SDA Congresswoman Booed At Convention

[Dr. Shane]

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Clinton was one of the best presidents in recent memory. He balanced the budget, thinned out government spending so ended up with a huge surplus in the treasury

Does anyone remember who said, "Read my lips. No new taxes."? Can I see a show of hands? It was President George H. W. Bush. Why is that relevant? Because when President G.H.W. Bush broke that promise and raised taxes he made the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 to enforce the deficit reduction. That law expired in 2001.

Now enter President Bill Clinton in 1993 and two years later, a Republican Congress in 1995. Congress wouldn't let the government grow. There were huge battles between Clinton and Congress leading to the government being shut down twice. At the time, Speaker Gingrich was perceived to have been damaged more politically. However one must note the reason for the shutdowns were because Republicans were trying to cut too many programs. They were trying to reduce the size of government more than what Clinton favored.

During this same time the high-tech sector was creating greater wealth than anyone could have imagined. That unexpected wealth creation resulted in unexpected tax revenue flowing into the government.

So when the budget was balanced in 1999 we had four major factors at play.

• The government had to abide by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990
• There was a conservative Congress making budget cuts a priority.
• The booming high-tech sector was creating unexpected tax revenues.

The result was a balanced budget in 1999. Now can anyone honestly claim President Clinton was solely responsible for all those factors?

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His one weak spot was blown out of all proportion by the gutter politics of the Republicans. JFK, FDR, Nelson Rockefeller, and even Ike had had much worse extramarital affairs

Extramarital affairs were not the problem. It was sexual harassment. When a governor drops his pants and asked for oral favors and then, when is refused, reminds the lady who she works for, that is called sexual harassment. Then when she tries to seek justice he perjures himself, solicits perjury, obstructs justice and misuses power, we have an issue that justice demands a resolution to. The issue wasn't about Monica Lewinsky. It was about Paula Jones. So let's not let President Clinton off the hook that easy. His legacy is now and always will be that he was impeached because of his sexual harassment of Paula Jones and his efforts to cover it up.

[John317]

Another thing people forget is that a few months before Clinton left office, the US economy was beginning to have serious trouble. If anyone has forgotten that, they should go read what the Wall Street Journal toward the end of 1999 was saying about the state of the US economy.

Also, Clinton's affair with Lewinksy did actually play a negative role in US foreign policy. During the time Clinton was having trouble over that affair (August of '98), he failed to take decisive action against the terrorists for fear of public disapproval because he felt that he was already in big trouble anyway. So when he could have taken out bin Laden, he didn't do it. And as a result, we got 9/11. This will be Bill's legacy and he knows it.

See the evidence and timeline: http://www.snopes.com/Rumors/clinton.asp

[olger]

Don't know a'tall. Chuck Swindoll thinks Paul Aldrich is hilarious, though.

[Neil D]

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Extramarital affairs were not the problem. It was sexual harassment. When a governor drops his pants and asked for oral favors and then, when is refused, reminds the lady who she works for, that is called sexual harassment. Then when she tries to seek justice he perjures himself, solicits perjury, obstructs justice and misuses power, we have an issue that justice demands a resolution to. The issue wasn't about Monica Lewinsky. It was about Paula Jones. So let's not let President Clinton off the hook that easy. His legacy is now and always will be that he was impeached because of his sexual harassment of Paula Jones and his efforts to cover it up.

So why is Monica remembered and not Paula Jones?

Is it called 'sexual harassment' when sexual favors are given and when demands are insisted upon or exposure will result?

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Another thing people forget is that a few months before Clinton left office, the US economy was beginning to have serious trouble. If anyone has forgotten that, they should go read what the Wall Street Journal toward the end of 1999 was saying about the state of the US economy.

Yeah, and the REPUBLICAN congress was in control of the economy at the time and while it had enacted several laws to reign in the spending, it had also enacted several laws to cause the economy to begin to wain...

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Also, Clinton's affair with Lewinksy did actually play a negative role in US foreign policy.

Oh come on....Clinton's affair with Monica did not bother our influence with other nations. It did have a problem with the sensibilities of the America religious right.

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During the time Clinton was having trouble over that affair (August of '98), he failed to take decisive action against the terrorists for fear of public disapproval because he felt that he was already in big trouble anyway. So when he could have taken out bin Laden, he didn't do it. And as a result, we got 9/11. This will be Bill's legacy and he knows it

And Bush senior, who had Sadam in his grip, did not sow any future problems for the US??? Give me a break, boys....

The bottom line is your point of view is slanted thru republican shades. Your pro-hawk 'God, country, honor' is wearing thin. It is that attitude that will bring about the mark of the Beast....

I will now return to the quiet and smirk at your attempts to rewrite history and justify your self righteous attitudes.

[olger]

"And Bush senior, who had Sadam in his grip, did not sow any future problems for the US??? Give me a break, boys...."

As you recall, Russia was growing mighty uneasy with our proximity to Bagdhad in 1991. That was the motivating factor in aborting the war after liberating Kuwait.

oG

[Neil D]

That is a bunch of republican spin, and you know it Olger. Besides, it wasn't russia that he was worried about.

[olger]

I remember it well, Neil.

regards,

oG

[Neil D]

So do I...and it wasnt' Mother Russia who was screaming to keep Sadam in power....It was the Arab States....That is the reason that I didn't vote for Bush 1 during his reelection campaign. He didn't finish the job. He never could.

[Dr. Shane]

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Clinton's affair with Lewinksy did actually play a negative role in US foreign policy.

The impeachment preceding derailed Clinton's Social Security reform. Clinton intended on reforming Social Security by investing a portion of it in the stock market in order to increase the return. Liberals in Congress opposed him and he needed them once impeachment began so Social Security was forgotten.

[Dr. Shane]

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So why is Monica remembered and not Paula Jones?

Clinton succeeded in taking the focus off Paula Jones. He was successful in making the accusations about adultery. Adultery is a better legacy than sexual harassment, perjury or obstruction of justice.

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Is it called 'sexual harassment' when sexual favors are given and when demands are insisted upon or exposure will result?

He asked for oral favors. When she didn't give him them he reminded her that he was governor. That fact that she was a state employee makes that "threat" sexual harassment.

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the REPUBLICAN... enacted several laws to cause the economy to begin to wain...

We can't have it both ways. We can't give all the credit to Clinton for the surplus and then blame the Republicans for the economy slowing down.

The economy started slowing down because the high-tech sector crashed. Bill Gates actually lost his status as the world's richest man when the high-tech sector crashed. Thousands of investors lost millions of dollars. Those were dollars that would no longer be invested in anything. Lack of investment leads to a slower economy. That high-tech sector crash spilled over into the other markets because many of the investors in the high-tech sector that were hit so hard also invested in other markets. This whole slow down started in 1999 and the economy actually went into recession in the first quarter of 2001. If any branch of government had any impact on the slowdown it was the Justice Department's anti-trust suit against Microsoft although that is arguable. In reality, a lot of people were going crazy with their investments in the high-tech sector and driving the prices of the stocks artificially high. When the market corrected itself it was a big crash.

[Neil D]

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Adultery is a better legacy than sexual harassment, perjury or obstruction of justice.

That is opinion and not fact.

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We can't give all the credit to Clinton for the surplus and then blame the Republicans for the economy slowing down.

The economy started slowing down because the high-tech sector crashed. Bill Gates actually lost his status as the world's richest man when the high-tech sector crashed.

First off, the legislature controls the purse strings of the economy of the US. They make the laws that guide the economy. If the President wants the economy to go a certain way, he uses political pursuasion to get it to go the way he desires...Since the Republicans were in control of the congress, and since they did not want any law that smacked of Clinton influence to pass, they must bear the responsibility of passing the laws that slowed the economy and impeding the leadership of the President.

Second, Bill Gates lost his lead only within the last year, during Bushes current reign. His lead as the richest man was secured during Clinton's administration... not that it matters....

[Dr. Shane]

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the legislature controls the purse strings of the economy of the US.

If a person takes that view, then they must also give the Republican Congress credit for the surplus. However that view fails to take into consideration the influence of the Federal Reserve and Wall Street.

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Bill Gates lost his lead only within the last year

Bill Gates lost his position as the world's richest man to one of the Walton (Wal-Mart) family members during the Justice Department's anti-trust suit against him but he gained it back again afterwards.

[olger]

Hi Neil.

George Bush Sr. had to deploy formidable political skills in 90-91. He had to win over fainthearted King Fahd, persuade Mikhail Gorbachev to stay on the sidelines, steer a dozen resolutions through the Security Council, maintain balance between America's Arab allies and Israel, squeeze billions of dollars out of the japanese & Germans etc..

On 2-26-91, after the rout of Saddam's army, US troops were into Iraq and pursing a fleeing Iraqi army north. Remember the picture of the highway littered with bombed out tanks vehicles etc? Two things happened that month. Gorbachev said they would not support the conquest of Bagdhad and Colin Powell advised that the US would be accused of massacre if they did. A cease fire took place on the last day of Feb as a result.

oG

[Neil D]

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Two things happened that month. Gorbachev said they would not support the conquest of Bagdhad and Colin Powell advised that the US would be accused of massacre if they did. A cease fire took place on the last day of Feb as a result.

There was some criticism of the Bush administration for its decision to allow Saddam Hussein to remain in power, rather than pushing on to capture Baghdad and overthrowing his government. In their co-written 1998 book, A World Transformed, Bush and Brent Scowcroft argued that such a course would have fractured the alliance and would have had many unnecessary political and human costs associated with it.

Hmmmmmm......nothing about the Russians, and considering that there were 34 UN nations involved with the 2nd Gulf War [that is with Bush senior], doesn't seem that there were a lot of things pushed thru at the last minute thru the UN....

Sorry, but he was afraid of the Saudi Arabia and the other Arab neighbors ...... He had no back bone...

Oh, and Dick Cheny had this to say about that Iraq War...

United States Secretary of Defense during the war, Dick Cheney, made the same point:

“ I would guess if we had gone in there, I would still have forces in Baghdad today. We'd be running the country. We would not have been able to get everybody out and bring everybody home.

And the final point that I think needs to be made is this question of casualties. I don't think you could have done all of that without significant additional U.S. casualties, and while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the (1991) conflict, for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for their families, it wasn't a cheap war. And the question in my mind is, how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is, not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the President made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq.[34]

Seems to me, we are there NOW.....And it's cost has gone up by approximately another 5000 bodies...

[olger]

OK.

OG.