IS THIS CLINTON’S “47% MOMENT?”
by Sharon Rondeau
(Sep. 10, 2016) — As of 10:16 a.m. EDT on Saturday morning, the new hashtag “#BasketofDeplorables” is trending at #2 on Twitter.
The term was coined on Friday night by Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton while speaking at a New York fundraiser attended by Barbra Streisand.
From this writer’s observations over a short period of time, the hashtag is gaining scores of new tweets by the minute.
Some have referred to Clinton’s remark, aimed at “half of Donald Trump’s supporters,” as her “47% moment,” referring to a remark made by 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney secretly recorded and released to the media.
Speaking to an audience of approximately 1,000 at an event deemed “LGBT,” Clinton asserted that the “deplorables” include those she claims hold “xenophobic, Islamophobic, homophobic, racist and sexist” views.
As for the other half of Trunp supporters, Clinton said that they merit “empathy” and “understanding” from her campaign.
Also on Friday night, The Hill reported that the Clinton campaign is pressuring mainstream media outlets to “tread carefully” in speculating about her health, claiming that concerns over whether or not she is physically capable of carrying out the duties of president and commander-in-chief are “baloney.”
Clinton surrogates have ridiculed those reporting on Clinton’s extensive coughing fits last week, including NBC News.
However, Fox & Friends on Saturday morning raised the issue.
In 2008 and 2012, questions about Barack Hussein Obama’s birthplace and background were similarly deemed taboo, although purported documentation released by the Selective Service System and the White House itself were deemed fraudulent by a criminal investigation conducted by the Maricopa County, AZ Cold Case Posse as announced on March 1, 2012.
Over the last two weeks, the mainstream media has appeared to have made an effort to demonize Trump over having been the most vocal of the “birthers,” who in 2011 and before questioned inconsistencies in Obama’s life story and the fact that no hospital in Hawaii, where Obama claims he was born, will confirm his assertion. “Birthers” have also questioned the constitutional eligibility of Sen. John McCain, Sen. Marco Rubio, former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and others who might not qualify as “natural born Citizens” under the originalist definition of the term contained in Article II, Section 1, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution.
On Friday, The Post & Email reported the findings of a retired Florida anesthesiologist, Dr. Ted Noel, who is convinced that Clinton has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for at least a decade as evidenced by unusual falls, fainting, certain hand gestures, the cough which often occurs when she is speaking publicly, eye and head movements, and what he describes as “freezes” at random times.
The Clinton campaign did not respond to The Post & Email’s request for comment about a 16-minute video in which Noel details his observations about Clinton’s alleged medical condition.
The Trump campaign has demanded an apology from Clinton for her classification of half of his base.
TIME called Clinton’s remarks “a gift” to the Trump campaign.
Some of the tweets issued under the hashtag on Saturday include:
Some believe Clinton’s initial “47% moment” was contained in paid speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs executives, particularly in October 2013.
On Saturday morning, columnist Paul Hollrah noted that while Clinton has called out Trump for the reported endorsement of former KKK member David Duke, the overwhelming majority of KKK members are Democrats who openly support Clinton’s candidacy. Clinton considers the late Sen. Robert Byrd, an active klansman for several years, a “friend and mentor.”
Update, 11:09 A.M. EDT: The new hashtag is now in first place.