Hillary Clinton | 08/11/2009 9:20 am

Hillary Clinton Meets With Sexual Violence Victims in Congo, Says 'My Husband Is Not the Secretary of State' (Video)

Clinton explodes when audience member asks what her husband thinks of a government policy; fights for women rape victims used as ‘weapons of war.’

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

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Hillary Clinton is making headlines today for lashing out at a student in the Democratic Republic of Congo who asked about her husband’s opinion on a policy issue instead of her own. But she’s also getting some attention for a good cause: meeting with rape and sexual violence victims in that war-torn country.

As for the secretary of state’s public outburst, while on a whirlwind seven-nation African tour an audience member apparently hit a nerve when asking what "Mr. Clinton" thought of a World Bank concern about a Chinese loan proffer to the Congolese government.

"Wait — you want me to tell you what my husband thinks?" Clinton asked. "My husband is not the secretary of state, I am … You ask my opinion I will tell you my opinion, I’m not going to be channeling my husband." Watch the video of Clinton’s response below.

ABC News says the translator made a mistake and asked about Bill Clinton, when the student was actually asking what President Obama thought.

But even if it was a matter of something lost in translation, we should give her a break. She’s toiling in Africa for good causes with little attention while her husband Bill gets accolades and then some for securing the release of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling from North Korea. She reportedly had to answer a lot of questions on that topic when she arrived in Africa. And we can’t even imagine the toll all that travel takes on a person. It can’t be easy being married to Bill and having a famous last name. But was it a little too defensive?

On another note, Mrs. Clinton is addressing a serious problem in the Congo: sexual violence. She is in the eastern region of Kivu today to meet with rape victims. Aid workers say as many as 400 women are raped every month in Eastern Congo, which has been plagued by ethnic wars and violent militias that have displaced hundreds of thousands of people seeking refuge. Women who attempt simple acts like leaving their home to find food are at risk of violent and humiliating attacks. Rapes also occur when women are sleeping in their refugee camps.

Clinton, a longtime women’s rights advocate, said continuing sexual and gender-based violence in Kivu is "truly one of mankind’s greatest atrocities."

"The entire society needs to be speaking out against this," Clinton said. "It should be a mark of shame that this happens anywhere in any country … We have to speak out against the impunity of those in positions of authority who either commit these crimes or condone them."

She said she will be pushing for help for "those who are being abused and mistreated and particularly the women who are turned into weapons of war through the rape that they experience."

In Goma, Clinton might meet with President Joseph Kabila and UN peacekeepers, and will participate in a roundtable discussion with victims of sexual and gender-based violence in the country. Let’s hope she can make some inroads in a country that desperately needs to take better care of its women.

Watch video of Clinton’s outburst in the Congo below:

233 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

I love Hillary:) She is awesome:)

By S G on 08/11/2009 9:37 am

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Well…love Hillary or not…this was not a shining moment for her or the United States. Embarrassing really, and not the attitude that one would expect of a statesmen.

And rude.

FSM~

By Kelly In Texas on 08/12/2009 12:18 am

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Kelly: And rude.

I tend to agree. In this world, you can cut a nervous student some slack. The question doesn’t appear to have been malicious.

By Marjorie C. on 08/12/2009 5:14 am

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Yes Marjorie…and wasn’t it a female student that asked that question?

It is a shame that Hillary showed her lack of confidence to the crowd and now the world. But, I am certain that she has pushed to the back in this administration. Now she is just one more Obama minion and that does not fit into her grand scheme of things, as she planneed them to be at this time in her life.

Poor public showing of good self esteem by an American diplomat or woman.

FSM~

By Kelly In Texas on 08/12/2009 9:01 am

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Kelly: …a female student that asked that question?

I think it was a man… Comcast News: Clinton snapped at the university student in Kinshasa on Monday when he asked what her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and Congo native and former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo thought about an international financial matter. Mutombo was appearing with her at the university.

No matter how annoying or frustrated the question was to her, she should have been able to contain her snarky side. A smile, a shrug, and a Good question but I don’t know the answer would have sufficed. Even Queen Elizabeth would have smiled and moved on.

By Marjorie C. on 08/12/2009 10:29 am

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I think that you are correct Marjorie…thanks for that correction.

By Kelly In Texas on 08/12/2009 10:50 am

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Kelly, for your reading pleasure,

Another disgrace: In Nigeria, Hillary hints that 2000 U.S. election was rigged posted at 8:30 pm on August 12, 2009 by Karl
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As Allahpundit would say, she’s a special lady:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton compared Nigeria’s corruption and electoral problems with the 2000 Florida presidential election recount during a town hall meeting today in Abuja, Nigeria.

Answering a question about Nigeria’s recent election, Clinton said, “In 2000, our presidential election came down to one state where the brother of the man running for President was the governor of the state. So we have our problems too.”

That is a tasty combo of the Obama administration’s “America sucks” foreign policy, coated in some rich, gooey Bush Deragement Syndrome. Sure, the “media recounts” of the 2000 election showed that the recounts requested by Al Gore or ordered by the Florida Supreme Court would have still resulted in a victory for George W. Bush. Why would that stop our country’s chief diplomat from suggesting that her predecessors in government were there illegitimately? Certainly not Pres. Obama’s faux insistence that we let go of the politics of the past.

The sad thing is that this story will be heard by few Americans, and will register with even fewer. The silver lining? If the US Secretary of State can bestride the globe this drenched in BDS — almost nine years after the fact — without notice, what are the odds that a few anti-ObamaCare protesters are going to scare anyone today? (hint: Long odds.)

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/08/12/hillary-clinton-has-a-bds-relapse-in-nigeria/

By deber B on 08/13/2009 7:33 am

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Deber…not surprising…I wish that I could say that it was.

That is what happens when they start to feel the heat…I think that it is sad that they attempt to take advantage of a people that do not have the luxury of the news to keep them informed about situations in the U.S. But then again, either do we any more….hence…lies abound and our own citizens are being used and lied to.

But Hillary is beyond repair. Her only chance was to follow a Gore Presidency, Soros was livid that all of his plans for Gore did not work out. When they lost that election…Soros backed Obama and Hillary was on her own. Now she is irrelevant and bitter.

But mostly…she’s really pissed.

FSM~

By Kelly In Texas on 08/13/2009 10:16 am

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How’s that go? "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

By deber B on 08/13/2009 11:04 am

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You got that right Deber!

Now she sits in the backgroud and watches all of her big liberal ideas being put forth as Obama’s own…hooo boy…she is not a happy camper…But it was that elistist attitude that beat her in the primaries.

She didn’t think that America would elect someone that was not white and inexperienced. She thought that being a woman was THE ticket to motivate the liberals to her side and with all of Bill’s supporters…. But whoops…ACORN came to the rescue and she was chopped liver!

Yep…Soros had two dogs in that fight…and he let them fight it out. His side won either way.

That elistist ideology will get them every time….look what is happening now!

By Kelly In Texas on 08/13/2009 12:26 pm

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SG…I don’t particularly like Hillary, I used too!…But I respect the heck out of her skills…Just wish the Staff at Wow hadn’t felt the need to try to make excuses for her behavior when there was no need to. Listen if I am sitting talking about women who are raped by men who do not respect their womanhood or their civil rights of and I get a question from a man asking for my husband’s point of view …I would have responded the same way in the same tone! Not too long ago in a Congressional hearing, one of the military officers kept referring to Barbara Boxer as madam when she questioned him. She finally requested that he not call her madam and call her Congresswoman. There was a big boohoo by conservatives saying my gosh, men in the military call all women madam to show their respect. I think Barbara had a perfect right in a professional setting to tell the General what she preferred to be called. As old Kelly would say, God gave us a voice…so what’s wrong with using them!

By Victoria J on 08/13/2009 11:57 am

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Well Victoria…interesting that you refer to me as "old Kelly"….you claim to know what I look like…

Now, on to the point…

Especially in a forum where women have been victims of abuse by men, Hillary should have been eager to voice once again how America values women, and her husband made efforts to return two women home. Especially there. Why some would make ALL men, or mention of men the ENEMY is ridiculous….and a sad statement for women of the world and America.

Barbara Boxer? Are you serious here? Boxer and Pelosi are clowns! Boxer had only contempt for that officer, she should have used HIS formal title instead of "sir". However, she allowed the black President of the Black Chamber of Commerce to call her " madam." the entire time that she was making an a$$ out of herself during his audience with the congreewoman!

Ha! Where did all of her false bravado go to then? What a clown…absolutely pitiful…she pulled out some racist remarks and he held her feet to the fire. The entire time he never called her Congresswoman…What a fake she is…and a coward.

Hillary made a fool out of herself and only underscored her marginalized position in this administration.

FSM~

By Kelly In Texas on 08/13/2009 12:54 pm

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Victoria

When I first saw this clip on the news it seemed that Sec Clinton got a little too "miffed", then I thought the same thing you did - If I were in a country that had such disregard for women and raped, mutilated and murdered them, I would make the effort to show the women of the country that they have the right to stand up against abuse.

As to Barbara Boxer, the general in question called her "Mam" which is how congresswomen are to be addressed when in discussions or hearings. It is a show of respect, just as they call congressmen "Sir". Unfortunately, Barbara Boxer, to me, made herself look dumb and not someone with altitude - like more ego then smarts. When she was in a hearing with Henry Alford - who is the president of the Black Chamber of Commerce and he called her "Mam", she took no offense to him at all, so to me she is kind of a hypocrite. I no longer support her because she seems not too bright. It was also in the meeting with Henry Alford when she brought up the NAACP making a declaration that they support green jobs for minorities, to counter a study Mr. Alford had done that showed there we none or very few green jobs in CA and that they were not even in the planning stages. Mr. Alford felt incredibly offended and felt she had acted racially, because she thought it was okay to tell him that his very well researched study could be countered by another AfAm group and that he should be happy about it. She never listened to him and when he tried to speak or make a point she just kept talking to her staff and ignored him. She lost me and many others for her rudeness and stupidity. She stays in office because of name recognition in the ballot box.

Notice in this clip that she does not take exception to Mr. Alford calling her mam.

YouTube - Senator Boxer Accused of Race Politics

By Frannie Em on 08/14/2009 1:31 am

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Frannie,

Thanks for correcting Victoria about the General calling Senator Boxer ma’am. Either Senator or "ma’am" are appropriate. Military members always use "sir" and "ma’am" when addressing those senior to them. I believe Boxer’s issue on her title was due to the fact that she was dealing with a male general. I doubt she would have said the same thing to a female general.

I watched both exchanges and felt like I was watching Diane Keating channeling Barbara Boxer in a movie.

By Leigh Hart on 08/14/2009 12:36 pm

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I am done with Barbara Boxer. She is the senator from my area and I am plum crazy tired of her. Not to say that she hasn’t done some good, but I think many in the senate get "institutionalized" and are out of touch with the people. They get special interest groups and partisan players that support them and think that is who they must cater to. Personally I am tired of many of them and they can all take a hike for all I care.

PS. I just thought her correcting a general for the ma’am thing was just too stupid and out of touch. She just used him to try to look tough. What a waste of time.

By Frannie Em on 08/14/2009 2:40 pm