The Pathology of Clinton-Bashing

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The Pathology of Clinton-Bashing

March 4, 2002

By Ritchie

What is it about the Bill Clinton?

Following eight years of relative peace and prosperity, conservatives
now blame the former President for everything short of the
Lindbergh kidnapping. Presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer
last week announced that the recent violence in Israel and
the West Bank was caused, not by the Bush Administration's
disengagement, but by Bill Clinton's attempt to broker a peace
deal between the two sides. On a daily basis, somewhere in
America, there is a newspaper or magazine editorial that bashes
Bill Clinton for one perceived shortcoming or another. One
recent editorial claimed that if Clinton hadn't been fooling
around with Monica Lewinsky, all those FBI agents investigating
the infamous blue dress would have been free to flush out
terrorists. This assumes that the President specifically requested
a four-year probe into his personal life.

And when Clinton's dog was hit by a car in December, it was
yet more evidence of the former President's immoral character.
While all previous Presidents had their critics, it is nothing
like that venom directed at Bill Clinton between 1992 and
2000, and which is still freely flowing today. Why do conservatives
loathe him in ways that they never hated Jimmy Carter or John
F. Kennedy or Harry Truman? The reason, I think, is that their
hated of Bill Clinton has its roots in psychology and not
politics.

Conservatives today are furious over what they see as a series
of stinging political and cultural defeats, but their problem
is that the one man they should be blaming is also the one
man they could never possibly blame. I am referring, of course,
to Ronald Reagan.

Far-fetched? Hardly. In the twentieth century, conservative
political identity has been linked to small government, fiscal
responsibility, and opposition to communism. Conservatives
view themselves as the pious champions of small-town values
like a reverence for religion and for the law. And Ronald
Reagan was their president.

The problem was that by the time the 1980's were over, the
Reagan Administration had made a mockery of their core beliefs.
Despite his rhetoric to the contrary, Ronald Reagan did not
limit the size of the government; the federal payroll actually
increased under his administration. Budget deficits, long
an anathema to Main Street Republicans, grew to stunning levels
courtesy of the first Reagan budget. And it took a series
of tax increases (supported by many those same fiscally conservative
Republicans, lead by Kansas Sen. Robert Dole) to set the federal
budget back on something like an even keel.

In a decade defined by its corporate greed, it seemed to
conservatives that far too many of their President's friends
were feeding at the trough. There were scandals involving
the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who accepted
bribes from major polluters, and then there was the President's
Chief of Staff who accepted gifts from the same Japanese corporations
who were decimating the American auto industry. Finally, there
came the revelation that while the Administration talked tough
on terrorism, it was actually selling military supplies to
Islamic radicals in the Middle East.

Religious conservatives, meanwhile, politely ignored that
fact that Ronald Reagan was a man of no discernible religious
convictions, despite his ability to repeat pious axioms on
cue. They ignored the fact that he was divorced, that his
second child was conceived out of wedlock, that he once fell
asleep during an audience with the Pope. They even ignored
that fact that even though he promised it regularly, the President
never backed legislation to legalize school prayer or to outlaw
abortion.

Blue collars workers who voted for Reagan were rewarded with
plant closures and a federal government that provided tax
incentives to corporations that relocated overseas. Fiscal
conservatives were rewarded with a $3 trillion increase in
the national debt and what seemed like no possibility of relief.
Religious conservatives were rewarded with a stony silence
by the administration on their most cherished programs.

Their hero, the champion of their values, had sold them out
entirely.

Conservatives found themselves in a difficult position. Having
invested so much of their identity in his presidency and having
adopted Reagan as a national father figure, it would required
a conservative of no small emotional fortitude to repudiate
him. Just as abused children will continue to identify with
their abusive parent, conservatives continued to identify
with and to defend Ronald Reagan. Hating Ronald Reagan for
the gross abuse of their trust was simply not an option, even
though it was clear that Reagan was not a conservative, at
least not by any definition they themselves would have used
prior to 1980.

Conservatives knew that they were responsible for shackling
their country with trillions of dollars in debt that their
children and grandchildren would have to repay. They knew
that their government had negotiated with and paid ransom
to terrorists who then turned around kidnapped and murdered
more Americans. They knew that the Reagan Administration had
been conducting a covert war in Central America that resulted
in tens of thousands of murders that included women, children,
and — in one particularly appalling case — four
American nuns.

So what ails conservatives? It appears to be something that
strongly resembles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While one
can observe nearly all the typical symptoms of PTSD in conservative
behavior, I think that four in particular are worth noting:

Inability to recall key aspects of the trauma: Reagan supporters
appear to be suffering from Alzheimer's Disease themselves,
unable to recall the murder of 240 U.S. Marines in their barracks
in Lebanon, but able to recall in detail the deaths of 24
US Army Rangers in Somalia.

Foreshortened Sense of the Future: Based on their fiscal
and environmental priorities, Republicans seem to have a carpe
diem attitude about the future. No Social Security? No Ozone
Layer? No Problem!

Irritability or Outbursts of Anger: Notice the booming memberships
in paramilitary militia groups during the past decade. Timothy
McVeigh, who was treated with kid gloves compared to the abuse
directed toward John Walker Lindh, continues to be the poster-boy
for conservative anger.

Exaggerated Startle Response: Following the September 11
terrorist attacks, the Bush Administration activated a "shadow
government" of some 100 bureaucrats. A plan devised during
the Cold War in the event of nuclear war, it was never activated
even during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As the years passed and defending the Reagan legacy was clearly
untenable, conservatives' rage needed an outlet, which they
found in the person of William Jefferson Clinton. It was not
enough to merely defeat Clinton in the 1992 election, it was
emotionally imperative that he be destroyed and humiliated.
He should, to use Clinton's own words, feel their pain. Even
before his election, conservative publisher Richard Mellon
Scaife was funding a series of investigations into Bill Clinton's
past that would eventually become Whitewater.

They portrayed Clinton as a spendthrift Democrat, until the
federal budget began to balance in the mid-1990's, and then
they claimed (however implausibly) that the economic good
times were actually the result of policies enacted by Ronald
Reagan some fifteen years earlier. They portrayed the Clinton
Administration as corrupt, hurling a half-dozen independent
prosecutors and Clinton and his staff, and the result was
not a single appointee convicted for a crime relating to actions
as part of the Clinton Administration. They portrayed Clinton
as a liar, under the perverse logic that lying about one's
personal life is worse than Ronald Reagan's lying about multiple
felonies committed by his staff as part of White House policy.

That Bill Clinton should have escaped them was all the more
infuriating to conservatives. After eight years of relentless
hammering, their bete noir left office with an approval
rating that was even higher than that of Ronald Reagan. The
wrath of God never descended on William Jefferson Clinton,
and he would retire to the friendly confines of New York City
to write his memoirs and hit the lecture circuit. With a majority
of Americans still approving of Bill Clinton's job performance,
conservatives like William Bennett could only grouse about
a decline in national character.

Unlike other disorders, this one holds out little hope for
effective treatment because there is a well-financed and highly-visible
group that constants stokes the fires of hatred. The Republican
Party and its handmaiden, the national media, will continue
to portray Bill Clinton in the worst possible light, just
as they will continue to make excuses for Ronald Reagan and
his abysmal record as Chief Executive. Those who wish to live
comfortably with their delusion will never lack for enablers.

 

Jeff Ritchie is a Democratic Party activist who lives in
Cincinnati, Ohio.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/03/04_bashing.html" target="_blank">Found Here”

“What is with the Clinton defenders? They ignore the facts and theorize everything Clinton did was for the greater good.”

“Too many words?”

“Think he sucked!

8)”

“What? I still blame Reagan for everything.”

“what facts are being ignored?”

“...if you find a person that you've never seen before getting in a crop duster that doesn't belong to you -- report it!

George W. Bush, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011011-7.html”

“Oh my god!!! Bacpac single-handedly refuted that whole article. Your logic is stunning! What an insight! I mean, the facts you quoted just floored Violin, I'm sure.”

“donman, How bout the fact that Clinton committed a few felonies.”

“Good gawd people! He's gone! Let it fukking go...”

“I find it amusing that both conservatives and liberals think the other side controls the press.

I would vote for Mr. Clinton if he could run again. He is an incredibly intelligent and able man.

When Ronald Reagan ran for president I thought it was a big joke--it never occurred to me that he would be elected--twice. What is it with Republicans nominating dim bulbs? I keep thinking they could do better.”

“The guy is a show boater who stood for nothing but Bill, and Bill only!

His morals as a leader, repeated liar and his only motivation to be the popular guy, sickened me everytime I heard him speak!!

Also, becareful about the rhetoric you believe about a great president, Reagan, I know you'll only read your easy to read liberal sites, but if you take a look at places like www.cbo.gov and read into what he did that kept this country going while others died! I can only imagine how much more could have been done if his proposed budget cuts were allowed to happen. And yes his proposed cuts, even with his massive defense, were less every year except 1984!

Thats enough...too much info for a Saturday!

live well...”

“Should have been more clear...the proposed cuts were less than the democratic congress budget's...

Sorry again I'm sure no one cares!!!”

“Clinton singlehandedly raised Richard Nixon from the dead and resurrected his tarnished image.
Clinton, by word and deed, showed Nixon's lies and transgressions to be puny and inconsequential when compared to the many and varied accomplishments of Der Slickmeister himself.
The Nixon family probably thanks God that Clinton was born and elected President. Now and for eternity, Nixon cannot possibly be rated less than second worst president - he will always have Clinton to look down at.”

“Clinton was a living foreign policy nightmare. We are dealing with his legacy of f*ckups right now. Let me give you just a few examples of his policy disasters.
(1) Somolia. We go in to help feed children and wind up chasing warlord Adid around. Nineteen U.S. Army Rangers get killed when they are trapped in Mogedishu (sp?) on the ground in light vehicles. Why? Les Aspin (Clinton's Defense Secretary) refused field commanders requests for Abrams tanks and even lightly armored personnel carriers. Clinton didn't want to upset the natives. Then after the deaths what does Clinton do? He cuts and runs. Today Somolia hates us and is a haven for terrorists.
(2)Bosnia. The story was Hillary hadn't spoken with Bill in over a month because once again Bill has been caught at his favorite pastime (screwing women young enough to be his daughter). She takes a trip to Bosnia and the media sells her a bill of goods about Serbian atrocities. Trouble is most of what they tell her is all lies. Hillary gets on the phone and tells Bill he better do something. Bill, trying to suck up and get back in Hillary's good graces does something. In we go and we're still there. What is it, six, eight years later? And guess what, we will be there for the next decade at least.
(3) The WTC and embassies in Kenya and some other African country are bombed. (Plus Bill is getting plenty of heat over his lies about Monica now.) What does Clinton do? He wags the dog real good. He bombs an aspirin factory in the Sudan. Later we (the American taxpayers) pay for the aspirin factory and the Sudanese hates us more than ever. They're a haven for terrorist now too.
(4) NATO/Yugoslavia. Once again Bill wants to be the world's savior and him and that flop earred idiot British Prime Minister Tony Blair decide to use NATO to bully Yugoslavia. We use an organization that's charter specifically states its purpose is the defensive in nature. What happens? The Russians have been paranoid for a hundred years. They have always worried that NATO would be the tool the Americans would use to flank nad possibly invade them. So they do something to protect themselves. They start signing defense pacts with the ChinComs. Thanks a lot Bill!

Now is Dubya any better? No, he's just another idiot dragging us into foreign entanglements and fighting proxy wars for Israel.

I'll be glad when he is gone just like I was glad when Bill left.”

“Is that pathological enough for you Violin?”

“what i love is that the right was whining about the stricter environmental rules imposed by clinton and how it would hurt business and cost jobs.However corporate america saw its greatest profit gains and market cap under all those stiffling regulations.O yea,lowest unemployment figures ever(?).Lets not forget how bad the min. wage increase hurt business-another lie put forth by the right wing lunacy.”

“left...........................right”

“I'll give credit where credit is due.

He handled the economy well.

Everything else about his eight years sucked, with his environmental policies the absolute worst.”

“nowhere near as bad as GW enviro policy”

“The fact is the economy handled itself under Bill Clinton. The collapse of the Soviet Union opened new markets. The internet created a brand new multi-billion Dollar market. The 'contract with America' reduced the cost for social services. We and the world discovered during the Gulf War that America was the super power and investing in the US skyrocketed.”

“This is so tiresome--we never change each other's minds.”

“bacpac,u never run out of excuses.Using yer logic i guess the economic expansion of the 80s wasnt due to Reagan(God to some) but the economy being able to handle itself.Guess reagan wasnt so great after all!”

“Hee-Haw!

Pathology is the right word for it!

What we've got here in America right now is good old Mad Dog Conservatism.

Some on these guys sound like good little limbaugh sycophants.

Yeah, go on, tell it like HE says!”

“davex, Who is making excuses? Making excuses is something the Democrats have been saddled with.

Mary, How can you support a man who treated women so badly and made so many poor choices in his personal and political life?”

“bacpac -- are you talking about reagan?

The man who slept around on his first wife, slept around after his divorce, and slept around on his second wife?

The same reagan, who as president of SAG, made it clear good movie roles would only go to women who slept with him?

The same reagan that publicy stated in 'Variety' "Religion is for suckers. We need to get these religious leaders out of the studios" referring to the efforts of religious groups to clean up the movies.

The only reason didn't sleep with the White House interns is he was to old to get it up anymore.”

“No man or government can control the United States economy. But if the Democrats here on TT want to believe that let them. Independents and Republicans should let them have their way. Trouble is that the vaunted New Economy of the 90s was a bubble. The 5000 point Nasdaq of 1999 is where? Down around 1800! Both the Dow and the S&P500 are way down and they have been since 1999. If memory serves me correct, Clinton was still in office. The whole Nasdaq miracle was a sham of Wall St. Just like Clinton's presidentcy. Nothing but the hot air of lies.”

“......and the buzzing of flies”

“Clinton was a mixed bag. I never liked him much. The sexual sleaze was no surprise to me. As early as the NH primary and his handling of the Gennifer Flowers scandal he just looked slick and slimy. His foreign policy was mediocre and he seldom showed much courage. His management of the economy and the budget deficit was the only pleasant surprise.

The Clinton haters seemed nuts to me. But no matter how overboard they went, it doesn't take away from the fact that the married middle aged head of the government was involved in a lop sided sexual relationship with one of the least powerful members of the organization. Add to that the fact that he was married and more than twice her age, and that she was young insecure and confused and you have a guy who put his pen!s over his country, over loyalty and ethics in a very big way.

Personally I think the lies and betrayal involved in Iran-Contra and the hypocrisy involved in the whole Lebanon intervention (up to and including the aftermath of the Marine barracks bombing) were a bigger deal.

How many Clinton Bashers sounded appalled by Newy Gingrich?”

“Handled the economy well? He didn’t do a damn thing…what are you talking about? His quick fixes helped no one.

Reagan didn't do it in the White House, and he didn't lie about it to the whole world?

Personally, if I was caught screwing my assistant I'd be canned...I didn't expect that he be fired, but I would have expected him to take responsibility for his actions! But that’s too much to ask, because like so many liberals, it’s not my fault…someone else caused it… no accountability to anything!!!”

“Where do all these people who've never posted before come from (fiftyplus & Itsonlynatural)? They suddenly appear out of the woodwork to jump into political discussions. Probably never see them again, either. Weird.

I can only imagine how much more could have been done if his proposed budget cuts were allowed to happen. Yeah, me too!

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the NEW YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, brought to you by ENRON CORPORATION, aka The Crooked E. Over there is where Old Faithful used to erupt every 2 hours or so. What a waste! We, at Enron, know a valuable commodity when we see one, so we tapped Old Faithful for her geothermal energy potential. Not quite as exciting, but hey! That's one less barrel of oil we have to buy from those theiving middle eastern types, right? Dog Bless America!"”

“If Clinton Bashers were truely concerned with morality there would have been outrage at Newtie Gingrich also.

The lies and treasonous behavior of Reagan in trading with the enemy(Iran) were just a prelude to the murder and rape and torture in Central America which was financed by the illegal weapons trade.
That "fund-raising" venture was an end-run around the U.S. Congress and its constitutional function of controlling how the money is spent.

Reagan and his henchmen cooked up the "War" in Grenada as a "wag the dog" to cover the stench of the botched intervention in Lebanon.

Hmm, some of those Hollywood types are real "swordsmen".
I heard that Frank "The Crank" Sinatra shagged Nancy Reagan IN the Whitehouse.
'Spose that was payback for Ronnie's "youthful indiscretions".
I wonder if they used the Lincoln Bedroom.”

“Since when do all liberals take responsibility for nothing?

Why do so many buy that propaganda?


It would only be fair then to say that all conservatives are as evil and dishonest as Ronald Reagan.”

“Tom, I think the deal was they boffed in the Oval Office on Ronnie's desk.

"Hey, what's this sticky mess on these Iran-Contra papers? Oh well, I guess I'll shred 'em..."”

“Nancy stole the silverware too!”

“Did it ever go out of vogue?

Suddenly, it's cool to be rude about Dubya again

A batch of books and films portray Bush as inept, ending a six-month truce

The Bush files - Observer special

Lawrence Donegan
Sunday March 10, 2002
The Observer

He's back. Six months after his transformation from national joke into indefatigable statesman, George W. Bush was on vintage form at a recent concert given in his honour. As Stevie Wonder took the stage, the President started waving to the blind musician, only to drop his hand when he realised his mistake. 'I know I shouldn't have, but I started laughing,' one witness said.

LMAO!”

“Newt Gingrich should have resigned.”

“I said 'most' liberals, not all, and that's my opinion based on living in one of the most wacko liberal states in the US, Minnesota. So many taxes so little responsibility, I continue to pay for liberals voting on bills that make them feel better by taking care of people that won't take care of themselves. I have personally witnessed some(not all) immigrants saying how dumb the American people are with there money. They wonder why so many of us work so hard when we could just collect checks from the government? I’m sorry, but after hearing that first hand it makes one really think…

...and Kleetn, what was with using my quote? You don't agree? See something wrong with it, or just like to talk?

For being new to the site, I guess newcomers can't post? So what's the waiting period? Can someone let me know when I may post again?”

“Wow! I certainly didn’t mean to stir up so much controversy. I just thought it was interesting that the author traced the origins of Clinton hatred to a pathological condition apparently brought on from betrayal by Ronald Reagan, the conservative’s father figure.”

“BTW: the original article was kinda kyute, but pretty far-fetched.

As far as the economy, the balanced budget and the surpluses speak for themselves. I never was a Clinton fan, but it takes an ideologue - or someone very uninformed to deny him credit for that.

LOL! on Violin not meaning to stir up controversy.”

“Don't apologize!

Most of the regular posters here are scientifically, historically, or socially illiterate and get their information Captain Planet comic books or Rush Limbaugh. They are incapable of rational thought or analysis of cause-and-effect. Politically correct nostrums and 30-second sound bites are their mantra.

Lobbing grenades at them is fun.”

“OK... Gordon now you have gone too far. How dare you put down Captain Planet comix!!???!???!?!?!

You Verminous Skumm... you Luten Plunder, you Duke Nukem you!!!!

Earth, Fire, Water, Wind and Heart!!!!!”

“Ronald Reagan was a feel-good conservative. He did the fun stuff like cutting taxes and spending more on defense but when it came to the tough job of cutting back on the size of government – what conservatives insist is the way to make Americans more self-reliant and thus more moral – Reagan betrayed conservatism’s ideals. Who wanted to take on popular programs like Social Security, Medicare, education, highways and farm subsidies? He didn’t even press Congress to attempt it; he was too busy being popular. Just cut taxes and it will starve government into reducing spending. Yeah right. We woke up years later like kids who gorged on Halloween candy – feeling sick and slightly ashamed. We now have Democrats preaching fiscal conservatism and responsibility. Bizarre role reversal, no?”

“Yeah, I like the guy. He had a down-home aw shucks demeaner and the entire country treated him like a favorite uncle. I even agree with with politically on a few points. But let's face it -- as CEO of the executive branch of government he sucked. If he was a private sector CEO he would have been fired by the Board of Directors after 6 months for incompetence. I am puzzled why the repubs want to deify him when he betrayed the party ideology.

Even the hard-core right wing-nut free-market economists now concede he was not a fiscal conservative. These same conservatives would rather cut out their own tongues than admit clinton handled the economy better than reagan (clinton's only point in his favor).

To make things really bizarre consider that Carter the democrat was more politically conservative than Bush 1 the republican. And which one is villified and which one is lauded?

Look at Colin Powell. He claims he is a republican, yet his viewpoints on social issues are straight out of the democratic platform.

Partisan politics are hilarious when viewed from the sidelines as an observer.”

“I'm identifying with you more everyday! I apologize for figuring you as a "the party does no wrong" kinda guy!”

“itsonlynatural, Conservatives are always welcome on this site. Some of the regular posters have a pattern of switching identities whenever controversy arises. This has lead to a suspicion of all new posters.

Aside from that Kleety is just a trouble maker and we usually ignore him.”

“Don't identify with him too much, or we might have "gordonman."”

“Newt Gingrich may have been a Republican rat but at least he had the moral courage to resign. Clinton being the self grandizing meglomanic he is, didn't.

Iran-Contra was nothing but Reagan fulfilling a promise made to people on the battlefield putting their lives on the line. The sorry asses in Congress renegned on than promise. Reagan was man enough to stand by his word.

And by-the-way. I get a kick out of people moaning that the Clinton bashers won't quit. Then they pile on Reagan, a man elected 20 years ago and out of office for 12!
Talk about swallowing a whale and choking on a gnat.”

“gordon-
I had you pegged for a conservative apologist and you are quite honest about this crap!

solitary hiker-
"Reagan was man enough to stand by his word"???
Yeah, and steal and lie and commit treason to finance a band of terrorist thugs in Central America whose mission was to perpetuate banana/coffee republics.......colonial states.
That's what the "wars" in Central America are all about.

War is a racket(a money-maker) and Reagan didn't let the law stand in the way of that enterprise.
Every bullet fired is money in the bank.

Violin-
You are a vile trouble-maker!”

“I think there are many people who would love to let Reagan's legacy stand by itself except for two issues.
1.There are too many so-called "conservatives" who want to glorify Reagan even to the point of putting his face on Mt Rushmore.
2.It is natural for people to get fatigued with hearing that everything is Clinton's fault. Sometimes people like to point out that much of what "conservatives" disdain can be attributed to Reagan.

Back by less than half the voters demand! It's The Return of Reagan! His IQ is lower, and his memory is just as bad! Showing now in a White House near you!”