Much as I respect Clinton, and I do, he's wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong:
During his more than two-hour marathon session with the newly empowered Democrats, Clinton gave the caucus a series of admonitions about how they should govern from Capitol Hill.... Clinton told House Democrats not to over-reach in their ambitions, not to go too far in their priorities and to instead accept compromises with President Bush on small initiatives that show they can govern effectively.
"If you can't get a dollar and you can get a dime, take a dime every time," Clinton told the lawmakers, according to one attendee who kept notes on the talk. "Make incremental progress if you can."
Wrong. Bill's been hanging out with 41 too much, and something rubbed off.
The Republicans stole that dollar. It's the Democrat's job to kick the Republicans in the nads, take the dollar back, and then settle down to a systematic stomping so the Republicans never walk again. The Republicans brought us the Iraq Clusterfuck
, turned us into a nation of torturers, trashed the Constitution, and tried to steal Social Security. Not to mention the whole Matthew 6:5 thing. Fuck dimes, and fuck the Clintons. Both of 'em--it's a two-fer.
Clinton wants to party like its 1995. But this is 2007. Things are a little different now, aren't they?
1. Instead of a nut job for a House Speaker, we've got a nut job for a President, armed with nuclear weapons, who wants to double down on the lethal trillion-dollar bad bet he made in Iraq by going to war with Iran. The issue isn't whether the Dems can pass a fucking school uniform bill, but how to reassert Congressional war powers.
2. Instead of Federalist Society nut jobs hanging out with Arkansas bait dealers and spending millions to impeach a President over a blowjob, we've got Federalist Society nut jobs in the White House basement, churning out signing statements, gutting the Geneva convention, justifying torture, and inventing bizarre doctrines like "inherent authority" to replace Constitutional government with authoritarian rule.
We're in a Constitutional crisis. This incremental shit you're talking about is exactly what the country doesn't need.
Unless--and I hate to say this, look how long my resolution not to write about Hillary lasted--authoritarian rule is just fine with Our Bill, if Hillary is the authority.
Just a thought, and I know it puts me in with the black helicopter crowd. But still....
- lambert's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Front page
Comments
helicopters…that’s what
helicopters...that's what i was hearing.
It goes a long way back
Clinton's an old hand with the incrementalism. It goes back to when he lost the governor's race in Arkansas in 1980. From that point he's become increasingly pragmatic, though you can still hear traces of that old idealism in some of his speeches. If you haven't read his autobiography, I recommend it highly - it's one of the best studies of the evolution of a politician I've read.
Still, Clinton was the right man at the right time for America in a lot of ways; he's a damn sight better than what we've had since. You're right, though, it's time to look beyond incrementalism. But if you want to look beyond incrementalism, then perhaps it's time to look beyond the Democratic Party.
...for the rest of us
...for the rest of us
Lambwert on Clinton
I have to agree with Lambert. This is no time to play patty-cake politics. Example: Bush is asking for $300+ specifically to fight a war in Iraq. Why not just say a specific "no" to that specific war? Haven't we killed enough of our own and enough Iraquis by now? Let Bush and Gates fight their war with regular DOD monies. They can't and won't. Come on, Big Dog; this isn't about being clever; it's about our soul.
Clinton allowed the seed
...of the corporatist problem we have today to develop.
The man was far better at governing than the current administration. But he was and remains a sophisticated version of the old time corrupt Southern populist politician, pandering to the public in public, owned by the bizness in private.
The damage he did the Democracy is incalculable. We shouldn't be blinded by his relative competence. We should in no way allow him even by proxy into the White House again, because it will lead to Company control increasing over us all, in ways most of us can not see.
The only good thing about Bu$hCo is that it is so transparently evil.
The Clintonistas look good but act foul.
No Hell below us
Above us, only sky
No Hell below us
Above us, only sky