Where was the right in Calif. scandal?
By Bonnie Erbe
When Bill Clinton was president (long ago and far away, it seems) an astute political observer could easily have obliterated the fortunes of the Microsoft Millionaires if she had divined a way to earn a dollar each time conservatives uttered the phrase, "Where are the feminists … ?"
To wit, "Where are the feminists" on the president's extramarital episodes? Why are they not carrying Paula Jones on their shoulders, heroine-style, and using her as a symbol to bludgeon the president for extramarital sex?
Now it's time to ask conservatives, into exactly which cave they have buried themselves during two recent and major developments.
"Where were the conservatives," when it came to the much more troubling sexual record of Arnold Schwar-zenegger?
If conservatives could have appointed themselves champions of women's rights, why were they not prominently excoriating the Terminator's grope-worthy conduct?
Instead, many of their rank attended Schwarzenegger rallies sporting sweatshirts right up until Election Day that proclaimed, "My governor can beat up your governor." Very mature!
The best conservative opponent California State Sen. Tom McClintock could muster was to call on Schwar-zenegger to drop out of the race if the groping charges proved true. (McClintock and others should have called on Schwarzenegger to drop out period, given the huge cluster of women making the exact same allegations.)
But these self-appointed defenders of women's rights spent a lot more time bashing the Terminator's stands on abortion, gay rights and gun control than they did criticizing his affinity for sexual assault.
And "Where are the conservatives" on plain old fiscal conservatism (a cause I deeply espouse). Whatever happened to their long-standing love of the balanced budget?
Before Clinton not only produced a balanced budget, but the first budget surplus in several decades, they bayed with more insistence than a herd of starving mules at the unbalanced budget.
In fact, you may recall that a balanced budget was the most important plank in former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's Contract On (or, er, For) America.
Not only do we hear nary a peep from conservative quarters as the deficit spirals ever upward into record territory, but talk of a balanced budget has completely disappeared from the conservative agenda and, hence, from the national scene.
That, while our country caromed from record surpluses to record deficits in a scant three years.
We hear no protests at all from the White House, which is running up these deficits or from Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee or House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, who are blithely approving them.
What we have here is a policy conversion of nuclear proportions that conservatives are trying as dutifully as possible to keep quiet. According to USA Today, "Republicans say that with the weak economy and the terrorist threat, the world has changed and a balanced budget remains an important goal - eventually. For now, they say, the government and the $10.5 trillion U.S. economy can cope with currently projected deficits."
Yeah, right. The truth is, the country is being led by a convenient, not compassionate conservative who supports conservative social and religious causes. But this president so outspends "tax and spend" liberals (his putative nemeses) and by such gaping margins, he should change his moniker from "Compassionate Conservative" to "Convenient Conservative" for his impecunious budget management techniques.
So "where are the feminists" this time around? They were doing what you would have expected them to do, protesting the Terminator's campaign.
But conservatives, that is another matter. Perhaps they will learn to keep quiet next time they querulously try to make the case for hypocrisy against their opponents. But then again, history teaches us, they probably will not.
* Bonnie Erbe, host of the PBS program "To the Contrary," writes for Scripps Howard News Service, 1090 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005; e-mail: bonnieerbe@ CompuServe.com. |
