Hillary Clinton's decision to use private email on a private server was a "mystifying self-inflicted wound," Rep. Tom Cole said Sunday.
"I mean it's not as if you didn't know this was going to be found out at some point," the Oklahoma Republican said during a roundtable discussion on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" program.
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He compared the decision to other Clinton activities, such as making "a whole string of well-paid speeches when you don't really need the money" or accepting foreign contributions for the
Clinton Foundation.
Republicans have slammed the foundation for taking donations from foreign governments while Clinton was secretary of state, saying it could create a conflict of interest if she's elected president.
"If you're getting ready to run for president, you ought to be preparing yourself to run," Cole said Sunday. "This is, I think, bad governance and not appropriate, but it's just political stupidity."
Also during the roundtable discussion, Cole addressed findings on ABC's findings that there has been more conversation online about potential Republican 2016 candidates such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, than there has been for former Florida Gov. Jeb. Bush.
Over the past week, host Martha Raddatz said, there have about twice as many interactions on social media for Walker or Paul than for Bush. Further, the communications about Walker and Paul were much more positive than about Bush.
"We're really in a big debate to define who and what the Republican party is," said Cole. "It really transcends the individual candidacies. And each one of these people represent different slivers...the question is can they grow and be more inclusive, or if they'd purify the Republican Party?"
But he does feel good that there are several likely GOP candidates in the election, and likes the contrast with the Democratic field, where Clinton is far ahead of other potential candidates.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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