of the Democratic millionaires surveyed, 23 percent of independent millionaires, and even 5 percent of Republican millionaires.
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CBS News political director John Dickerson joins Jeff Glor to discuss potential 2016 presidential candidates.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, was the second choice overall, winning the support of 18 percent of the millionaires surveyed. Among Republican millionaires in the poll, Bush was the clear favorite, with 36 percent throwing their support behind the former governor. Bush has said he's weighing a 2016 bid and will decide whether or not to run after the beginning of the new year.
Gov. Chris Christie, R-New Jersey, also posted a respectable showing. Fourteen percent of the millionaires surveyed said they would like to see Christie in the Oval Office, including 19 percent of Republicans, and 19 percent of independents.
Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, who has built a reputation with her populist crusade crusade against income inequality, garnered a not-insignificant pool of support from the wealthy respondents. Eight percent of the millionaires surveyed said they'd like to see Warren win in 2016, including 14 percent of Democrats and 10 percent of independents.
CNBC's numbers were based on an online panel survey of 500 people with investable assets exceeding $1 million. The panel, CNBC notes, is "representative of the affluent population in the United States." Results compiled from the full sample have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.33 percent.
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Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush: Who do millionaires prefer for 2016?
By Dan Merica, CNN
updated 2:22 PM EST, Wed December 10, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- Millionaires are ready for Hillary.
According to a CNBC survey, Hillary Clinton -- with 31% support -- would be the top choice for people with "investable assets of $1 million or more" if the 2016 election were held today.
Clinton is followed by former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush with 18%, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 14% and Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders with 11%.
In the poll, CNBC notes that "people with investable assets of $1 million or more" make up the top 8% of American households and their poll was "evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and Independents."
Among Democrats, Clinton's lead is massive, with 72% of the 500 people polled stating they support the former first lady. Bush, likewise, is the top choice for Republican millionaires with 36% support.
Despite the fact that millionaire supporters have outsized influence because of campaign contributions and donations to super PACS, this distinction could be one Clinton doesn't want.
Since she last ran 0for president, the Democratic Party has become more populist and in order to win in 2016, many political experts see her needed to reconnect with middle and working class voters. The party has also been overtaken by skepticism of Wall Street and, in some cases, wealth, meaning having the backing of a majority of millionaires may not be a badge of honor in 2016.
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Survey: Hillary Clinton top 2016 pick for millionaires