Penny Nance: Seven Examples of Hillary Clinton’s Bad Judgment

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says repeatedly that her record speaks for itself.

I agree. The message? “Danger Ahead!”

Clinton’s incredibly poor judgment follows her wherever she goes. Just taking the last eight years (not to pound on the infamous scandals of the 1990s), after she lost her first presidential bid to President Obama, show a disturbing pattern. Here are what I found to be the top seven most disturbing cases of bad judgment in the last eight years, in no particular order:

1. She defended Planned-Parenthood’s selling of baby body parts

As Planned Parenthood spiraled out of control, exposed for unethical — if not illegal and disgusting — activities, Hillary Clinton stood steadfast at their side, no questions asked. Instead, she turned on the investigators, as well as the accusers (I’m seeing a pattern there), despite the evidence, as she has done so many times before, saying, “I think it is unfortunate that Planned Parenthood has been the object of such a concerted attack for so many years. And it’s really an attack against a woman’s right to choose. … I’m hoping this situation will not further undermine the very important services that Planned Parenthood provides across our country.”

2. She wants activist Supreme Court Justices

It is no secret that the appointment of Supreme Court justices by the next president has become a major issue in the campaign.  It’s also no secret that Hillary has immense support for the recent court rulings that have progressed further and further away from constitutional democracy and closer and closer to a bizarre set of legislative authority from the court. The lower courts, too, have taken such a turn. On issues important to many Americans — from safer abortion clinics to religious freedom to the definition of marriage to ObamaCare’s government overreach — the court has gone too far.

At the most recent debate, she was asked about the types of justices she would appoint, and she didn’t even mention the Constitution, only the decisions she wants (Roe was, of course, at the top):

I want to appoint Supreme Court justices who understand the way the world works, who have real-life appearance, maybe they tried more cases, understand what people are up against.  I think the current Court has gone in the wrong direction, so I would want to see the Supreme Court reverse Citizens United and get dark money out of our politics. Donald doesn’t support that. Voting rights are a big part of our country, we don’t always do everything to ensure that everybody can exercise their franchise.  I want a Supreme Court that will stick with Roe v. Wade. And Donald Trump has put together some candidates, and they will reverse Roe v. Wade and marriage equality.

3. She compromised national security and tried to cover it up

Hillary saw fit to set up her own e-mail server processing classified information. Many Americans don’t understand the full extent of the problems here. She was not just using a personal e-mail address; she was using a separate server to escape government oversight. She left that server exposed to all kinds of hacking of national security information that we must now assume are in anyone’s hands. The casual handling of classified information is disturbing enough, but so are the attempts to cover it all up. At first, she said there was no classified material, a claim later repudiated by FBI Director James Comey.

Her IT guys pled the Fifth Amendment to avoid giving full information at the investigative hearing; many are being given immunity, even though they don’t give any information, and we may never know the full extent of the layers of this scandal.

4. Contributed to the rise and growth of ISIS

Hillary was in support of Obama’s policies to reduce our military presence in the Middle East, specifically in Iraq, an act which many experts say gave rise to ISIS in the region. ISIS atrocities have now spread across the globe, manifesting in everything from the shocking attacks on regular western lives at concerts and event venues, to forced sex trafficking of minority religious sects, to stealing and radicalizing young people through cyber recruitment, to horrifying religious persecution and murder of Christians. Meanwhile, Clinton minimizes the flagrant persecutions and, like President Obama, even refuses to call the problem what it is: radical Islamic terrorism.

5. Was the main figure in the Benghazi debacle

During Clinton’s role as Secretary of State, there were also quite serious reports of mismanagement. Of particular concern is how she ignored the pleas for help in Libya which led directly to the Benghazi attacks and the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens. Her reactions after the fact were even more concerning. She flagrantly lied, pretending she had nothing to do with it, and her shameful deceptions about a YouTube video causing the attacks are embarrassingly dangerous. What sort of tricks could she pull when given the full power of the presidency?

6. Improperly used her position as Secretary of State for personal gain through the Clinton Foundation

Behind the philanthropic façade, the Clinton Foundation has been plagued with scandals, all pointing to the undisputable fact that Secretary Clinton’s position and influence was used by the foundation for the personal and organizational financial gain of the Clintons and their friends. As PJ Media reports:

The Clinton Foundation dispenses contracts to Clinton cronies like Doug Band while also paying for the non-political travel of the Clintons and staffers. It’s all perfectly legal — and disgustingly unethical. The Foundation is used as a slush fund that enriches friends of the Clintons while allowing foreign businesses and governments to purchase influence.

7. Made deplorable comments about Americans who dare not support her

If you don’t agree with Hillary, there’s a 50 percent chance you are simply “deplorable.” Clinton’s critique of Trump supporters claimed this half was full of those who were “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.” This shouldn’t simply be taken as a flippant comment in the heat of election season — it’s a serious look at how Clinton really feels about views that challenge her own, and more importantly, how she attacks political opponents. We can expect the attacks on conservatives, like the targeting of the IRS under President Obama, will only expand in a Clinton Administration.

Penny Young Nance is president and CEO of Concerned Women for America LAC, the nation’s largest women’s public policy organization. She is the author of the book “Feisty and Feminine: A Rallying Cry for Conservative Women” (Zondervan 2016).