2005-10-11

Why do conservatives hate the Democrats, again?

I honestly never understood the bilious, visceral, jihad-like hatred conservatives harbored for Bill Clinton. Which part of the agenda did he not push--and more shrewdly than GW Bush? Sure, he wasn't zealous on abortion or teaching creationsism in school. But still. That's a topic for later. Let's focus on things happening now.

Here is an article by Alexander Cockburn showing that the mainline of the Democratic Party is actually more serious about the Iraq War than GW Bush himself. Warning to reformed leftists: to get to that part, you'll have to sit through a diatribe showing that the various torture scandals have been successfully covered up (as much by the Democrats as the Republicans).

Here, for our purposes, is the money quote:

Insofar as there is an official position on the war from congressional Democrats it's presumably the "US Army Relief Act" put forward by Senators Joseph Lieberman, Hillary Clinton, Bill Nelson and Jack Reed and Reps Ellen Tauscher and Mark Udall. Reed, Tauscher and Udall are among the most liberal Democrats on the Hill. The resolution calls for the increase in US military troop strength by 80,000 over the next four years.

This is not a position that is finding much favor among American voters. The recent CNN poll registered just 8 per cent of respondents, both Democrats and Republicans, as supporting an increase in US troop strength in Iraq.


Now, what is it, presicely, that you reformed leftists find so objectionable about these people?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Tom, I don't hate Democrats, but I do hate the radical left that has bought and paid for the Democrat party. Heck, I voted for Clinton in 96. And while in retrospect I think he’s a dirtbag and he brought his problems upon himself I was completely opposed to the way the Repos tried to bring him down. Not because I thought he didn't deserve it, but because I knew what kind of Pandora's Box they were opening by doing so.

Impeaching Clinton was the catalyst for the bitter division we have in this country currently. I'm angry at the Repos for going after Clinton the way they did, but I'm also angry at Clinton for putting himself in that position by being unable to control his personal life and to keep his dick in his pants for the term of his presidency. I have no pity for him.

I'm also angry that he allowed his personal life to interfere with him performing his duties as President, the job of protecting the country. 9-11 may have occurred on President Bush's watch and he rightly deserves at least some responsibility for it, but the planning for it was taking place while Clinton was in office and in my opinion he deserves his share, if not more of the blame for 9-11, not to mention the assortment of other terrorist attacks that occurred on his watch without any serious reprisals. I really think he was always too concerned about his "legacy" and that prevented him from ever taking any real action against the radical Islamists who are out to destroy us.

I like Joe Lieberman. I think he’s a good man. He was the only one of the Democratic Presidential primary candidates who had a clue as far as I’m concerned. Had he won the nomination I very well may have voted for him, but the Democratic Party had been so hijacked by the radical left by that point that there was no chance he’d get the nod.

So, there you go. I don’t hate Democrats. I really don’t even hate liberals. What I do despise however are useful idiot leftists.

Paul Hue said...

Tom: I find no difference between the attitudes of "blame Clinton for everything" repos and the "blame Bush for everything" liberals. Do you? Do you really believe that all the prosperity of the '90s was due to Clinton's actions? I think that the '09s prosperity was about 70% real, and 30% fake, with Clinton responsible for niether the real prosperity nor the real fake prosperity.

The real prosperity of the '90s that we can attribute to the federal government came from the actions of the repo congress and senate, with Clinton disappointing you by either joining them, or not fighting them enough. The fake prosperity of the '90s (accounting scandals and overhyped internet stocks, etc.) had little to do with the federal government. Yet liberals in unison exclaim: "It was better under Clinton!" Sure it was. But 30% (or so) of the "better" was fake, and Bush took office just as the correction took place. And of the 70% of the "better" that we real, Clinton had nothing to do with. What economic efforts of his can you attribute with assisting the real growth of the '90s? I will credit him with welfare reform, but of course that was a consession to heartless capitalist pigs like me.

Thus I agree with part of your argument. Clinton faced a repo house and senate, and they had much more control over the economy than he did. Meanwhile, Bush actually gets to make economic proposals, and some actually get passed (tax cuts), but some not (social security reform).

Mostly I suppose the repos hated Clinton because of the social issues, which is where I support him: Abortion rights, school prayer, etc. And they know that he doesn't really support free market policies, that he merely concedes to their popularity.

He only beat Bush I and Dole, who are surely no exciting free marketeers, nor are they ardent christian fundimentalists. So you would think that the repos wouldn't be so mad at him... plus he only won because Ross Perot split the right (just as Bush II only won the first time because Nadir split the left). So that doesn't seem like grounds for massive hatred.

Thus I suppose I agree with your point here. The Lewinski deal I'm glad he got screwed there, becaue he successfully pushed the very law that enabled Jennifer Flowers to sue him for sexual assault based merely on her own accusation, and to subpena other women's testimony to prove a pattern. That was a terrible petard upon which I am very glad that he got hoisted, though I sadly report this did not lead to its repeal. Repos generally opposed this law (as well should anybody who cherishes liberty), then of course embraced it when Clinton fell within its jaws.

Unknown said...

Oh come on Tom, seriously, nobody knew what the hell Kerry stood for or what he would do about ANYTHING! I've never seen a politician talk in circles the way he does.

The only reason he got the nod, even from the far-left, was that they figured he was the only one out of that group of Bozos who could win. Thus the birth of the phrase "Anybody But Bush!".

Nadir said...

Slinger said: " Tom, I don't hate Democrats, but I do hate the radical left that has bought and paid for the Democrat party."

You're delusional. The radical left can't get the Democratic party to listen to them. The Democratic Party is nearly as right-wing as the Republicans. This is why Clinton signed NAFTA and why Kerry/Edwards and other Dems support the war in Iraq.

Slinger says: "I'm angry at the Repos for going after Clinton the way they did, but I'm also angry at Clinton for putting himself in that position by being unable to control his personal life and to keep his dick in his pants for the term of his presidency. I have no pity for him."

Clinton just got caught with his semen on someone's dress. Other presidents have certainly been guilty of transgressions. Clinton's crime is that he got caught.

You like Joe Lieberman because, like John Kerry, he is a moderate Republican who is pro-choice.

Paul says: "(just as Bush II only won the first time because Nadir split the left)."

Don't blame me. I'm just a musician.

Slinger says: "Thus the birth of the phrase "Anybody But Bush!"."

The birth of the phrase "Anybody but Bush" originated way before Kerry got the nomination. Kerry was not liked by the radical left. His nomination split the left because he talked like a liberal and acted like a conservative. The Republicans successfully painted him as a waffling liberal and played on the fear of the American right. Plus they cheated a little.

The Democratic Leadership Council (of which Clinton was a charter member) is the right-wing of the Democratic Party. They pushed for Kerry, they undercut Howard Dean (then the real voice of the left side of the Democratic Party), and in my opinion scuttled the Dems' chances for winning by presenting a platform that didn't distance itself enough from the Republican platform.

The two most important factors in the 2004 election were the war and the economy, and the Dems failed to offer an alternative to the miserable plan that was already in place.

During the election I documented the Democratic Party's move to the right on my forum. Check it out when you get a minute.
http://www.distortedsoul.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=252