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That didn’t take long.

It was beyond question Hillary Clinton would play the race card. The only issue was when. Progressives are born without forearms, which affords them the ability to have so many such cards up their sleeves. But playing it this early and this forcefully does not demonstrate strength on Hillary’s part; it’s a testament to her insecurity and weakness.

Calling Donald Trump a racist is neither new nor unexpected. Any elected official or person with an “R” after their name can count on that charge like you can count on the sunrise. That it came this early is telling.

The “racist” cries are usually saved for closer to the election, when polls tighten and Democrats worry about turnout. A little fearmongering goes a long way to motivate the otherwise uninterested. That it comes in August reeks of desperation, an aroma permeating the Clinton campaign in recent weeks.

It’s not been a good time for Hillary. A problem she thought she had put behind her has resurfaced to remind the American people why they don’t, and shouldn’t, trust her.

Clinton’s scandals are a hydra of interconnected corruption knotted up like Christmas lights, and every time something new emerges from one of the wires the whole thing lights up.

The Clinton Foundation opening doors in the State Department for donors; the State Department clearing hurdles for foundation donors who paid Bill Clinton exorbitant speaking fees; the first federal department ever established transformed into a clearinghouse of graft and favors. The Clinton Foundation, Bill Clinton’s speaking engagements and the State Department under Hillary becoming symbiotic parasites of one another.

As Time magazine put it, “It’s not only about what the Clintons did, but how they react.” How they are reacting is not by rebutting or refuting the allegations, but by making allegations of their own against Trump.

There are many cases to be made against Donald Trump; I’ve made several myself. But he’s been in the public spotlight for decades without anyone noticing he was at all racist until the Clinton campaign became desperate. Besides, if he is such a monster, why did Hillary and Bill go to his wedding? Why’d they cash his checks?

Of course, Clinton supporters would answer he’s only recently revealed himself as a modern-day Hitler, as Cher referred to him this week at a Hillary fundraiser. So what kind of people Clintons take up so much time and collect so much money from the next Hitler? The same people who thought destabilizing a Libya that wasn’t a threat to the United States would be a good idea, that’s who.

The only thing that haunts the Clintons more than losing is having something in writing go public. We’ve seen the innocuous and cryptic emails the Clintons deemed us worthy of seeing. The rest were wiped clean. Not “with a cloth, or something,” but with a program designed specifically to prevent their recovery. It would be the equivalent in the pre-digital world of burning down the records building.

Hillary doesn’t want people to know that. She doesn’t want people to focus on her. That’s the only explanation for why she’s running on nothing beyond “Trump is horrible” and her chromosomes. She has a vision for the country, an awful one, but she’s terrified of people focusing on it, because any focus on her would necessitate an exploration of her character and the Clinton corruption.

She’d rather distract. That distraction comes in the form of a progressive’s favorite claim – racism. But it’s early.

In 2000, the NAACP waited until October to smear George W. Bush with its James Byrd ad. Other ads, insinuating not voting for Democrats is the same as allowing black churches to burn or supporting segregation came out around the same time. Yet here we are only in August, and Hillary already is going down this road.

Why? She’s scared.

Hillary isn’t worried about Trump, per se. All things being equal, she’d beats him like a rented mule. But all things aren’t equal. She’s a corrupt bureaucrat, an insignificant senator and the worst cabinet official this side of Ramsey Clarke. She has nothing to run on, aside from how she uses the toilet.

Her campaign speeches are riddled with platitudes and empty promises. They’re all bread, white toast, without a hint of butter. Hillary Clinton is as inspiring as a boil. Anyone who wants to vote for her already has made that choice and there aren’t enough of them.

Unable to win people over, Democrats have to chase people away from other options, so Trump exhibits “KKK values.” They are trying to make Trump as unacceptable as possible to disinterested Americans in case whatever they’ve attempted to destroy and bury survives and returns to haunt them.

This election is months ahead of schedule when it comes to progressives’ panic level. The next 2 ½ months either will be something to watch or the ugliest invective-filled nightmare this country has ever seen.