So true, swiss -- the last 8 years have been a boom to democrats and republicans alike. People in commercial real estate, which is where my law practice is exclusively devoted, are for the most part conservative republicans. My clients are every bit as far to the right as the average right wing poster on this message board. Yet there is a profound difference -- with only one or two exceptions, each of my clients readily acknowledges that, despite his personal flaws (which I will be the first to admit were pretty substantial), Clinton did a masterful job of stewarding the economy, in making appointments to key economic positions, in supporting the capital markets and in reducing the federal debt. They did great over the past eight years and they give Clinton a fair amount of credit for his role in that. Of course, they see a large part of it as cyclical, and as fueled by the private sector (in particular, the tech economy) and by the monetary policies of the Fed, and they think marginal tax rates are still too high (as do I), but they recognize the critical role played by Rubin, the importance of deficit reduction in lowering interest rates, the role of Clinton in bringing about deficit reduction, and the simple fact that high interest rates are far more costly than high tax rates, especially to businesses dependent on the capital markets. All of them (every single one of them) have misgivings and concerns about Dubya, especially on the basic issue of his intellectual capacity and inexperience, but all of them vastly preferred Dubya to Gore -- they just hate Gore (a personality clash, more than anything, I think) in ways that transcend their distaste for Clinton. Remarkably, at least 2 or 3 of them actually said that they would have considered voting for Clinton over Dubya had Clinton been permitted to seek a third term, which is pretty incredible considering how much these clients revile the democratic party, and especially Hillary Clinton and the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton wing of the democratic party.
Now, I don't agree with a lot of what these conservatives think, but I don't disagree with every thought that spills forth from the conservatives in this country. But the regular right wing posters to this Board are a nother lot entirely. They are in the Rush Limbaugh/Robert Novak school of ugly reactionaries. It is remarkable to me some conservatives (i.e., those with an open mind) are capable of recognizing and even applauding the accomplishments of a president in the economic area, while others act like it was all a big accident that Clinton just happened to be there for, or even more ludicrous, it is all due solely to the efforts of the GOP members of Congress (who fought tooth and nail everything Clinton did from the moment he took office). The 1993 Deficit Reduction Act, voted in over the "no" votes of every single GOP member in both houses, was the legislation that paved the way for the greatest economic boom in our lifetime, and when it passed, the GOP said that it would lead to recession, high unemployment and even greater federal deficits. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now when they say (i) that we are heading for a recession, and (ii) that a tax cut is needed to stimulate the economy. We are returning to the failed economic policies of Bush and Reagan, which created the huge federal debt that we are only now finally starting to dig out of -- and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.
The truth is, I hope he gets the tax cut -- not because I will personally benefit from it (which I will far more than the average American), but because there can be no debate as to who is responsible for the economic shambles Dubya will leave behind if his economic package is enacted. Let the bright light of reality shine over the acts of this administration. They were able to blur the differences between Bush and Gore in the campaign (Bush effectively ran on Democratic issues -- "Gore Lite" as it has been called -- and misrepresented his so-called "moderation" -- a misrepresentation the scope of which was first noticed in Florida, and then with the Ashcroft nomination, but which will play out time and time again in the next 4 years). By blurring the philosophical distincitions between Gore and Bush, and then attacking Gore personally, they succeeded (with an assist from Gore's own campaign miscues) in making the race close enough it to steal it through the misconduct of the GOP election machine in Florida and the 5 Supreme Court justices who appointed Dubya. But now with Gore gone, and the GOP in the White House, there will be no more blurring -- now the focus of critique will be solely on Dubya -- and we all know how capable he is at handling difficult, intellectually challenging situations. The bar may still be so low that a toddler can jump over it, but that won't last either. It usually takes the media only a month or two to start eating its young. And I predict that on the first stumble, Dubya (and the right wing policies we finally know with certainty that he stands for) will be eaten alive. |
