Who really benefits from Clinton’s email problem?

But, who does the rest of America — those swing voters, those independents, those waffling Republican and Democrats — see? They see a Muslim woman. And maybe, to a certain degree, that’s the point.

{mosads}It’s the Willie Horton advertisement, all over again: it’s less about the substance than the image. Every time we see Abedin’s face and hear about how her emails are being investigated by the FBI, the subconscious message is: do we want a Muslim, a suspicious Muslim, this close to the President?

It’s a concept conservatives have been pushing for years. “It appears that the Obama Regime has been fully infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood terrorism front group on every level,” according toThe Political Insider and “Barack Obama has placed individuals who represent, or are a part of, the Muslim Brotherhood into high security positions” according to Freedom Outpost.

You need only ask yourself if Huma is being portrayed in a positive light, and if new organizations are using flattering photos or videos of her, or ones that make her and her role in the campaign look nefarious. You need only ask yourself whether this makes people feel better or worse towards the Muslim community?

For the Muslim community, it’s the subtle reinforcement of every stereotype the basket of deplorables continually preach. For the die-hard Trump supporters and even those who just can’t vote for Clinton, the newest email “revelations” gives them the rationalization to vote against Hillary and for vote the rest of the Republican down-ballot candidates.

The public message may be that we can’t trust Clinton. The subliminal message is we can’t trust a President who has a very close Muslim advisor.

Any seasoned political operative sees it, if they’re being honest with themselves. We all know that George HW Bush’s Willie Horton ad wouldn’t fly today, but that just means the dog-whistles need to get higher-pitched.

And the biggest beneficiary isn’t even Trump. He’s not. The biggest beneficiary is those Republicans trying to defend Senate seats and House seats that were slowly tilting towards the Democrats – the ones who complained the loudest when Comey said there wasn’t anything in Clinton’s emails to warrant charges.

Those Senate seats, which may be back in play for Republicans, would have certainly give, a Clinton White House the right to complain that it’s the Republicans to blame for the gridlock in D.C. And that’s not even to mention the really “down ballot” races that are crucial for control of statehouses and governorships.

California, for instance, is closing in on a veto proof Democratic majority in the state legislature, Washington is within a seat or two of both houses being Democratic and New York is likely to see the state Senate go Democratic for more than just a couple of months.

But if people to be energized enough to vote either against Trump and for Clinton, it won’t happen. If Clinton voters split their tickets, it won’t happen. If liberals think everything is already lost, they don’t bother to show up on 8 November or they don’t bother to fill out and send in their mail-in ballots, it won’t happen.

There are people out there who want those of us who can’t vote for Trump to just stay home. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that, in 2016, they’re using some trumped-up allegations against a high-profile Clinton aide who just happens to be Muslim to convince us to do so.