For the Clintons, It's all about the money

[illinoisprogressive]

The New Republic | February 24, 2007 10:49 PM

All about money. Imagine if you are a friend of the Clintons. First of all you are rich, very rich. Simply because they don't have friends other than ones with spare and bigger than big amounts of cash. Here are the purposes for which you have been asked contributions: twice for Bill Clinton for President (and all of the skeletal extensions of the local and national Democratic Party), the 727s, the White House refurbishing fund, the Clinton Defense Fund, the Clinton Library, twice for Hillary for Senate, annual contributions to the Clinton Global Initiative, each of his and her birthdays. Was there a Chappaqua remodeling project? If you have a private jet you'd have been expected to hand it over for a day, a weekend. If you have a house in Martha's Vineyard or in East Hampton or in Aspen or in Palm Springs, why don't you visit your in-laws? And it isn't as if the Clintons are asking you directly. Some underling is doing it, and you're afraid to say "no." Or even "boo." $1 million here, $1 million there. Pretty soon, it's a >heck of a lot of money. You could have named a building at you alma mater after yourself with that money.

I happen not to agree with David Geffen about a pardon for Leonard Peltier, the Native American who has been in jail for decades after having been convicted of killing two FBI men. Look him up on Google, and judge for yourself. But David is certainly correct to call our attention to the Clintons' last act of presidential hautuer, and that is the pardons Bill and Hillary gave in the 24 hours before leaving office. First of all, there was the case of Marc Rich, zillionaire oil trader and tax felon whose ex-wife was a huge contributor to Clinton causes and one of Hillary's best pals. Rich also was living in Zug, Switzerland because he couldn't come in to the US without fear of being arrested. Now he can. Then there were the cases related to Hillary's brothers as lawyers and advocates. And the pardoning of Bill's brother. And on and on. Go to Google again, and type in "presidential pardons," "bill clinton," and "hillary clinton." You will be basting yourself in hog water. These are tell-tale enormities, more than 140 of them. Yuk.


http://www.tnr.com/blog/spine

[libbygurl]

1. Yes, and NO ONE ELSE in DC is ALL ABOUT MONEY, right?

Tell me another. The circular firing squad hard at work. The New Republic isn't even a true liberal rag.

[Captain Hilts]

9. Yeah, I haven't bought it since Fred Barnes became editor. nt

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

2. ...

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[Diane R]

3. This is starting to be quite a chorus....and I agree.

[Dave From Canada]

4. In way, it's true about Bill Clinton

He's all about money. Balanced budgets and 20 million new jobs.

[Captain Hilts]

11. Dave, hello! Where in Canada you from? Welcome to DU. nt

[Dave From Canada]

14. Thanks for the welcome.

I'm a couple of hours south of Toronto.

[Captain Hilts]

16. Dave, that's about a mile off the shore of Rochester...

I went to UofT, so I know the geography. Are you around St. Kits?

[Dave From Canada]

38. I live in London. I should have said a couple hours south west, it's basically half way between

Toronto and Detroit.

[oasis]

22. "Balanced budgets and 20 million new jobs". Welcome to DU, Dave from Canada.

[BeyondGeography]

5. Tacky times that most don't want to relive

<I believe that deep-down the country agrees with Geffen. It does not want to relive the Clinton years. It was a tacky presidency, and the president's tackiness kept us from facing many dangers -including the perils of Muslim terrorism.

<...Now, the Clinton campaign has tried to make Geffen's smart and responsible words a burden for Barack Obama. It is a desperate ploy. Think of the very gall--the colossal gall--rs. Clinton and her campaign show when they demand that Obama return the money that Geffen raised for him. Obama handled this ugly provocation with the elegance and restraint that seem to mark his character. I'm ready to send him a check, and I will.>

[Captain Hilts]

10. How come Bill Clinton still wins every prez poll he's in?

I don't want to remember peace and prosperity!

[BeyondGeography]

13. Is Bill running?

What is it with this 90's nostalgia anyway? We're in a different place now and expecting that the mostly felicitious economic and geopolitical circumstances that the more talented Bill enjoyed will repeat themselves for his less appealing and less tested wife is absurd. What we can count on is a media feeding frenzy on all things Clinton, renewed speculation about the nature of their marriage (not again, please) and a centrist governing philosophy that will serve them well financially in their golden years. As if they need more than what they already have.

It's called running up the score, American-style. Tacky.

[sodenoue]

15. The Gap between rich and poor grew obscenely during

Clinton's presidency just like during Bush(es) and Regan's terms.
Maybe Clinton just had better PR.
What countries did Clinton have us bomb? Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia...
Not very peaceful. How about we don't bomb anymore people? That would be ideal.

[Captain Hilts]

17. Gap between rich and poor has been going on since 70s but rate slowed under Clinton. nt

[sodenoue]

18. Progressive Income Tax = Good

Current trend of destroying New Deal Equalization Measures = 'Fair Trade' & Globalization = Bad

[mitchum]

20. Because the Kaiser was better than Hitler?

[sodenoue]

32. Nice

[Missy M]

27. One thing I have noticed is Barack Obama doesn't seem to...

mind getting money from the big guys. It's only when the Clinton's do it that it's BAD. I guess it's because he handles things with elegance and restraint. When he wears a cowboy hat he's a real cowboy (from Illinois) and doesn't look silly like Bush, the fake cowboy. Did you read any of the reommendations the Clinton administration wanted and fought for regarding "Muslim terrorism"? Are you telling us if Obama gets in office "Muslim terrorism" will end?

[BeyondGeography]

29. Hardly

I think the writer's point about terrorism is on the unfair side, HOWEVER, one of the reasons the Right got away with tagging Clinton's missile attack on al Qaeda in August of 1998 as a Wag the Dog moment is that it was carried out in the midst of the Monica scandal. Too bad for all of us, because Clinton and (especially) Gore were very serious about taking out Osama. Clinton's own awful behavior played right into the needs of the infotainment business, to the detriment of us all.

[Missy M]

34. If Clinton could have taken out Osama he would have.....

for you to blame the Monica incident holds no water. What I did ask you is if Barack Obama becomes president what is his plan to end terrorism. You don't really think it is an easy task do you. I'm not talking about what is going on in Iraq but long term, continuing terrorism. What we can do is protect ourselves against it and the Clinton administration had a comprehensive plan to try to do just that. The other point is Bill Clinton is not running for president, the last I heard. Hillary Clinton is and she should have a chance to put forth her agenda, just as Barack Obama should. Don't think the opposition is just going to hammer Hillary. If Obama gets the nomination the dirty tactics and big guns haven't even started on him yet and believe me they will. The problem with Hillary is the attacks are coming from within our party and that is wrong. If you have a candidate you prefer at least present him/her with the issues, not attacking within our own party.

[BeyondGeography]

36. Hillary puts Bill front-and-center, as do many of her supporters

If you're pro-Hillary, just look up Friday's SF speech where she brags about him being the most popular man in the world. As for Obama's "plan to end terrorism," it is basically the same as everyone else's; more diplomacy, a smarter use of our military, globalizing the effort, or at least westernizing it. There will be RELATIVELY little to separate the policies of our candidates at the end of the day. Whoever wins will be whom we deem to be most electable. This is where Hillary and all of her heavy baggage (as evidenced by her long-term unfavorable ratings that we so peacefully discussed yesterday) runs into problems in my view. Also, back to terrorism, a President Obama would be a powerful global symbol of our openness and greatness as a meritocratic democracy. In this respect, many of us believe he towers over Hillary and everyone else in the race.

[Fresh_Start]

6. I met Mr Clinton back in his governor of Arkansas

days. Can't say that the claim matches my experience. He was polite and attentive while he had no chance of financial gain from me.

I'd argue he had common decency and courtesy which seems refreshing compared to the air of entitlement surrounding so many elected officials.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. It takes money to run...

or "why I will never be able to run for elected office" :(

[Captain Hilts]

8. Wow! Politicians who want to raise money! I'm shocked, SHOCKED to see that there's...

fund-raising going on in DC!

[MannyGoldstein]

12. You Are A Republican Who Hates Powerful Women

Since the local Clinton brigade seems to be off tonight, I figured that I'd help them out.

I hope that I get some sort of big contract for this.

[mitchum]

21. LOL!

nicely done :)

[bellasgrams]

19. Trashing Clinton

I for one would like to see Bill Clinton as President again. He's the only one I have real confidence in getting this country turned around. We wouldn't be in this mess if he was still Pres. I know he can't run but I wish he could. We wouldn't be in this useless war, and the mid east wouldn't be on the verge of collapse. Maybe my 49 yr old son wouldn't be working temp. jobs at between $6.50 and $8.50 an hour, when there is work. It's quite a blow when all the jobs dry up and the ones left hire through temp angencies so they don't have to pay benefits. Last week he was called for a 4 hour job at $6.50 pr hr on the other side of town. He said he'd take it, they called back a few minutes later and said they only needed him for 2 hr. For $13 before taxes and gas, he'd be paying to work. I dispise this administration. Give me the Clinton days anytime.

[MannyGoldstein]

23. Uh... Clinton's The Reason That Your Son...

...is working temp jobs. Clinton opened the floodgates of outsourcing jobs - NAFTA, "free" trade with China, and so forth. There was some of this under Bush I, but Clinton really pushed this hard. He may have told you that he felt our pain - but keep an eye on his hands, not his mouth.

[newyawker99]

28. Hi bellasgrams!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[k_jerome]

24. we like to use the phrase "all about the benjamins." nt.

[mustang]

25. The Clintons know how to win

You need money to win an election. People can't stand that about them. :)

[libbygurl]

26. Progressives, in their unrealistic idealism...

...seem to want to find the "purest" candidate out there (no such animal), one with little appeal to most moderates, and one who'll promptly LOSE the election.

Bravo!

So I suppose the opinion of New Yorkers themselves about Clinton (reelected to Senate) doesn't amount to a hill o' beans.

I am not promoting Clinton at all, but this rabid Hillary-bashing equals - or even tops - the kind being done by the Right wingers. Huffington Post is one of the worst offenders - what has Arianna H. have against HRC? Why can't the liberals/Dems here talk about the WH shenanigans that continue to this day instead?

[KoKo]

30. This is a New Republic Trash of the Clintons...nothing that rag hasn't

been saying for decades...

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

31. Good point.. gotta love "The New Republican" LOL.

[ljm2002]

33. Yes, they just went biweekly too...

...I used to ream them back in the '70's, then something happened to them, they made a sharp right turn and I now ignore any and all emails from them in my inbox -- looks like I'm not the only one of their base they alienated, never to return.

[depakid]

35. It's more than just the money- it's the repeated sell outs

and pandering to corporate class, while enabling far right policies.

The very last thing we need is another Clinton in the Whitehouse.

[mondo joe]

37. The Clintons know money is needed to win. Have Democrats forgotten already the

taste of losing?