NEWS AND OPINION:
For weeks, nonstop press coverage, breathless buzz and strategically released excerpts has kept an unpublished book on radar. “Crisis of Character: A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses His Firsthand Experience with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate” has drawn intense public interest and big headlines, both pro and con. Now, the book itself finally arrives. Penned by former Secret Service Agent Gary J. Byrne, the bold expose of the Clinton White House lands on bookshelves Tuesday, published by CenterStreet, a conservative imprint of the Hachette Book Group. Spanning 304 pages, it details unsavory revelations about former President Bill Clinton’s tenure at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. at a particularly pivotal time for likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The book has remained No. 1 on Amazon since early June.
Not everyone is a fan. The Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service has already released a statement denouncing Mr. Byrne’s book, and suggesting the author has an “underlying motive,” among other things.
“I did not write this book for partisan politics, I wrote it so I could get the truth out. Now that I am retired, I also feel I have a responsibility to the American public to tell my story, so you know what the truth is,” Mr. Bryne stated in a newly released public video produced to counter the claims. “This story is all true.”
The author begins what could be a media blitz with an appearance with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday. CenterStreet, incidentally, has also published the work of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Newt Gingrich, Jim DeMint, Bret Baier and Michael Savage, among others.
THE PRINCIPLES THAT MATTER TO DAVE BRAT
Rep. Dave Brat hopes to remind Americans that he has a Ph.D. in economics and a master’s degree in divinity, and is a straightforward man with a strong conviction that history still shapes our frantic nation. He has a new book. The Virginia Republican — who had a frugal $200,000 campaign but still managed to defeat then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor — reveals much about himself in “American Underdog: Proof that Principles Matter.” The book also arrives Tuesday, and was also published by the aforementioned CenterStreet.
SEE ALSO: Elizabeth Warren joins Hillary Clinton in Cincinnati as speculation grows about VP spot
“To change the status quo, we must tap into moral and economic lessons as old as our civilization,” Mr. Brat says, citing the philosophical roots of Western civilization, the ideas of classical Greece, the Judeo-Christian tradition, the rule of law and free-market economics.
The lawmaker says these classic heavy-duty fields are all vital to “restore American greatness” and shore up fiscal liberty, the conservative agenda and efforts to tame terrorism and the immigration crisis. In the meantime, Mr. Brat — who also chaired the economics and business department at Randolph-Macon College — applauds Britain’s recent vote to leave the European Union.
“Lovers of liberty everywhere should cheer the Brexit vote. The British chose clearly and decisively to take their power back from elites in Europe and to throw off the shackles of punishing rules and regulations handed down by disconnected and unaccountable officials,” says Mr. Brat, who says it’s a wake-up call for U.S. officials.
“Our federal government has constantly trampled on the rights of citizens. From the inability of small businesses to take out loans thanks to Dodd-Frank regulations, the IRS targeting of conservatives, President Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty, stifling regulations handed down by the EPA — Americans are fed up.”
Mr. Brat’s re-election campaign is now underway; find the details at DaveBrat.com.
READY FOR HILLARY, READY FOR ELIZABETH
SEE ALSO: Newt Gingrich: Hillary Clinton ‘wrong on Brexit’
Step aside. It’s ladies’ day. The liberal press may swoon when two outspoken alpha-females of the Democratic persuasion debut in Cincinnati on Monday morning. Likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaign together for the very first time before the adoring public at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal — a massive, historic former railroad terminal boasts a grand rotunda underneath the largest half-dome in the Western Hemisphere. This will be a bodacious event as press and pundits speculate on a possible Clinton/Warren ticket in November, and yes, C-SPAN will be there beginning at 10:30 a.m.
But this may not a VP audition for the Massachusetts lawmaker.
The pair part company almost immediately after the event ends; Mrs. Clinton must be at a fancy luncheon in Chicago within hours, to be followed by a private “HillBlazer” fundraiser. Some observers say it’s too early to determine the identity of Mrs. Clinton choice for a running mate. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders is still striking a campaign posture, to the delight of his many fans. Other trained eyes ponder the political strategy.
“Elizabeth Warren should stay in the Senate,” writes economist Dean Baker for The Nation, a longtime progressive publication.
“Remaining in the Senate would provide the best platform for her to advance a progressive agenda during a Clinton administration. The inalterable reality is that her agenda is fundamentally different from the agenda Clinton will want to pursue, and no president is going to give their vice president a blank check to sabotage their agenda,” he noted, adding, ” Vice presidents attend state funerals. We need Elizabeth Warren’s voice in the Senate.”
FOR THE LEXICON
#TrumpGirlsBreaktheInternet
— New Twitter hashtag promoting support among women voters for GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump. Naturally, the phrase was co-opted by Mr. Trump’s critics, but such is the nature of social media. The hashtag led the internet in popularity for many hours on Sunday, drawing support from the candidate himself. “Women will be voting for Donald J. Trump in November, that I can tell you,” he tweeted late in the afternoon.
FOR The LEXICON, PT. 2
“#MAGA”
— Also a trendsetting Twitter hashtag. It stands for “Make American Great Again,” Mr. Trump’s campaign motto which can sometimes prove unwieldy in a publication format that only allows 140 characters and a dim message.
POLL DU JOUR
• 77 percent of U.S. workers use social media while on the job.
• 56 percent of that group say social media “ultimately helps their job performance.”
• 56 percent say it distracts them from the work at hand; 54 percent say it “helps them recharge.”
• 51 percent say social media “lets them see too much information” about their co-workers.
• 51 percent say their workplace has regulations for employee use of social media.
Source: A Pew Research Center survey of 2,003 U.S. adults conducted in September, 2014 and released Friday.
• Ballyhoo and chancy speculation to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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