Richard Mellon Scaife - July 3, 1932 - July 4, 2014

[Divernan]

5. There is no money/political influence too dirty for HRC or Bill to solicit.

So the Clintons have accumulated enough wealth to become part of the one percent, and if their financial wealth and ongoing ambitions distort their perceptions of what it means to be Americans who have always been poor, or who find themselves falling out of middle class security, I can understand that. Can you say nouveau-riche, boys and girls? arriviste? If they can milk their political power to negotiate huge fees for brief speeches/appearances? Well, that's what sports and entertainment celebrities do as well.

What is extremely alarming - in fact, beyond comprehension - to me, is that they would turn to Scaife for support, given the history among the 3 of them and remembering the always present quid pro quo which comes with major support to political figures. Because then there is no one whom, regardless of how much damage said person/corporation may have caused, the Clintons will not welcome into their circle of influence.

Let's also keep the facts straight - HRC and Bill sold out to Scaife at different times for different reasons:

In 2008, Hillary Clinton and Dick Scaife stunned political partisans when they met for a lengthy editorial board interview in the Pittsburgh Trib's office. They got along famously, and he endorsed her in Pennsylvania's Democratic presidential primary.

He met privately with Bill Clinton a year earlier, in an unrelated encounter at Clinton's New York offices, and later donated to the Clinton Global Initiative foundation. After a second meeting, he told friends that he enjoyed the former president and admired his intellect, even if they disagreed on some issues.

The question asked of Senator Joe McCarthy (namesake for McCarthyism for the younger readers) at the Army-McCarthy hearings was: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

My question to those supporting HRC for 2016, is: If she will seek out support from Scaife, is there anyone, at long last, who is so politically indecent as to be unacceptable to her? To all those who excoriate Scaife on his passing, I say, remember that the friend (HRC) of your enemy (Scaife) is your enemy as well.

And Scaife took to his grave the answer to the question: What did HRC promise you in exchange for the support of your chain of conservative newspapers in 2008?