On Monday’s Hardball, Stephanie Schriock, president of the pro-choice organization EMILY’s List, lamented that Hillary Clinton’s ongoing problems with her use of a private e-mail server have dominated the coverage of her campaign.
The outspoken supporter of Clinton complained that the e-mails were “the only story that has gotten any significant coverage about Hillary Clinton for the last three months, despite the fact that she has rolled out some incredible policies.”
Earlier in the segment, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson expressed similar sentiments that Hillary received unfair treatment, specifically as it related to Benghazi.
Robinson proclaimed that despite Clinton’s upcoming testimony before the House Benghazi committee “[t]here’s nothing there” and Matthews agreed that “Benghazi is nothing more than an accusation based on nothing, that somehow Hillary let her friend die. That’s what they keep suggesting.”
Schriock piggybacked off of the rest of the liberal panel and stressed that Clinton’s ongoing problems will eventually go away as the public starts paying attention to the campaign:
And I believe, as this gets closer to where people are going to start voting, to start caucusing, they are going to want to focus on what these candidates are bringing to the argument... I think this is the only story that has gotten any significant coverage about Hillary Clinton for the last three months, despite the fact that she has rolled out some incredible policies...That is going to change as caucus-goers and voters are going to make decisions. And this is where she is going to do incredibly well. And she’s got a great organization to do it.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews
September 14, 2015
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Would somebody let a hawk become president who is like me, let a hawk become president because you’re upset about Hillary’s e-mail? It just seems disproportionate.
EUGENE ROBINSON: Well, it seems disproportionate. Think about the Supreme Court.
MATTHEWS: That’s another one.
ROBINSON: That’s a huge issue. Just to your point about pulling the thread, with Gowdy’s committee, it starts with Benghazi. There’s nothing there.
MATTHEWS: I know.
ROBINSON: There’s nothing, nothing there, right. But if they start pulling the thread, if they get to, say, the e-mails that were deleted, but may be recoverable, does anybody actually try to recover them? And then they do they start poring into them?
MATTHEWS: Who would have to do that? Can they subpoena them?
ROBINSON: I don’t know.
HOWARD FINEMAN: They can try. They will go to court.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: I agree, Benghazi is nothing more than an accusation based on nothing, that somehow Hillary let her friend die. That’s what they keep suggesting.
STEPHANIE SCHRIOCK: Well, Howard as you’re talking about pulling the string. That is the political activity that folks are so exhausted with.
MATTHEWS: Are they?
SCHRIOCK: More -- I believe they are. And I believe, as this gets closer to where people are going to start voting, to start caucusing, they are going to want to focus on what these candidates are bringing to the argument.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHRIOCK: Let’s get this done.
FINEMAN: There is no relationship between the decline in Hillary’s numbers in the horse race and trustworthiness and this whole story?
SCHRIOCK: I think this is the only story that has gotten any significant coverage about Hillary Clinton for the last three months, despite the fact that she has rolled out some incredible policies.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
SCHRIOCK: That is going to change as caucus-goers and voters are going to make decisions. And this is where she is going to do incredibly well. And she’s got a great organization to do it.
