It REALLY gets my goat when Obama apologists trash the Clinton legacy. I mean, I understand that they really have no choice given the fact that when it comes to accomplishments, Obama is a pimple on the butt of an ant compared to the giant that is Bill Clinton. Obama himself did as much damage as he could to Clinton’s legacy during the primary. We all remember this gem:
I don’t want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what’s different are the times…I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn’t much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.
To suggest that Reagan had a greater impact on the trajectory of America is an understatement. Clearly he did, but in the wrong direction. I’m sure many of Obama’s younger supporters know nothing of Iran/Contra, ketchup is a vegetable, saving Grenada from Marxism, and 8 long years of a president never even mentioning AIDS, as it spread like wildfire killing (predominantly) hundreds of thousands of gay men during the 1980’s. His economic legacy of stealing from the poor and giving it to the rich is alive and well today. The fact that Bush can veto health insurance for children while clamoring for congress to make his tax cuts permanent is a legacy of Reagan’s “voodoo economics” as Bush Sr. so accurately described it. I am not a heartless human being, but I must admit I did no mourning when that man passed away several years ago. And where was the criticism from the progressive blogosphere when Obama said this? <crickets> Of course they didn’t agree with him, but they dared not challenge the chosen one.
Clinton on the other hand left an undeniably progressive legacy despite being dogged at every turn by both the opposition party, and his own democratic party. From the website of the William Jefferson Clinton Library and Museum:
During his tenure, the welfare system was reformed, the sale of handguns was restricted, environmental regulations were strengthened, and a massive federal budget deficit was turned into a surplus.
On the international scene, the Clinton Administration expanded international trade, intervened militarily to end “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia, launched peace and trade initiatives in Africa and the Middle East, and promoted a framework for peace aimed at ending the strife in Northern Ireland.
Someone commented yesterday in my post on states’ rights that we needed to elect Obama to protect public lands in the US West. What he forgot is that it was Bill Clinton who did his very best to ensure that those lands (and seas) would be available for future generations to enjoy:
Against a backdrop of pictures of colorful fish, leathery sea turtles and endangered Hawaiian monk seals, President Clinton today created the largest United States nature preserve, 84 million acres underwater around the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, to help save the area’s coral reefs and other wildlife.
And of course there was the 1999 Lands Legacy Initiative. Nobody probably remembers it because Bush has all but dismantled and reversed the whole thing. But at the time it was an historic project on the scale of Teddy Roosevelt’s drive to designate large tracts of public lands as National Parks:
Stating that “Every child in this country should be able to experience a park.” President Clinton on January 12 announced a $1 billion Land Legacy Initiative-the largest one-year investment ever in the protection of America’s land resources. This FY 2000 budget proposal would expand federal efforts to save America’s natural treasures and would provide significant new resources to states and communities to protect local green spaces and develop urban parks. In addition, the President called for the establishment of a permanent funding stream for these initiatives beginning in the year 2001. The Administration’s initiative would provide $900 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), making it the first time the Administration has requested full funding for LWCF, which draws revenues from federal offshore oil sales. The program would provide $150 million through the stateside portion of LWCF would provides matching grants to state and local governments for the acquisition of land and easements for urban parks, green ways, and coastal wetlands. The Land Legacy initiative proposes $4 million for the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program to provide matching grants and technical assistance for the restoration of parks in economically distressed urban communities.
And not only that, Clinton made sure that credit was given where credit was due:
Six and a half years ago, in the summer of 1992, in the late spring, when I first talked to Al Gore about joining the ticket in the ‘92 election, this — what we’re here to do today — this is one of the things that I talked to him about. And I said I want you to come help me; there are things you know more about than I do. We differ on how many and what they are. (Laughter.) But, anyway, I said, you know, there are things you know more about than I do. And I said, we can make a difference that will last forever, for as long as the United States lasts. And he has been faithful to that in this administration. And I’m very grateful to him.
If only Al Gore had been as grateful to Bill Clinton, maybe he would be President right now. Or maybe if he had actually run for president on environmental issues instead of yammering on about a “lock box”. But no, what we get is revisionist history, from a professor at Harvard no less:
“He’s going to do enormous good with the base. And to the extent people are worried about Obama’s inexperience, having Gore may help.” said Elaine Kamarck, a Harvard professor of government who served as a senior policy advisor to Gore. “Gore, unlike [Bill] Clinton, has certainly enhanced his post administration reputation.” (emphasis mine)
So how has Clinton NOT enhanced his post administration reputation? Let’s take a look from the Clinton Global Initiative:
CGI MEMBER COMMITMENTS (280 Commitments)
Commitments By Year: 2007
Sort By: Recently Updated | Most VisitedRwanda Micronutrient Food Fortification Initiative, 2007
Project Healthy Children
Ruettgers Family Charitable Foundation
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
Ruettgers Family Charitable Foundation
Focus Area: Global HealthIn cooperation with its partners, Project Healthy Children (PHC) is dedicated to eliminating pervasive micronutrient malnutrition by increasing folic acid and other crucial vitamins and minerals in… (more)
Education for Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 2007
Save the Children
Focus Area: EducationIn order to help educate some of the world’s most marginalized children, those affected by armed conflict, Save the Children commits to expand its Rewrite the Future programs in eight countries… (more)
Harnessing Geothermal Energy in Africa, 2007
Reykjavik Energy
Focus Area: Energy & Climate ChangeReykjavik Energy Invest will work with the countries of the African Rift Valley, and invest to develop their geothermal energy resources.
Transatlantic Entrepreneurship Platform, 2007
South African Chamber of Commerce in America
Focus Area: Poverty AlleviationThis commitment will establish the Transatlantic Entrepreneurship platform, which seeks to fill the void of structured platforms in the U.S. catering to African entrepreneurs looking to explore the… (more)
Delivering Quality Schools in Haiti, 2007
Digicel Foundation
Focus Area: EducationThe Digicel Foundation commits to contribute towards ensuring quality education for children in Haiti’s poorest communities as well as provide new classrooms for them.
Education Support Programme South Sudan, 2007
GTZ
Focus Area: EducationGTZ commits to expand its proven package of systemic educational interventions into Southern Sudan, in order to increase access to and quality of education for children recovering from conflict.
Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, 2007
Grupo Carso S.A. de C.V.
Focus Area: Poverty AlleviationThe Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI) aims to create a coalition of mining industry and non-industry actors through which to assist local leaders in addressing social, economic,… (more)
Reduce Energy Consumption & Encourage Sustainability, 2007
Hartz Mountain Industries
Focus Area: Energy & Climate ChangeHartz Mountain commits to implementing a comprehensive sustainability strategy in all all future building specifications, leases and corporate office environment.
Bookshare.org for Education, 2007
Benetech
Focus Area: EducationThe Benetech Initiative commits to provide free, downloadable educational materials and supporting assistive technology to students with print disabilities and their educators.
Scaling Up CDI, 2007
Rodrigo Baggio, Founder, CDI
Focus Area: EducationCDI commits to expand it’s already successful programs, impact and reach in order to help even more members of Latin America’s most marginalized communities better their lives.
Advancing Responsibility to Protect, 2007
Darian & Rick Swig Philanthropic Fund
Focus Area: Cross-CuttingAdvance the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine by creating greater public awareness of the principle, and engaging key players/stakeholders and philanthropists in a dialogue on how to… (more)
Making a Positive Impact in Energy and Climate Change, 2007
Mark Buell
Susie T. Buell, Founder, Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation
Focus Area: Energy & Climate ChangeMark and Susie Tompkin Buell commit $5 million to support the Alliance for Climate Protection, a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to winning allies in the fight against global warming.
And that is page 1 of 24. Not to mention Clinton’s travels as goodwill ambassador after the 2004 tsunamis or his tireless efforts to combat AIDS in Africa. I guess I should apply for a job at Harvard. I found out more than Prof. Kamarck knows after a half an hour on the google. Or maybe she’s just a big fat liar doing everything she can to destroy Clinton’s legacy in order to make Obama’s pathetic resume even remotely palatable. I think I’ll go with the latter.
Filed under: Barack Obama, Politics | Tagged: Bill Clinton, CDS, clinton legacy, liars, obama's resume
You know, Obama really is the most pathetic excuse for a nominee this country has ever had. I happened to be reading a biography of John Adams and I’m at the part of his presidency (which, with all his accomplishments, is near the end of the book!) and Adams writes to Abigal how difficult the office is — it made me shutter to think that Obama might have the job.
Perfectly illustrated, gary. For those of us who lived through the Reagan years and never bought into the “beatification” of him, your post clearly states what many of us thought at that time. He did little or nothing for the common good.
Reagan turned his back on the issues of the day. His presidency allowed the corporate interests to infiltrate the electorate and his “charm factor” was manufactured to conceal his inadequacies.
We are faced with the same corporate candidate again with the difference that this time it is one of us.
Gary and Katiebird,
I won’t be around until later this evening. I deleted the troll on the last thread. I hope he/she stays gone. Sheeesh! Talk about a condescening a$$hole!
Obama also slammed Clinton for losing seats in mid-term after he was elected. (When Arianna and Gringrich did their Contract with America). But Clinton went on to win a second term, gain seats, then did the (almost) unprecedented feat of winning seats the last election before his term ended.
Plus he did the right thing for the economy in the beginning and still doesn’t get credit for it. I just don’t understand the Clinton hatred, especially from his own party.
Ugh. They just don’t get it. And how many Obot-pods didn’t even vote for Kerry the last time? Where were they when it really mattered?
elderwoman,
I love the slogans. Working off a script?
It has begun:
http://www.hcsfjm.com/cstad.html
Senator Clinton, you will be the President 2008
Gary – you missed the millions in Africa that have died of AIDS and other treatable diseases.
Loyal Democrat, on June 18th, 2008 at 11:47 am Said:
OK, I get what you’re saying. Heck, I’ve known this from the beginning. I voted for Hillary because I liked her experience better. But now that we have to choose from Obama or McCain, I’m now following Hillary’s lead and choosing Obama.
Apparently, yes.
That’s apparently, yes. They are typing off a script.
Really, I think what all of us are saying is that we have for the 1st time a candidate that is sooooooooo well rounded and comprehensive that anything less is just totally unacceptable!
President Hillary Rodham Clinton 2008
Not to mention the environmental damage Reagan did.
loyal democrat is from “clintonistas for obama” which is a propaganda website set up to counter and slander our message. any further comments containing links to that site will be deleted
LC – go away. I hear your pied piper piping!
Since you are not capable of getting the point – This isn’t about policy anymore it’s about punishment and retribution.
Prepare for the consequences if you allow Obama as the nominee – the rath do cometh!
Gary, you also left off the program he worked on and funded to educate the children of the victims of 9/11.
Carol, thanks for pointing those things out. I was hoping that people in the comments would point out other parts of Bill’s legacy I didn’t have the time or space to include.
I have seen this exact comment elsewhere. I will have to track it down.
It would be nice to compile the evidence of their Sweetie Cut and Pastes. I imagine this is all coming from an office on Michigan Ave.
SCHIP!
Ok, here’s another:
Lowest poverty rate in 20 years
Since Congress passed President Clinton’s Economic Plan in 1993, the poverty rate declined from 15.1 percent to 11.8 percent last year — the largest six-year drop in poverty in nearly 30 years. There are now 7 million fewer people in poverty than in 1993. The child poverty rate declined more than 25 percent, the poverty rates for single mothers, African Americans and the elderly have dropped to their lowest levels on record, and Hispanic poverty dropped to its lowest level since 1979.
He got really close with the Israel -Palenstinian conflict. If arafat hadn’t been such an idiot and gone against the deal, I think it might have worked.
He certainly got farther than Bush ever did.
Loyal Democrat, it might be comforting that you reassure us you are “not much of an Obama fan”, but your “powerful aura” speaks differently!
Remember, People were optimistic. They didn’t have to be given “Hope”, they saw good things happening right in front of them.
I just reread what I wrote last. Would someone please take that off. It sounds blatantly rude.
Clinton generated so much bon hommie around the world the other nations regarded him as a fellow citizen. Even today he commands the attention of these nations and is greeted and held in high regard. Many of these nations and their leaders are natural cynics but they were able to see through to the man. You cannot buy that patronage. It has to be earned.
[...] 18, 2008 · No Comments Garry Ghapel Hill at Riverdaughter chronicles the continuous B0 efforts to trash Bill Clinton’s [...]
Have we mentioned Family and Medical Leave Act?
And 100,000 new cops on the street? Crime was at an historic low during much of WJC’s Administration,
Perfect? No. But Clinton’s terms were a true “Golden Age” in America.
Of course he can’t let go. Not only was trashing of Clinton’s legacy part of the deal that netted him 100 million + from the Bushies,
but riding on “Clinton hatred” in red states was a little known official campaign strategy back in January
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/trashing-clinton-the-b0-official-campaign-strategy/
Sorry to go off topic. I just got an e-mail from Act Blue (I have contributed to democrats through them in the past) thanking me for setting up a fundraising page for Barack Obama. I never set up a fundraising page for Obama, I would slit my wrists before I would do that. Of course, I e-mailed them to tell them this. If anyone else has had this problem, I would be grateful if you would let me know.
Thanks!
Did you pay through them to retire Hillary’s debt? I was fearing
dirty tricks on that money
There is even more covered by the “Clinton Global Initiatives” and the “William Jefferson Clinton Foundation”.
He is also supportive of NGOs that fight poverty and aids globally like the ONE campaign.
But more, both Bill and Hillary provide visibility and support through volunteer efforts on behalf of NGOs.
jjmTacoma: I sincerely hope that both Clintons step out of politics and focus on global initiatives. They are too good for the Ratb**tard “Democratic” party.
And God Bless him, Bill Clinton appointed a divergent cross section of people to cabinet and other posts. White, black, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, male, female, Jewish, Catholic, WASP. His administrative appointments looked like America.
And Clinton nominated the 2nd woman to the Supreme Court (Ginsburg).
Pat Johnson, on June 18th, 2008 at 12:23 pm Said:
And God Bless him, Bill Clinton appointed a divergent cross section of people to cabinet and other posts. White, black, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, male, female, Jewish, Catholic, WASP. His administrative appointments looked like America.
Yes! The African-American community never had a better friend in the White House and, now, Obama supporters-and surrogates!-are trashing him and his wife as racists!!
That has left a really bitter taste in my mouth.
teresa—that’s a good point, and a good comeback when the obots bring up scotus. We KNOW hillary would have gotten a liberal judge on the court, just like bill did with ginsburg. he also appointed the first woman AG janet reno. I can only mourn the fact that Hillary’s administration would have been even MORE progressive than bill’s
He may have had his flaws, and God knows we all accept that, but he convinced you that he really did feel your pain. That he truly cared.
And have you ever seen a politician of his stature able to stand there and speak extemporaneously on as many subjects as he can? None. Some would even say overprepared. He knew his stuff.
I identified with Bill Clinton and I always appreciated Hillary. Two very talented, highly intelligent people who dedicated themselves to the principles that shaped them. And they took the blows and did it their way.
garychapelhill: The obot argument is no argument. Obama has done nothing to reassure anyone on SC picks.
a sampling from a blog I used to post at…now owned by the obama bots…
apparently, HRC supporters are unsubscribing all over the place
——————————————————————–
these emails unsubscribing from a Tim Reese listserve
I am no longer a Democrat. I have recently become a registered Independent. My vote with the Democratic party is a total waste of time. I won’t get to vote in the primaries anymore but who really cares? You people decide who wins, not the voters. Oklahoma voters voted Clinton in. Delegates and Super Delegates overturned the vote. Count me as an ex-democrat and send me no more emails please. Thank you, [personal information and email addresses removed by site administrator]
——————————————————————————–
The democratic Party and the liberal Media, especially MSNBC, from the very beginning of the campaign, decided that they wanted a black man for a nominee. They took an obscure, inexperienced, untried black man, without checking him out even, and made him the democratic nominee. I am even now not sure that MSNBC did not do this because their ultimate goal is to make sure we are going to have another Republican President. They together then systematically set out to destroy Hillarie’s chances and her campaign.
At least for this year I will not give one penny to the democrats, Obama or any of the people who betrayed Hillary. Not that I ever had that much money to give, but for years have I supported Edward Kennedy, the DNC etc. I know plenty of people who feel the same. [personal information and email addresses removed by site administrator]
——————————————————————————–
Remove my name from your mailing list!!!!..I support Hillary Clinton, not Obama…Clinton was clearly the choice of the people of Oklahoma…and you have decided to ignore this fact….if Obama is selected we will have another Republican president….BWH
From: [personal information and email addresses removed by site administrator]
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 6:21 AM
To: [personal information removed by site administrator]
Sorry to go off topic — I got an email from Dean today asking me to sign a petition to sue McCain with the FEC because — are you ready for this? — McCain is breaking his promise to take federal matching funding for the GE and now seems to be backing off from that. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Obama promise to do that too and since backed off on it? I told Dean to “Count me in if you are suing Obama too. If not, don’t bother me with your hypocrisy again.”
This comment from Obama is truly outrageous coming from a “Democrat”:
“I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn’t much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating.”
This is code for trashing LBJ’s Great Society and the environmental regulations passed under Nixon and Carter.
angie, Dean talking about fair elections is a real joke.
Besides, in is McCain who has really spearheaded campaign finance reform.
Dean is way over his head.
mawm, where was that video of Dean talking about popular vote being the most important metric?
I need to take a break. Reminders of the Clinton Administration, which had so much going for it ,depresses me that we are now being thrown of candidate whose stature is wholly diminished in comparison.
I would rather have Bill Clinton, warts and all, as my president than this empty excuse as a candidate. Obama is another Bush light.
Mawm — it is Dean as much as Obama himself that prevents me from voting Dem. this year. These lunatics who are running the asylum cannot be left with any power.
Well done, Angie. And yes, Obama made the same pledge and decided “no, thank you.”
[...] over at Riverdaughter’s The Confluence has a fabulous post entitled Audacious Clinton Bashing. It’s a must read [...]
That statement alone would convince me NOT to vote for Obama.
~”Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it.”~
And you didn’t even mention corporate raiding which followed deregulation and the worst crime in the history of the world, the demise of the Savings and Loan banking system founded in the 1800s that did as much damage to our economy and our lives as the bank collapses of the Great Depression and cost BILLIONS in tax dollars that we were still paying for during the Clinton presidency!
And under Reagan, homelessness and bankruptcies set records — quite a “legacy” Obama admires. Just another example of BAD JUDGMENT!!
The Obamatrons do work from a script. It’s the same chant over and over:
You “must” to do what Hillary/Gore says or,
You’re not a loyal Democrat, in fact you were probably never a Democrat or,
Do you know what a monster John McCain is; let us count the ways or,
We won, get over it [the same thing Republicans said in 2000], or
We can win the election without you,or when all else fails:
You are a pathetic racist!
Gotta love that last one. Sure makes me want to vote . . . Republican!
All Obamatrons need to fly back to the Mother Ship, get retooled and reprogrammed. The script is boring and won’t convince a soul, other than those who have already sold their souls.
Fly off now. Bye-bye.
PUMApac.org
garychapelhill,
Thank you for the fond remembrances of President Clinton’s many accomplishments, both during and after his presidency.
As noted above, tho’, it really isn’t necessary to list them if you lived through his administration. Only a President (Hillary) Clinton could come close…
-MS
Am I the only one who thinks that Patti Solis Doyle was a spy who deliberately sabotaged Hillary’s campaign?
When Clinton left office the price of gas was $1.39 a gallon.
hey…once again the confluence has a “hawt post” on wordpress’ homepage. it’s ronkseattle’s post from last night on Mr. Nobody. check it out
http://www.wordpress.com
The Dallas Morning News editorial today wants to make sure Obama isn’t swift-boated.
They did a heck of a job helping swift boat Kerry. Plus there is so much Hillary hatred their blog yesterday hit her with a tongue-in-check that she concedes that yes, Tiger won the U.S. Open.
It’s a conservative paper. They endorsed Huckabee and Obama – stating Obama was more in line with their conservative policies than Clinton.
I think they might be right on that one.
Pat– I’d rather have Hillary Clinton as President than Bill Clinton. He was a very good President and I think she would be even better. I think she is a lot more liberal on domestic issues than he is, and she is even more empathic than he is. I haven’t and won’t give up on a Hillary Clinton presidency.
jmac,
I think we should run that editorial from Dallas as a full page ad in the Washington Post. They are right about Obama and all the idots claiming he is liberal are lying liars or deluded.
“Plus there is so much Hillary hatred their blog yesterday hit her with a tongue-in-check that she concedes that yes, Tiger won the U.S. Open.”
So I suppose they will blame her for his pulling out of tournaments for the rest of the year?
It’s always Hillary’s fault, of course.
Gary,
There was a lot of anger at the Orange Cheeto about Obama’s praise of Reagan, even among the front pagers. At that time, the Obamabots were noisy minority and Edwards supporters ruled the rec list. After Edwards dropped out, the apostates began being pushed out and the Obamabots took control while the admins. sat back and let it happen. But there was healthy debate there for a time.
BB – the DMN hasn’t endorsed a Democrat for president in over 60 years. (not even true native son LBJ). If they endorse Obama this year it’s not because they have suddenly seen the light – it’s because they read him right.
bb–I never frequented the cheeto, even before it was assimilated, but other so called progressive blogs I did frequent like crooks and liars, FDL, did not address this in any kind of meaningful way…..
hey, maybe we should start calling the progressive blogosphere 1.0, the “borgosphere”
JSND is putting out a call for Obama to reign in his supporters.
Just Say No Deal Asks Obama Supporters To: “Show Some Class”
Tasteless Behavior Like the Booing of Public Officials Has NO Place in Our Election Process
- Online and Nationwide— JustSayNoDeal.com, a coalition of voters, individual activists, blogs, PACs and grassroots organizations, reacts to the scene on Monday night in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena when Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm received a deafening chorus of boos at her mention of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Moments later former Vice President Al Gore experienced similar jeering when he referred to Senator John McCain.
Just Say No Deal Coalition members will not tolerate such offensive and disrespectful conduct from supporters of Senator Obama aimed at any individual— whether they be an elected official or a member of the community at large, and the Just Say No Deal organization will not align itself with any candidate that permits this shameful behavior to be exhibited in any forum.
During this lengthy primary process Senator Clinton and many of her 18 million supporters have endured pointedly hurtful behavior and vulgar attacks by unruly and inappropriate backers of Senator Obama in public arenas and in new media outlets. The most prevalent arena of these assaults has been on the most recognized sites within the blogosphere.
Concerned citizens continue to break their silence to express their dissatisfaction with party leaders and the short-circuiting of the nominating process. The Just Say No Deal portal offers those voters a plethora of voting strategies, calls-to-action and blogpostings to guide their general election decision-making. In doing so, they reclaim their voices and vow to Just Say No Deal!
“borgosphere” good one. But will they get it? 0-borgosphere? I guess it doesn’t scan as well. 0-borgistan?
I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for the Obama campaign to act classy. Not gonna happen. Ever.
I don’t even think Michelle can maintain whatever “softening” the do to her public image. They’ll have to keep her quiet for that to happen and I don’t think she’ll accept that. I know I wouldn’t.
Sorry if this has been mentioned already -
I saw on FOX earlier today that Obama is bragging about the number of members on his facebook group, says they’ve gone over one million.
I think that’s a publicity propaganda point aimed at diminishing us and our numbers.
PUMA / Just Say No Deal has a facebook group too, so if we could spread the word and get people to join it, that would be great. It’s HERE
Gary, this is a marvelous. I’m always impressed by your ability to make detailed information interesting. And your research abilities are superb.
I wish I had a time machine to take us all back one year with a chance to get all this information out then….
bostonboomer, I think it is a good idea to keep putting that out there though. That way, independent and republican voters in the fall will be expecting it.
I’m now following Hillary’s lead and choosing Obama.
This meme originally came from Taylor Marsh. This is what she’s been saying in many posts since Hillary’s last speech. Now that her site is filled with Obots, they seem to be spreading this same meme everywhere. I would bet that they are under the mistaken impression that Taylor knows how we are feeling and knows exactly how to convince us. These idiots don’t seem to realize that they are now preaching to their own echo chamber over there.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed the new meme that there wasn’t any sexism in this campaign (so those of us who think there was are just nuts) AND that most women are not upset about Hillary’s treatment in the media? NPR ran a show on just that — thank god I canceled my monthly sponsorship to them months ago when it became apparent they were in the tank for Obama. Let me just say, the entire premise of assessing all “women” as a collective group instead of as individuals each and every one of whom thinks for herself is per se sexist — like Tweety and his “low hanging fruit” comment.
Maum,
Oh yes, we need to keep calling on them to act like decent human beings. But they don’t know how. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve seen 0-bots claiming he has run a “classy” campaign.
Taylor Marsh has now high quality posters such as skippy.
No Obama
PUMA
This is a great, great post.
I found this gem from Markos Moulitsas while I was surfing the Interwebs earlier. It’s from 2006, published in the WaPo (I wouldn’t link you to the Great Orange Satan). How did I not see his true colors then? (I realize a lot of you did, but I didn’t. Sigh.)
Talk about revisionism! The man is utterly shameless. Having a successful and popular two-term Democratic President destroyed the Democratic Party, don’tcha know. Um, no, Markos, you dumb ass, moving AWAY from the Clintons destroyed the Democratic Party. That’s why Al Gore is not now ending his second term and the country has veered off into the abyss of endless war, environmental inaction, and Bush-style Reaganomics.
Hi Angie .. yes ..
.. it is just you .. They have been saying that all along .. No misogyny – No sexism .. until Dean came out AFTER .. the RBC meeting .. first mention of it at all ..
What I am trying to say is .. that has been their meme all through the campaign until about two weeks ago ..
screw them . ..
.. lol
Plural wrote that Clinton reduced poverty by 7 million. I actually heard Bill say it was 6 milllion but that poverty rates have increased by 5 million under Bush almost erasing the gains. I have a feeling Bush will more than have accomplished that by the time he leaves office.
A lot of liberals hated Clinton for reforming welfare since it limited the time a person could stay on it. However, he also increased access to job training, child care and health care as well as increasing the earned income tax credit. Conservatives like to say he was forced by a Republican congress into reforming welfare but he had done something similar as governor of Arkansas. The media never would point that out when Republicans took credit. Surprise.
The rudeness of Obama supporters.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/
A friend of mine from Raleigh had to attend a deposition here. Instead of returning right away, she has decided to meet me for dinner, specifically because she has never met anyone who went from Obama to Clinton (me) and wants me to explain. She finds it extremely interesting.
BernieO, my poverty numbers come from here — I believe they were as of January 2001:
http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-01.html
madamab: Yeah, the Clinton years were a failed strategy — the first elected 2-term president since FDR, a failed strategy?! LOL! only in Republican KOS’ dreams.
The reason Gore lost is because he ran away from Clinton. People who have brains in their heads figured that out a long time ago. Just because KOS (R-Idiocy) doesn’t realize that, doesn’t make it so.
End rant.
A friend of mine from Raleigh had to attend a deposition here. Instead of returning right away, she has decided to meet me for dinner, specifically because she has never met anyone who went from Obama to Clinton (me) and wants me to explain. She finds it extremely interesting.
I wish that the DNC had announced its move to Chicago and the date of the
nominee’s acceptance speech as the anniversary of MLK, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech immediately after the Iowa caucus. That would have saved untold millions of dollars and an incredible number of hours that people spent working
for other candidates under the false pretense that the nomination was an “election” that could be won.
I heard Christine Pelosi complain about the tens of thousands of hours Americans wasted watching the ABC debates (the one in which Precious got a few “hardball” questions and wasn’t able to answer ditto to everything). To me, it was astounding how off he is without the teleprompter.
Think about the amount of resources her mother and Dean and Brazile wasted. Even those who donated to Obama to keep the race going. That would have paid for all those cocktail parties that have to be canceled at the
Democratic Convention.
The TV stations made out like bandits. These half-a-dozen corporations that own the media are always the winners.
Also, isn’t the average American savvy enough to know that someone needs to be qualified for his or her job? I couldn’t imagine myself being catapulted into the Senate after my part-time legislative career (which didn’t have much of a record and for which I cannot find out what Obama actually did to
benefit his constituents–does anyone know)?
I’ve been in positions for which I was unqualified when I was too young to even realize it. I did not do a good job.
Ha. KOS didn’t vote for Gore – he voted for Dubya. He and Arianna are just Clinton haters – be it Hillary or Bill.
Clinton – appointed over 200 LGBT citizens to meaningful posts during his administration-A real big tent dem if there ever was one
I remember getting a pic of all of them once from the campaign 1996….
fuzzybeargville
I heartily recommend historian Haynes Johnson’s fine book [it has reprints] Sleepwalking Through History: America in the Reagan Years. It is the best history of that truly loathsome time I’ve ever read, and also discusses the Bush family.
I really thought my anger would subside over time, but I only get more pissed off the more it sinks in as to what happened. I am more determined than ever to do everything I can to make sure Obama is never elected. The Obama/DNC coup is an absolute disgrace. I was once on the fence about whether I could actually vote for McCain. I am now looking forward to it.
Please do not forget Bill Clinton’s passing of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA). This piece of legislation has funded shelter homes and domestic violence programs all over the United States and kept me in a job for 7 years. It is something that HRC introduced to the senate again to keep Bushco from raiding its coffers.
All of the cited legislation is nice, but the real greatness of Bill Clinton was that he combined genuine interest in people, and caring about their situation, with the intelligence and patience for detail necessary to translate that interest and caring into effective policies. We have plenty of Democrats who can do the first part pretty well, and I assume we have some who can do the second part pretty well, but not too many can do both. Obama–and I’ll spare you where I stand on November–doesn’t seem to have the interest/caring in more than nominal amounts (he’s not quite a soulless robot, but I don’t think he connects with anyone except in a manufactured way), and while he has the intelligence, he doesn’t have the patience for detail.
Mawn, don’t be jealous, but Gary I’m falling inlove. This is just wonderfully crafted writing. How on God’s green earth can anyone think Bill Clinton hasn’t “enhanced” his post administration reputation? The man is a walking NGO for crissakes.
Melanie – Well, it’s tough to enhance your reputation when you are already beloved by more than 70% of the country…uh…um…
I got nuthin’.
Rich: My mother attended only one rally and that was one, where Bill spoke for Hillary. She said when he spoke it seemed as though he was speaking directly to you and addressing your needs. She also said, he took time to talk to people and genuinely seemed interested in what they were saying.
Of course she also said he was gorgeous.
I also got an email from Act Blue regarding an Obama fundraising page I supposedly set up. I thought it was simply some mistake, but since it seems others are getting these, I wonder if there’s not more going on, like an attempt akin to identity theft to channel shady funds thru supposed small donors?
That may sound paranoid, but I work for a law firm and have no illusions about how sleazy people can get.
Here’s the email I sent in response:
“I never set up an Obama fundraising page. I never will set up an Obama fundraising page. I ask that if such a page has been set up, that you delete it. It would be identity theft, and if I find out that it has not be deleted, I will investigate what legal action can be taken against the perpetrators and your organization, including criminal prosecution for being party to a fraud.”
Might sound harsh, but better safe than sorry.
kim, I saw bill when he was campaigning here and he stayed to talk to every last person at the event afterwards, even though it started raining. People just felt compelled to tellhim their stories. He grabbed my hand as he passed by and it was like touching part of history.
Melanie, it all evens out. I announced my love for Mawm when he went under the name of “Cassandra” hours ago. These two are such a heady combination of passion and intellect it is often scary. Together they bring so much to the table, and their onsite commentary in Washington and the primaries in NC have made many of us feel like we were right there with them.
We may be being snookered but at least we recognize it for what it is.
My mom said she had tears in her eyes the entire time. All I met was Obama and Michelle. I honestly did not feel squat. Rather ho-hum. At the time, I was still campaigning for him and was still not very excited. I couldn’t explain it then and now I wonder if I had reservations even then.
madamab says she’s got nothing but, that’s not true. Actually, she’s got a brand new post hot off the press!
aww pat and melanie, you guys are great. I am inspired everyday by every single one of my fellow conflucians. Thank you.
btw, mawm and I are going undercover to the NC state dem convention this weekend. stay tuned for updates….
Thank you for outlining the good things that the Clinton administration did. Bill Clinton was the best president we have had in 40+ years. The democratic elite hate him because he threatens their elitism. He came from nothing and rose to power by the will of the people, including those living in trailer parks.
The elite hate poor and working class whites for the same reason they hate president Clinton!!!!! They question and challage their elitism!!!
And the homelessness was not simply due to bankruptcies. Under Mr Reagan, long term mental health facilities – residential facilities were closed and the patients and residents who had been housed – and yes, even warehoused therein, were unceremoniously dumped into the streets of cities and towns all over America. Streets, underpasses, subway stations, train stations that were to turned into human trash heaps – if you listen to the elite talk.
I am furious at the sactification of St Ronnie by someone who ought to know better.
Kim, it sounds like you did. I’m going to start listening to my instincts more. I should have known a long, long time ago (January 2006) that Clinton was the right match for me.
That’s when I heard Bill speak in Kansas and he blew me away. I KNEW he was speaking for her. But, I shoved that aside….
I think it is time I wrote a new blog trying to tackle the reasons behind my jumping so blindly on the Obama train. I still haven’t a clue, but I really do need to figure it out. When he came to Greenville, I did not even take pictures. I took pictures of John Edwards, later, but never Obama.
leslie—I remember that now. He really was awful. remember when they wanted to put him on the dime a couple years ago? We sure do like our revisionist history in this country…..
How does one reconcile Al endorsing this “democrat” who has made bashing the Clinton administration a priority?
Hello? What’s wrong with this picture?
Al Gore is a weak man.
More quotes from B0 worshiping Reagan from his book:
page 31
From that page alone and the beginning of page 32:
“That Reagan’s message found such a receptive audience spoke not only to his skills as a communicator; it also spoke to the failures of liberal government, during a period of economic stagnation, to give middle-class voters any sense that it was fighting for them. For the fact was government at every level had become to cavalier about spending taxpayer money. Too often bureaucracies were oblivious to the cost of their mandates. A lot of liberal rhetoric did seem to value rights and entitlements over duties and responsibilities. Reagan may have exagerrated the sins of the welfare state, and certainly liberals were right to complain that his domestic policies tilted heavily toward elites, with corporate raiders making tidy profits throughout the eighties while unions were busted and the income for the average working stiff flatlined.
Nevertheless, by promising to side with those who worked hard, obeyed the law, cared for their families, loved their country, Reagan offered Americans a sense of common purpose that liberals seemed no longer able to muster.”
Obama also talks about Reagan on pages 31-33, 36, 43, 147, 156-58, 181-82, 201, 209, 288-289, 293.
Another classic from Obama in his book. Pages 156-57
“The conservative revolution Reagan helped usher in gained traction because Reagan’s central insight–that the liberal welfare state had grown complacent and overly bureaucratic, with Democratic policy makers more obsessed with slicing the economic pie than with growing he pie–contained a good deal of truth.”
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/shocked-i-tell-ya-b0-is-for-the-free-market/
I think I kept letting the feminist side of me ask, why did she stay after what he did? Which was totally judgmental on my part, since I stayed after my ex cheated the first time (I left the second time).
Kim “La coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait pas.”
I’m feeling very French today.
kim~
a friend of mine said the same thing to me about Hillary staying…. When I asked her how many times her own husband had been married before she married him, she sheepishly said, “three”. I asked what she was thinking – marrying a man who had already been divorced 3 times. She said it was “different” .
Of course it was.
I apologize for not putting the ’snips’ in my quote earlier. I’m at work and when I think about this Reagan love-in, I just lose it.
elderwoman! So nice to meet you, sweetie!
Are you by any chance working from your grandson Andrew W’s account at U. Maine, Orono? Darned sweet of the U. to let you do that … most educational institutions have all sorts of fussy rules about that sort of thing, y’know.
Some of us other elders have mastered the intertubes and we can actually access the web through our own “electronic telescopes” installed at home. Something to think about.
Please tell Andrew for all of us, “Good luck on that summer construction job”. Oh, and give our regards to young Andrew’s C.M.T. program advisers over at Boardman Hall.
Maybe we oughta call ourselves, at (207) 581-… gosh, look at the time, willya? Hey, 23 skiddoo!
Kim: I hate to cite David Broder, but he’s the only link I can find to this story from the late Paul Wellstone, that captures what Bill Clinton has that Obama can never hope to have–
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/103002/opi_1086110.shtml
Two years earlier, Wellstone said, Clinton came to Minnesota at the end of a long day of stumping for Democratic candidates in three states. Wellstone had sent word to the White House that he would have with him, in the airport receiving line, a constituent who was a great political buff and was now facing terminal cancer. If the president could spend a minute with him, it would be wonderful.
It was near midnight when Clinton came off the plane. Wellstone introduced the constituent and the president said he would be right back. “And then,” Wellstone said, “he took us into the holding room in the hangar, and for 45 minutes, at the end of a day that had started before dawn for him in Washington, they talked. Clinton never said a word about his illness, but he talked about every issue in the news and listened to everything my constituent had to say. It was the greatest gift he could have given him.”
Ronald Reagan did a lot for California when he closed all the mental health hospitals. We are still suffering from the effects decades later.
Moderator – why are my comments not getting thru?
I want to know if that baby in the MOVEOn.ORg add is really her child – if not, she could be violating rules.
What say ye?
I got the ActBlue email. Apparently an error on their part, but they must be working to raise for Obama. What is interesting, though, is there was some controversy over this when Edwards used it to fundraise.. it’s a PAC after all. Food for thought.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6947.html
They were great in the White House, we all know that. The homeless problem in America is a legacy of Reaganomics isn’t it?
Gary— this just in for you:
http://www.washingtonblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=19082
Thank you, “GaryChapelHill”!
I feel I’m not only working on behalf of Hillary; but for
Bill’s reputation as well.
The Obama camp can’t get away with this “TACTICAL”
move of trashing “both” Clinton’s.
I always knew the Republicans didn’t “GET IT” as to why we love them . Now I see their own party doesn’t “GET IT” either!
Gary, this was so great. Thank you for all the work you did on it
I, too, have been outraged by the way Bill has been treated by
the media, the DNC, and especially by Obama, this campaign.
That alone would make me not vote for him, and then
there’s so much else. He’s just such a mean, nasty man, in
addition to being incompetent, inexperienced, a liar, etc.
I wonder if there’s a way to get Bill to see this. It’s a wonder-
ful summary of so much that he did. He’s been trashed so
much, it would be nice for him to know that so many of us
still love, respect and appreciate him and what he did.
Another Reagan accomplishment: he threw 300,000 people off SS Disability simply in order to make them reapply.
I’m a Gay Democrat, 65, and can well remember that Ronald R never mentioned AIDS. However, neither did the Democratic Congress who could and should have. There are no political heroes from that period. Barney Frank was still in the closet as I recall. We had to do all that followed mostly by ourselves — including the Names Project that was on display across the street from the US Capital three weeks before Clinton was elected.
They did the same thing to Hillary’s foreign policy experience. Since Obama can only claim living in Indonesia from ages 6-10 to qualify him for the presidency, they had to discredit Hillary’s acclaimed work in Ireland, Macedonia, Africa, China and travel in over 80 countries. She was just having “tea parties.” Now, they are trying to do the same to McCain’s war record. All of this to distract from the gaping void of Obama’s inexperience.
Shameless. And yet another reason to reject his candidacy and work actively against it.
Gary, this is a wonderfully informative post. Obama’s (and others’) denigration of Pres. Clinton’s legacy is shameful and unforgiveable.
aw, heck, I forgot about the closed parenthesis thingy
I’m posting from Ireland and we love Bill and Hillary and will be forever grateful for their efforts in bringing and end to “The Troubles”.
I have to say that :
I am horrified that the Clinton legacy is being trashed by this upstart and his campaign;
I am disgusted that the Clintons have been wrongly branded as racist by this upstart and his campaign;
I am appalled that Dean and his cronies have been allowed to promote this upstart to the position of presumptive nominee;
I am dismayed that the MSM have not gone to the trouble of investigating this upstart and those who are behind his campaign.
I truly hope that the upstart’s campaign implodes between now and the convention, otherwise, I hope that Hillary is allowed to speak and, takes the opportunity to shaft him and wave goodbye to a party that has allowed the wholesale demeaning of her husband and her’s achievements.
My fear is that the American people will elect the upstart – after all Bush got there not once but twice…
I don’t understand all the hate for bill and Hillary. I never have, and I never will. These individuals have done so much for this country… Me and my dad were Hillary supporters from the beginning, and we were one of the first voters, coming from Iowa. I wish so much that Hillary won… I’m scared that mccain might win. Hillary won the swing states… And obama didn’t. That scares me. We may not win this November!!! The media was so extreamly 1 sided, it wasn’t even funny. During those depressing months febuary-June, it was litterally painful to watch CNN and other news outlets bash Hillary. If they even tried to be fair, things may have been different.
[...] Obama campaign trashed Bill Clinton’s legacy. I’m glad to hear he is mad. Every democrat who enjoyed peace and prosperity during Bill [...]
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