Serious question: How did 8 years of Bill Clinton further a progressive agenda?

[XemaSab]

Did he do anything to create a positive move in the liberal direction?

:shrug:

[debatepro]

1. you forget

she gets to claim all the good things... and distance herself from the bad things.

[XemaSab]

So what are the good things?

:shrug:

The good economy is a positive, but could that not be an accident of technology and the times he presided over?

:shrug:

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Probably not much, however the militia movement flourished

during those years. Perceptions were different depending on your point of view.
People from both extreme ends seemed to have their own bones to pick.

[mmonk]

3. Nope. He "appeared" liberal in his tone combined

with the usual Republican noise in the background. But I think it started marking the decline of the progressive movement (mainly because progressives didn't realize they were being done away with in terms of political clout).

[Naturyl]

11. Yeah, I think you're right.

It was the beginning of the end for progressives. Democrats totally bought into the idea that you need centrist, bi-partisan candidates to win. And while Big Dog was talking the liberal talk without actually walking the walk, real progressives were left holding the bag.

[casus belli]

17. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Or as I like to call it, the "Wouldn't you really be more comfortable in the closet? Here's a blanket." doctrine.

[XemaSab]

22. Ouch.

n/t

[fuzzy otter pop]

4. he kept the forces of darkness at bay.......

sometime that is all you get.

sometimes that is enough

sometimes just that can get you killed

[ixion]

5. It didn't. It furthered the DLC/GOP agenda

while the progressive agenda languished in the wings.

[Naturyl]

6. It certainly didn't further welfare and economic justice

Welfare was completely thrown under the bus in order to score cheap politcal points with the self-centered mouthbreathers on the other side of the aisle.

That's where I started realizing that winning isn't all that matters. If we win with candidates who throw progressive values to the wolves for the sake of expediency, what are we really winning?

Can't we do better than that? I guess a combined NH total of 1% for Kucinich and Gravel shows that we can't. Disappointing, but not surprising.

[Beelzebud]

7. My opinion: It didn't.

[mitchum]

8. He never said "faggot" or "nigger" in a State of The Union Address?

I can't really think of anything else

[Emit]

9. Excellent questions. n/t

[Bonobo]

10. He dismantled Welfare! Oh, wait... scratch that. Gimme a minute.... Umm...

Hang on, I'll think of something.

Oh, I got it! It gave us our first female winner of a US state primary contest.

Does that count? I'm not sure myself...

[HughMoran]

12. He did well considering he was in the middle of a conservative movement

The pendulum appears to be swinging back to the left now, but it would be revisionist to ignore the political environment of that period.

[Lyric]

13. Ruth Bader Ginsberg

And that is really what's important, considering that Presidents are not monarchs, and do not have the Constitutional power to force Congress to bend to their will. He gave us a Supreme Court justice who's proven herself quite solidly liberal, and he managed to get her confirmed.

I'll be forever grateful to him for that.

[XemaSab]

16. Wow... there's ONE positive thing.

:)

[bridgit]

14. B. Clinton was a tad right-of-center, but tried to govern from the center...

knew America was heading for changes, still has a 3-D grasp of world affairs, yeah...I voted for him twice

[Radical Activist]

15. Don't worry. Hillary will give us all the change her husband didn't give us.

Or so she says.

[Raine]

24. I would guess 2 cents change

is about all we can expect if that. x(

[casus belli]

18. He did play a sax on MTV.

Does that count?

[bridgit]

19. with sunglasses on...

B-) :thumbsup:

[XemaSab]

20. I'm pretty sure it was Arsenio Hall

:shrug:

[LiberalHeart]

21. Google is your friend...

Do a search for:
Bill Clinton's accompishments

You'll like some of what he did, not like some of what he did. I'd love to have him back in office.

[western mass]

23. Greatest Republican president ever...

at least, that's what we called him at the time. He became "St. Bill" only after 2 terms of * made people realize that a mild corporate/right-wing agenda was alot better than a radical corporate/right-wing agenda.

[LSdemocrat]

25. He put the country in position for great things

He was constantly hamstrung, first by a complacent, entrenched, and to a certain extent, corrupt Democratic congress his first two years, second by the Republican congress we knew all too well for the rest of his term, and third by the press corps aided by the right-wing propaganda machine throughout his term. In spite of that he was responsible for one of the longest economic expansions in US history where the poorest classes did benefit to a certain degree, sadly not as well as the richest Americans. Additionally, he left the country with a massive budget surplus, a falling national debt, and with the US well-respected around the world. A marginally competent president would have used that legacy to do great things for the long-term future of the country. Instead, well, we know what happened. :-(

[Hippo_Tron]

26. 10% tax increase on the rich...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Family Medical Leave Act.

There were some good things that came out of the Clinton Administration. But he didn't move the country significantly to the left by any means. His failure to veto the Iran-Libya act and even moreso the Helms-Burton act are major reasons that I'm supporting Obama. I know that with Hillary she'll have the same political advisors telling her to cave on things like that and with Obama at least there's a chance he won't.

[harmonicon]

27. not really part of any specific agenda: jobs

Ten years ago I could look in the paper and get a job in a week. Last year I was making less money in a crappy job (dollar for dollar, not counting inflation) than I was making out of highschool in '97. I think Clinton did a lot of bad things, but he was a very effective president when it comes to keeping the wheels greased and everything moving. umm.... no BIG wars?

[MagickMuffin]

28. Legalized Marijuana

Oh wait he mentioned that AFTER he left office.

Sorry couldn't help myself.

I can't really think of very many progressive issues. I voted for him in '92, really it was a vote against Poppy. However, after seeing how he managed the job his first term, he did not earn my vote in '96.

[XemaSab]

29. I was wondering if I forgot about that

:smoke::crazy: