hockeyTom
Sep 17 2002, 06:06 AM
all I have to say to this is blah...blah...blah..."jackboot liberalism"? Too funny.
gmginsfo
Sep 17 2002, 08:50 AM
[quote]Originally posted by puckman1:
"jackboot liberalism"? Too funny.
More at Birkenstock bullying, I'd say!
Bill W
Sep 17 2002, 09:21 AM
Clinton was indeed the worst civil liberties prez of the last 20 years... til W got selected.
The funny part is that anyone on the sober side of the Reality Border would call Billy Blythe or Robo-Al a "liberal"... But then again, that's what they called that hawkish, strike-breaking, civil-rights-selling-out cur Hubert Humphrey too!
(I'm currently reading "Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972," and during the primary season, counterculture hero Hunter Thompson writes that if HHH were to secure the nomination again, he'd vote for Nixon.)
jqueer
Sep 17 2002, 01:12 PM
Several observations on this article. First, several of the liberties supposedly quashed by the Clinton white house were done so to placate a majority conservative Republican Congress. No fair using those to pillory him in a conservative Republican publication.
Second, several of the "incursions" on civil liberties are extremely spun conservative harangues against liberal policies they don't like, making them look like civil rights problems, when, from the other point of view, they are civil rights victories.
Last, putting the onus of Ruby Ridge and Waco on the Clinton administration and Janet Reno in particular is beyond unfair. The siege on Ruby Ridge took place in August of 1992, before Bill Clinton was elected, forget that the plan had been in place for 18 months, putting the genesis before then Govenor Clinton was even the nominee, perhaps before he had even decided to run. In the case of Waco, I'm having difficulty determining when the investigation into the Branch Davidians started, but the initial raid was Feb 28, 1992. Just about one month after the inauguration of President Clinton. Janet Reno was not sworn in as AG until March 12, the 13th day of the seige. From the reading I have done on the situation, the blame for the debacle lies directly at the feet of the planning process within the BATF, started certainly before Janet Reno was in charge, and most likely started before Bill Clinton was elected, much less took office. The blame that belongs to the Clinton administration is that it did not use these agregious violations of proper procedure, civil rights and common sense as an excuse to disband the BATF entirely. While I make no excuse for the lack of such action, I would note that a supposedly liberal president dismantalling a law enforcement agency is immediately going to get labelled soft on crime. And we all know Bill Clinton was more concerned with his "legacy" than actually getting anything good done.