Oh No He Didn't!

Bill Clinton has done it again. I am having political dejavu. His recent behavior has once again taken my good faith and high opinion of him and crushed it. Just months ago I had forgotten the more torturous details of his administration and had come to respect him again as a former president of high honor. He has been out there fighting the good fight against poverty and disease. He has been busy writing books and talking to Oprah fans about giving and traveling the globe seeking to ease tensions. He doesn't quite have the focus and determination of Al Gore or the moral authority of Jimmy Carter, Bill is after all, mostly about Bill, but he has been a credible and admirable statesman. Someone who until recently has done America proud.

There was a time when I was enamored of the Clintons. I knocked on doors, phone banked and rallied during his campaign. Many of us had been devastated by the AIDS crisis... our cities were wracked by violence, our neighborhoods blighted by foreclosures. The rich seemed uncaring... the poor were enraged... the middle class was un-moored and tired of waiting for the elusive "trickle down effect" to lift their boats. Bill Clinton was relentless, eloquent and truly charming. It was a heady moment when the man from Hope triumphed against the apathy and agony of the times. I remember standing at the Arkansas Ball listening to Bill speak with tears streaming down my face. Here was a president that would tackle the AIDS crisis (or at least acknowledge it... something Reagan refused to do). He was married to a strong woman, possessed of a strong mind and his election gave me the strength to hope that America could once again be the land of opportunity for us all.

I also remember the day that damned blue dress came back from forensics. I had been adamant about the "vast right wing conspiracy" that had trumped up this Monica Lewinsky mess. I toed the party line and set about defending Bill Clinton based on his statement, ' I did not have sexual relations with that woman". Now mind you I did not believe a lot of things Bill Clinton said. I did not believe for instance that he "did not inhale". Defending him at that point was naïve to be sure, but I am no cynic. I was the last kid on the block to believe in Santa Claus. I am a believer by nature. And then the awful fateful truth was revealed and I was humiliated. I took it personally that he lied. I never believed Bill Clinton again.

The subsequent scandals... not to mention some very questionable policies like "Don't ask don't tell," NAFTA and the "Defense of Marriage Act" took their toll on the Democratic base. We still loved the guy, but it was like being in a bad marriage. The man was still charming and the mortgage was paid but the trust was broken and feelings were hurt. I think this is why Al Gore had a hard time of it. He was a fine candidate... and a fine man but too many good democrats were still licking our wounds. We were just not up for another fight. The vehemence and self righteousness of the right wing overwhelmed us. The left wing was depleted and not a little depressed.

Thus began the slow march to the hell of now. A stolen election went un-protested ... the inauguration of George w. Bush was a seen as a fact and not an outrage. We knew it was wrong, we just didn't care anymore. Then 9/11 happened and things got ugly. The kinder gentler tenure we thought we could endure morphed into our worst neo-con nightmare. The opportunity to engage as one nation and unite the World to our cause was squandered. Darkness fell in America.

Somewhere in the midst of this darkness the spirit of the Democratic Party awakened and we began to fight. We poured our resources and our hearts into the 06 elections and came away victorious. We are not alone. Independents and Republicans are also seeking the light of a new day. The whole citizenry has begun to rise up in great numbers and demand a new direction. Several politicians have emerged to lead this movement. All of them are qualified and even inspiring. Unfortunately one of them is married to Bill Clinton.

In the interest of unity I have been loathe to bring up the past and many of the painful memories of the Clinton era. I have chosen a different candidate, but I do not wish any ill on Hillary or her supporters. This feeling seemed mutual. Aside from a few angry feminists who have castigated me for choosing a male ... most of us have agreed to disagree. That is why the slash and burn tactics of the Clinton campaign are so hurtful.

It is unseemly for a former president to be sniping at reporters and railing against caucus rules and Primary dates. It is heartbreaking to watch him degrade and attack Barack Obama ... deliberately obscuring the facts and going for the cheapest of shots. During an election season this is referred to as 'throwing elbows". Any other time this would be called 'lying' and 'race-baiting".

My friends on the ground in the primary states report to me that the behavior of the Clinton campaign is appalling. Many of them are former supporters and it is truly upsetting for them to witness the "anything to win" tactics of the Clinton folks. I knew from the beginning, when Terry McAluffe arrived in LA and threatened "You are either with us or against us", that there was cause for concern. Now there is cause for alarm. This is not good for the Country and in the end it is not good for Hillary Clinton. They are at risk of fracturing the party that they hope to lead. There are some wounds that will never heal.

There is a war going on for the soul of the Democratic Party and there are arguments to be made on both sides. The Clintons have been sowing the seeds of a Hillary presidency for years. They are surely and rightfully anxious about the ascendance of the young man from Illinois. The Clintons have dominated the party for decades and not always for the good. The Bushes have embarrassed and exhausted many of the staunchest supporters of the right. That is why we must look at this election in the wider context of the state of the union. For the first time since 9/11 we have an opportunity to bring this country together. To do this Americans may well be wise to choose the new guard over the old.

On a recent trip to DC the city got hit by an abundance of snow. Cabs were scarce and I had to ride-share a taxi from Dulles to DC. My fellow passengers were both attorneys. One was a white male from Orange County self described as a conservative Christian and a Huckabee supporter. The other was a Canadian woman currently employed by our military to defend one of the detainees in Guantanamo. The man noticed my Obama 08 lapel pin, and a most surprising exchange took place. He explained to me that he was a "values voter" and maintained that if he could not elect Mike Huckabee then Barack Obama would be his second choice. A remarkable statement, but it made perfect sense to me. The two candidates are both Christians who walk the walk and this man like so many of us has grown weary of the "talk". We are all tired of the finger pointing, the half truths and the out and out lies of our supposedly righteous leaders. Tell us you made a mistake but please tell me us more lies.

I agreed with him and he with me on a wide variety of issues. We shared many of the same concerns. The woman in the front seat said little. She was clearly exhausted from 30 hours of travel. She had been to Yemen to interview her client's friends and family. The man had been held in isolation for years, the charges unclear. I tapped her shoulder, "I hope we aren't boring you with all of this talk of the election". She turned to face us and said: "It's an important conversation. I am Canadian and cannot participate, but I will say this ... for the sake of the whole world ... please vote and vote soon".

Exactly.

Comments

[LeoMarvin]

After 15 years of defending Bill Clinton from the Great Right Wing Conspiracy, the most disturbing thing about seeing his antics with Obama is the thought that I may owe some Republicans an apology.

[Thabit]

If Billary is nominated well thats it i wont vote for her

[Riverwolf]

Guess I'm a cynic because I don't believe it's possible to bring this country together--not when there are still strong opinions on abortion, gay rights, involvement in the Middle East, health care, and more. Let's be clear--are we talking about bringing Democrats together or the entire country? Two very different things.

[LeeFromVA]

Beth, this is a VERY thoughtful post, you are 100 percent correct. What many Democrats don't realize is that this is a fight for where the party goes from here. We have a very clear choice to make. We can stick with Hillary and hope for a 51 percent victory and then count on her fighting skills to win some minor victories; or, we can go with a unity candidate that will bring new people into the fold, and try to put the bitter past behind us. Obama is a dreamer, but he has his feet firmly planted on the ground. His plans for our country are detailed and well thought out. He's not a Ron Paul type candidate that appears wacko to the general public. The danger in going with Hillary is that the Democratic party will forever be fractured. You can't kill our dream and then expect our support in your partisanship fights. We will always remember how it felt to be on the receiving end of your attacks, and many of us will not vote for you in the general. There's a lot at stake here.

[JackWOrf]

The Republican candidates are crashing on the rocks. This is because
their most fundamental Reagonomic argument has recently become null
and void.

That is, TRICKLE DOWN no longer works. It has become TRICKLE
OFFSHORE. For example, George Bush has given multi-billionaire Bill
Gates billions of dollars in tax cuts. The Reagonomic argument is
that Gates will now use these billions in Bushian generousity to
create wonderful new jobs.

Well, guess what? Gates HAS created a huge number of new jobs. But
they have been in India and China, and other cheap-labor countries.
Huge numbers of American computer programmers and engineers have lost
their jobs as Gates used this windfall tax benefit to build new
offices and factories in Asia.

There is another LAW here. The richer a person is, when they receive
a tax windfall, the more likely they are to spend that windfall
OUTSIDE of the USA.

This is the reason why the American economy is getting so bad.
TRICKLE DOWN no longer works, and in fact, it actually ENCOURAGES the
exportation of existing American jobs.

This is why people like Romney, Guiliani and McCain are totally
crashing on the rocks. Their arguments are hollow and ABSURD because
they are based on the conditions in the 1980's.

Sure, TRICKLE DOWN worked under Reagan. But that was before the
development of globalism, NAFTA, VOIP phones, and the Internet.

The Republicans are going to have to revamp their ideas, because
TRICKLE DOWN is BS. It doesn't work anymore.

In fact, the only thing that WILL work is TRUELY GROWING the economy.
And you do not grow the economy by planting 100 year old elm trees.
You grow the economy by planting seeds.

The only solution that will work is GRASS ROOTS stimulation. Bush
seems to dimly understand since he is considering giving a tax rebate
to ALL people. That is a good idea that will work.

The Republicans want to cut taxes? How about ELIMINATING TAXES on the
first $50,000 of income? Now THAT is a TAX CUT. But I doubt that any
Republicans will sign on to that!!!

[AnninCA]

I'm impressed that so many people think that the status quo role of a former president is so set in stone.

Why must they all play golf only?

*sheesh*

[elusiveyo]

I find it interesting u got ur attacks on Clinton from repuglican talking points, now you better get practicing on your defense of Mr Obama, So Mr Obama only did 5hrs of legal work for Rezko ay? really ?? u sure about that? would u like to get into further detail about his relationship with Rezko, maybe not since he certainly didn't want to last night, wonder why?? It will come out, but i'm sure that wont matter to you Obama fanatics, the thing I find most worrying about the blind devotion (almost religuos like) is it is way to close to the way repuglicans act

[BigBen]

If those who responded for Obama are independents then they should go with the Republicans who Obama admires so much and let us Democrats win an election for a change.

[BigBen]

For over four decades I have watched Democratic candidates being nice and polite people opposing Republicans who smeared them with falsity We never fought back McGovern Gore Kerry ,they all lost.Do you want to go back to that again? The only candidate who knew how to win was Clinton. I am tired of settling for being a polite nice guy loser.I want to beat my opponents for a change.Politics is about winning first,then manners.

[Countess]

Many of those people who were so repelled by republican attacks on Bill Clinton have now come to realize that He is not completely unworthy of such attacks. The Clintons are more like the republicans than we give them credit for.

[samandally]

You go Bill! Obama needs to be called out.Make him explain his over 100 "present" votes.He is spineless for not taking a stand on issues.

[pfc1369]

Someone said Ronals Reagan had "ideas."

That someone cannot be serious.

Here is how trickle-down economics works:

When David Rockefeller makes tons of moolah,

In a short while, Jay Rockefeller will also make tons of moolah.

[davidly]

Good points, Ms. Broderick, and in case you read this response, I have a recommendation for you: Don't buy the lie!

So often I hear Democrats criticize the Republican assertion that when the rich do well, the rest follow; only to turn right around and maintain that when the middle class does well, the poor benefit. What this means is that the middle class believe in trickle down economics as long as it starts with them.

I know I'm not alone in being a lefty who heaved a bitter sweet sigh when Clinton's victory was announced in '92. He just wasn't the best choice. His shoring up of the middle class was mediocre, and seemed great after what it preceded, but much remained constant.

Settling for less than the best will repeatedly get you exactly what you deserve. We're going down that road still.

[vippy]

When Bill Clinton announced that Daddy Bush will assist Hillary once in the WH was enough for me. I know the Clinton's owe their career to Bush1; if she gets the nomination he should be happy. Hillary is not for the masses but then I have no hope we ever see the light.

[keriheb]

There is a huge need for positive black images for the young to admire and want to emulate. Women also need these positive images considering how many negative female images are throughout the media movies, magazines. Yet few would argue Al Sharpton is the black male they want to be president of the US. Similarly Hillary is not the female to set the standard for women of the US. Hmmmmmmm Hillary Sharpton? Imagine that!