UFOlogists in the United States are excited over the prospect that Hillary Clinton, should she be elected President, will expose a long-standing government conspiracy to suppress information about alien visitations.
As reported by AJ Vicens in Mother Jones, much of this hopefulness is being fueled by Hillary's prior, and even current, ties to UFO enthusiasts and conspiracy nutters. But it's guilt by association; Hillary has never given any indication she's into this wacky stuff.
As Vicens writes:
In particular, [UFO activists] are encouraged that John Podesta, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, will likely chair Clinton's campaign and would likely serve in another Clinton White House. As a self-described "curious skeptic," Podesta has openly called for greater government transparency on UFO-related matters. In his forward to UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record, a 2011 book by journalist Leslie Kean, he wrote, "It's time to find out what the truth really is that's out there. The American people—and people around the world—want to know, and they can handle the truth."
Podesta's interest in extraterrestrial phenomenon is nothing new. In 1998, theWashington Post described his "fanatical devotion to 'The X-Files'—especially FBI agent Fox Mulder, with whom he shares a penchant for obsessiveness and paranoia." Grant Cameron, a Canadian UFO researcher, unsuccessfully tried to get the Clinton Library to release records detailing Podesta's X-Files-themed 50th birthday party, which was apparently thrown by the first couple—who may have dressed up as the show's main characters.
Back in February, the outgoing Podesta put out this (apparently) tongue-in-cheek tweet that got many UFOlogists excited:
Vicens also points to Hillary's association with Laurance S. Rockefeller, who in early 1993 lobbied the Clinton Administration to release government information pertaining to UFOs and aliens, including the so-called Roswell incident. In addition to UFOs, Rockefeller has an interest in ESP and paranormal phenomena. Despite being asked to "not bother [President Clinton] with this issue," he did anyway. Documents show that Hillary was kept in the loop. Rockefeller, a philanthropist, conservationist, and the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, died in 2004.
Pretty weak stuff as far as prior associations go, but that's not deterring alien activists like Stephen Basset — Capitol Hill's one and only registered UFO lobbyist — who was quoted by Vicens as saying "This is the most important issue in the world," or UFO researcher Michael Salla, who says "I think Hillary would play a positive role in getting this information out. I think that Hillary definitely is much more the pro-disclosure candidate, where as someone like Jeb Bush is basically status quo."
Much more at Mother Jones.
Image: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais.