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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (8617)	10/20/1998 12:01:00 PM
From: Zoltan!	Respond to of 13994

October 20, 1998 Democrats' doomsday approaches Thanks to Clinton, the GOP is poised to make major gains on November 3 By DAVID FRUM Sun Media Fourteen days and counting before Bill Clinton inflicts yet another catastrophe on the Democratic party. Two Tuesdays from now, Americans go to the polls to elect the 106th Congress. All indications are that the Republicans are on the verge of scoring yet another big victory, their third since 1994. You have to look beneath the surface of American politics to understand what an amazing achievement this string of Republican victories has been. From 1930 until 1994, Democrats dominated U.S. politics. Oh, the Republicans might win the presidency if they nominated a war hero like Dwight Eisenhower or a great natural leader like Ronald Reagan. But year in, year out, where it counted, in Congress, in the governors' mansions, in the state houses, it was the Democrats who ran America. One stark example: Between 1930 and 1993, the Democrats won 30 elections out of 32 for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. So it's no wonder that when Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, he convinced himself he could ignore his poor showing in the popular vote (he took only 43% - less than Michael Dukakis had got in 1988) and do whatever he pleased: hike taxes, subject the entire health care industry to government control, perjure himself before grand juries, anything. In 1993, Democrats held the U.S. Senate 56-44, and the House by a mighty margin of 258-176 (plus one independent who almost always voted with the Democrats). Thirty of the nation's 50 governors were Democrats, and among state legislators, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by almost 2 to 1. Democrats could tell themselves that the unfortunate Reagan episode was over: the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt was back on top! Whoops. In 1994 and 1996, the Democrats suffered the two worst down-the-ticket defeats suffered by any party since the Republican disasters of 1930 and 1932. Although Bill Clinton held onto the presidency in 1996 (although with less than 50% of the vote, making him the first two-term minority president since Woodrow Wilson), at every other level of government the Democrats have been crushed. Republicans now control the Senate and the House. They hold 32 of the nation's governorships, including the governorships of nine of the 10 biggest states. Since 1993, more than 500 Democratic state legislators have lost their seats. AT LEAST 14 SEATS This November the Republicans will almost certainly score further large gains: at least 4 more Senate seats, at least 10 seats more in the House, and probably one additional governorship. What is Bill Clinton's contribution to this stunning turnabout? Three things. 1. Clinton edged the Democrats away from the political left and closer to the centre. That was clever tactics, but bad strategy. Democrats used to warn that Republicans wanted to abolish welfare - in 1995, Clinton went and abolished it himself. That decision may have helped him in 1996, but it prevents Democrats from accusing the Republicans of being the hardhearted party of the rich in 1998. By mimicking Republican policies, Clinton made those policies less controversial. 2. Clinton cannibalized his party to win his own elections. The investigation of his illegal fund-raising practises has thus far cost the Democrats $11 million in legal fees - money that would otherwise have been available for campaigning. 3. Clinton sullied the Democrats' post-Watergate identity as the party of political integrity. Six years of Clinton scandals - four of Clinton's cabinet officers are under criminal investigation, a record worse than Nixon's - have indelibly stained the image of Clinton's party. Clinton is said to wonder how history will judge him. I think we can guess. It will judge him as a dishonest man, a weak leader and as the president who stands second only to Herbert Hoover as a wrecker of his own party. canoe.ca

To: one_less who wrote (8617)	10/20/1998 8:13:00 PM
From: Earl Risch	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13994

Brees, I have no idea what others think of me, except that you think I have "a mocking and scornful tact". I am quite literal in my thinking, and often examine other people's statements from every angle to try and determine what it is they really mean. I can't, however, figure out what you are talking about since you called me on my response to bje and her statements about the Golden Rule. What do you mean in the statement below, when you say "It is also a matter of fact." I think you are on a different wave length than I. ER "I think most people misunderstand the original scripture(s) to be just good advice. It is also a matter of fact."