Please Hillary, Stop Helping Donald Trump!

Hillary Clinton has gone a tad tone deaf once again, having forgotten her 2016 presidential campaign characterization of one-half of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables.” And once again she’s done some damage to lib causes by contending that MAGA-ites may at some point need “formal deprogramming.” I happen to agree unreservedly, MAGA mental health care is urgently needed, but “formal deprogramming” sounds police statey providing ammunition to MAGA troglodytes.

And your surely helpful suggestion that MAGA fanatics may need a mass check up from the neck up was immediately seized upon by MAGA world in the predictable fashion. It’d been a while since they’d feasted on HRC. And feast they did. Kayleigh McEnany, a former Trump press secretary, suggested that HRC’s latest was “Deplorable Moment times 10!” Reptile Donald Trump Jr. opined, “a vote for President Joe Biden in 2024 would be a vote ‘to send your friends’ to a ‘reeducation camp.'” As long as Donny Jr. was among them, I’d be OK with it.

Not Saying I Disagree with You, but . . .

Her comments to Christiane Amanpour during Thursday’s CNN interview started out quite well, but ended badly, at least as far as MAGA-ites were concerned. Here’s the relevant excerpt, in context:

You saw the number of Republicans who voted along with Democrats to keep the government open, so there’s clearly a common sense, sane part of the Republican caucus in the House. But I think they are intimidated. They oftentimes, you know, say and do things which they know better than to say or do, and it will require us defeating those most extreme measures and the people who promote them in order to try to get to some common ground where people can again work together.

That’s the way it used to be. I mean, we had very strong partisans in both parties in the past and we had very bitter battles over all kinds of things: gun control, and climate change, and the economy, and taxes. But there wasn’t this little tail of extremism wagging the dog of the Republican Party as it is today, and sadly, so many of those extremists, those MAGA extremists, take their marching orders from Donald Trump, who has no credibility left by any measure. He’s only in it for himself. He’s now defending himself in civil actions and criminal actions, and when do they break with him? You know, because at some point, you know, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members. But something needs to happen. [Emphasis added]

Excerpt, CNN Interview, October 5, 2023

If you’d just screeched to a halt at “and when do they break with him” your comments were dead-on, tame, true, and easily defensible. But the presidential election season has begun and we libs have enough problems without this. Suggesting “formal deprogramming” could not play more into Trump’s hands. We’ll see you and your comment kicked from pillar to post throughout the campaign. We did not need this.

Hillary, We Can Get Through This

How to remedy this? Here’s some off-the-cuff suggestions for deploying MAGA repellent when confronted by truth-seeking MSM and regular old MAGA types:

• Use your Swedish accent for the old Greta Garbo “I want to be left alone” trick
• Do what Vivek Ramaswamy does: deny everything despite ample video and audio evidence to the contrary, then quickly grin an insipid grin until audience moans
• Say you were misinterpreted: “By ‘formal’ deprogramming I merely meant formal attire, tuxedo, cummerbund, Gucci dress, tiara, and what not.”
• Try to switch discussion to safer topics, like your emails, or Monica Lewinsky, or who Bill is presently dating
• Place your hands over your ears and sing “La dee dah, La de dah . . .” Outlast them!
• If all else fails, apologize. Use the Fish Called Wanda ploy: “The imputation was totally without basis in fact, and was in no way fair comment, and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.”

More as I dream them up. I’m there for you.