Posted on Nov 11, 2015
Do you believe anti-war Hillary Clinton actually tried to join the USMC?
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Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN)As the U.S. Marine Corps turns 240 years old this week, Hillary Clinton dusted off an old story that has previously been met with skepticism: When the Yale-educated lawyer moved to Arkansas in 1975, she says she tried to join the Marines.
She laughed Tuesday, the day before Veterans Day, as she recalled being turned away by a recruiter.
"He looks at me and goes, 'Um, how old are you,'" Clinton said at an event in New Hampshire. "And I said, 'Well I am 26, I will be 27.' And he goes, 'Well, that is kind of old for us.' And then he says to me, and this is what gets me, 'Maybe the dogs will take you,' meaning the Army."
It's an open question whether the Marines would turn a woman away, especially someone who had an accomplished background like Clinton.
According to the Women Marines Association, The Marine Corps Women's Reserve was established in 1943 and female reservists were deployed to Korean in 1950. And by 1975, according to the association, the Marine Corps allowed women to serve in all occupational fields except infantry, artillery, armor and pilot/air crew.
Clinton made the comments a breakfast with voters at a forum called the "Candidate Café," sponsored by WMUR-TV. It was not open to other reporters, but a clip of the event was posted on the station's website.
A Clinton spokesman declined to comment to CNN about further details on the incident.
Clinton has repeated her Marine anecdote a few times over the years, dating back to at least 1994 when she was first lady. Each time, critics on the right have raised questions about why a fervently anti-war college student -- who worked on the anti-war presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern -- and just moved to Arkansas to marry Bill Clinton, would have tried to join the military.
Clinton's telling of the story comes as Right-leaning blogs are highlighting it in the wake of the scrutiny Republican candidate Ben Carson is facing for saying he was offered a full scholarship to West Point despite the school having no record of the encounter. Carson described the offer in his 1990 book, "Gifted Hands," but on Friday clarified that he was extended an informal offer or "nomination" to attend West Point.
That story followed a CNN report last week that nine friends, classmates and neighbors who grew up with Carson could not confirm accounts of a childhood of violence, including an attempted stabbing and punching a classmate in the face with his hand wrapped around a lock.
A New York Times report from 1994 recalls how Clinton told the story during a lunch on Capitol Hill honoring military veterans. The then-first lady told a similar story: A Marine recruiter rejected her for being too old and suggested she try and join the Army.
"You're too old, you can't see and you're a woman," Clinton reportedly said, a nod to the coke bottle glasses she used to wear.
"It was not a very encouraging conversation," Clinton added. "I decided maybe I'll look for another way to serve my country."
At the time, according to the Times report, Clinton's spokesman chalked the story up to the first lady "exploring all her options."
"I'm never surprised when Mrs. Clinton is doing something service oriented," Neal Lattimore told the paper. "She was just taking in all her options, saying 'This is where I am in my life, this is what fits into my life right now.'"
Bill Clinton, too, has used a similar story about his wife's desire to join the military.
The former president told an audience in Columbus, Indiana during the 2008 election that his then girlfriend "went down and tried to join the Army and they said 'Your eyes are so bad, nobody will take you.'"
She laughed Tuesday, the day before Veterans Day, as she recalled being turned away by a recruiter.
"He looks at me and goes, 'Um, how old are you,'" Clinton said at an event in New Hampshire. "And I said, 'Well I am 26, I will be 27.' And he goes, 'Well, that is kind of old for us.' And then he says to me, and this is what gets me, 'Maybe the dogs will take you,' meaning the Army."
It's an open question whether the Marines would turn a woman away, especially someone who had an accomplished background like Clinton.
According to the Women Marines Association, The Marine Corps Women's Reserve was established in 1943 and female reservists were deployed to Korean in 1950. And by 1975, according to the association, the Marine Corps allowed women to serve in all occupational fields except infantry, artillery, armor and pilot/air crew.
Clinton made the comments a breakfast with voters at a forum called the "Candidate Café," sponsored by WMUR-TV. It was not open to other reporters, but a clip of the event was posted on the station's website.
A Clinton spokesman declined to comment to CNN about further details on the incident.
Clinton has repeated her Marine anecdote a few times over the years, dating back to at least 1994 when she was first lady. Each time, critics on the right have raised questions about why a fervently anti-war college student -- who worked on the anti-war presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern -- and just moved to Arkansas to marry Bill Clinton, would have tried to join the military.
Clinton's telling of the story comes as Right-leaning blogs are highlighting it in the wake of the scrutiny Republican candidate Ben Carson is facing for saying he was offered a full scholarship to West Point despite the school having no record of the encounter. Carson described the offer in his 1990 book, "Gifted Hands," but on Friday clarified that he was extended an informal offer or "nomination" to attend West Point.
That story followed a CNN report last week that nine friends, classmates and neighbors who grew up with Carson could not confirm accounts of a childhood of violence, including an attempted stabbing and punching a classmate in the face with his hand wrapped around a lock.
A New York Times report from 1994 recalls how Clinton told the story during a lunch on Capitol Hill honoring military veterans. The then-first lady told a similar story: A Marine recruiter rejected her for being too old and suggested she try and join the Army.
"You're too old, you can't see and you're a woman," Clinton reportedly said, a nod to the coke bottle glasses she used to wear.
"It was not a very encouraging conversation," Clinton added. "I decided maybe I'll look for another way to serve my country."
At the time, according to the Times report, Clinton's spokesman chalked the story up to the first lady "exploring all her options."
"I'm never surprised when Mrs. Clinton is doing something service oriented," Neal Lattimore told the paper. "She was just taking in all her options, saying 'This is where I am in my life, this is what fits into my life right now.'"
Bill Clinton, too, has used a similar story about his wife's desire to join the military.
The former president told an audience in Columbus, Indiana during the 2008 election that his then girlfriend "went down and tried to join the Army and they said 'Your eyes are so bad, nobody will take you.'"
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 60
MCPO Roger Collins
Capt Walter Miller - I think you may have made a mistake, Capt. You actually meant a thumbs up for ME?
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Capt Walter Miller
MCPO Roger Collins - Oh geez. I thought it was a reference to the computer game HALO. ;-)
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I like the closing paragraph:
"CNN recently launched an investigation into whether GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson lied about past violent incidents that occurred when he was a young boy. The network even dispatched reporters to talk to his old classmates."
You can bet your next paycheck that CNN won't be due any back ground investigation or dispatching reporters to follow up on this latest example of Clinton's complete lack of integrity.
"CNN recently launched an investigation into whether GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson lied about past violent incidents that occurred when he was a young boy. The network even dispatched reporters to talk to his old classmates."
You can bet your next paycheck that CNN won't be due any back ground investigation or dispatching reporters to follow up on this latest example of Clinton's complete lack of integrity.
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Really? The Marines turned down a Yale educated attorney? I can see where a recruiter would be all over that, by the way recruiters are awesome at getting waivers.
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Capt Walter Miller
More than likely, the recruiter said, "Yes, Ma'am. We can certainly hook you up", at which time she bolted. And she wouldn't be the first.
Walt
Walt
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It will be interesting to see if the MM follows up on this with the zeal that they attacked Dr. Carson. Any bets?
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MSgt James Mullis
Don't you understand? When it was Ben Carson, embellishing his past, it was something new and therefore "Newsworthy". With Hillary it's just more of the same old "oh I misremembered", or "ah must have misspoke", or "I thought I said this is what happened to my assistant Huma's friends cousin". This happens so often with Hillary that, to a news reporter, it is hardly worth mentioning.
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Amazing. For the first time in her long political history, a tale of gender-based mistreatment surfaces! And just in time to make it a campaign issue.
What an amazing coincidence.
What an amazing coincidence.
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COL Jon Thompson
Come on 1SG, don't be so skeptical. A left-wing lawyer married to the up and coming Bill Clinton wanting to join the Marines? Totally plausible, considering her past history of always telling the truth. Why would she lie now?
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LTC (Join to see)
She made this claim during the 2008 campaign, too. I thought that it was absurd then, too. How good would a recruiter have looked in 1975, during the post-Vietnam, post-draft period, if he could have snagged an Ivy-League educated lawyer for the JAGs? The only way that this story could be true would be if she didn't disclose her degrees, or otherwise said or did something to discourage the recruiter.
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Imagine this Bill can't remember if it was the Army or Marines
Last paragraph from the article linked makes you think about about current events
The Clintons, Bill in particular, have a long history of telling stories about themselves — illustrating how they became so gosh-darned public service oriented and good — that couldn’t possibly be true. This seems to be another installment in that genre.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/hillary_clinton_tried_to_join_the_army_or_was_it_the_marines/
Last paragraph from the article linked makes you think about about current events
The Clintons, Bill in particular, have a long history of telling stories about themselves — illustrating how they became so gosh-darned public service oriented and good — that couldn’t possibly be true. This seems to be another installment in that genre.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/hillary_clinton_tried_to_join_the_army_or_was_it_the_marines/
Hillary Clinton Tried to Join the Army (Or Was it the Marines?)
Hillary Clinton Tried to Join the Army (Or Was it the Marines?)
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