With a sense of contrition, I confess that I was once a Bill Clinton co-dependent. I enabled him to stand before the country and blatantly lie about an innocuous sexual relationship with an equally innocuous woman named Monica Lewinsky... Bill considered the whole thing so "innocuous" that he should not have been called on it. Many of us agreed with him.
We Clinton Democrats began our long enabling journey in 1992. We ultimately elected Clinton President and endorsed his Clintonisms, while he in turn expected us to rally to his defense as he got egg on his face... Clinton's behaviors and excesses led directly to the election of George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.
How? Keep reading...
The American public has long been guilty of believing politicians, especially those who look and talk like we want them to look and talk. Black Americans jumped on the Democratic bandwagon, and rightfully so since it is the party that pushes through the legislation that ultimately gives us more governmental access... We rode the Clinton express like it was the actual freedom train, but where did we go?
Clinton led us to believe he was the closest thing to JFK, and that his election would benefit all Americans who wanted a better life after the economy had faltered under Bush senior. He led some to believe that he was a man of faith who could be trusted. Since most Americans at the time were church going people, Clinton played the "faith card" to get more votes. He used multi-cultural and multi-ethnic themes to attract Americans of all hues and faiths...
However, Clinton's main support came from the black community. He hung out with Grover Washington, Jr. When he got into trouble he summoned Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. to pray with him. He played his alto saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show, and commissioned Maya Angelou to read her poetry at his inauguration. Vernon Jordan, Jr. was his "best friend," and he clowned with Bill Cosby. Clinton even calls himself the "First Black President."
On to the election of 2000... Clinton was popular still, but he was not running. Al Gore was. Because Clinton behaved so "morally reprehensible" in the eyes of the white conservative church-going public, it was easy for a scoundrel like George W. Bush to play a Texas sized "faith card" to trump Gore's. Bush won almost half of the voting public, but 5 Supreme Court Justices with the help of Jerry Falwell and James Dobson put him over the top...
Because Bush looked and sounded like the republican worshipper sitting in Falwell's church every Sunday, he convinced many, with his conservative demeanor, that it was time to get back to 1952 "American Values." The American press, owned by corporate Bush supporters, was unwilling to look deeper into Bush's character, therefore leaving the non-thinking American public at the mercy of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.
We Clinton Democrats began our long enabling journey in 1992. We ultimately elected Clinton President and endorsed his Clintonisms, while he in turn expected us to rally to his defense as he got egg on his face... Clinton's behaviors and excesses led directly to the election of George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.
How? Keep reading...
The American public has long been guilty of believing politicians, especially those who look and talk like we want them to look and talk. Black Americans jumped on the Democratic bandwagon, and rightfully so since it is the party that pushes through the legislation that ultimately gives us more governmental access... We rode the Clinton express like it was the actual freedom train, but where did we go?
Clinton led us to believe he was the closest thing to JFK, and that his election would benefit all Americans who wanted a better life after the economy had faltered under Bush senior. He led some to believe that he was a man of faith who could be trusted. Since most Americans at the time were church going people, Clinton played the "faith card" to get more votes. He used multi-cultural and multi-ethnic themes to attract Americans of all hues and faiths...
However, Clinton's main support came from the black community. He hung out with Grover Washington, Jr. When he got into trouble he summoned Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. to pray with him. He played his alto saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show, and commissioned Maya Angelou to read her poetry at his inauguration. Vernon Jordan, Jr. was his "best friend," and he clowned with Bill Cosby. Clinton even calls himself the "First Black President."
On to the election of 2000... Clinton was popular still, but he was not running. Al Gore was. Because Clinton behaved so "morally reprehensible" in the eyes of the white conservative church-going public, it was easy for a scoundrel like George W. Bush to play a Texas sized "faith card" to trump Gore's. Bush won almost half of the voting public, but 5 Supreme Court Justices with the help of Jerry Falwell and James Dobson put him over the top...
Because Bush looked and sounded like the republican worshipper sitting in Falwell's church every Sunday, he convinced many, with his conservative demeanor, that it was time to get back to 1952 "American Values." The American press, owned by corporate Bush supporters, was unwilling to look deeper into Bush's character, therefore leaving the non-thinking American public at the mercy of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.
Clinton unknowingly left the door open for Bush and the NEOCON juggernauts, using Monica Lewinsky as the door stop.
So here we are in 2008. Hillary Clinton, Bill's wife, is now running for President. Barack Obama, a black man is challenging her for the Democratic nomination. John McCain is the seated Republican candidate who will face either of them in November. We are still paying a major price for the failed Bush presidency, and will continue to do so for some time; even longer if John McCain is elected.
Bill Clinton is again drumming up co-dependents and enablers for his wife Hillary. They have both equivocated several important facts, such as taking fire in Bosnia, and have alienated most if not all of their support in the black community with their unfair and untruthful characterizations of Barack Obama. Bill and Hillary both have played a "race card" the size of Arkansas. Like the Monica Lewinsky affair, they both consider their race baiting and fear mongering "innocuous," and believe that they should not be called on it.
So here we are in 2008. Hillary Clinton, Bill's wife, is now running for President. Barack Obama, a black man is challenging her for the Democratic nomination. John McCain is the seated Republican candidate who will face either of them in November. We are still paying a major price for the failed Bush presidency, and will continue to do so for some time; even longer if John McCain is elected.
Bill Clinton is again drumming up co-dependents and enablers for his wife Hillary. They have both equivocated several important facts, such as taking fire in Bosnia, and have alienated most if not all of their support in the black community with their unfair and untruthful characterizations of Barack Obama. Bill and Hillary both have played a "race card" the size of Arkansas. Like the Monica Lewinsky affair, they both consider their race baiting and fear mongering "innocuous," and believe that they should not be called on it.
I think it is time for the Clinton-Bush presidential years to come to an end.
GLM
