Did it get this mean and ugly this early in the Clinton administration?

[PlanetBev]

I know the Repigs hated Clinton long before he put his foot in the front door of The White House, but I don't remember them blaming him for the previous administration's failures less then two months into his term.

I knew they were furious that Clinton was in there, but I don't remember them being this deranged. They seem to be like rabid dogs in heat.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. Two months? Hell, it was Clinton's fault before he was inagurated

I saw my first "Impeach Clinton" bumper sticker a week or two after election day.

And the Democratic opposition to him in Congress was intense

[TTUBatfan2008]

2. Rush has been blaming Obama for the stock market crash since election day...

So I'd say they are pretty similar. The right always does this. It's their M.O.

[Captain Hilts]

29. Don't I wish Prez Obama was that powerful! nt

[FormerDittoHead]

8. I saw a local msg board - guy said Gingrinch said he may run in '12 made market go up...

They already live in a fantasy world where cutting taxes creates jobs and military spending isn't government spending....

What's to stop them from making up the craziest shit? The only thing they need is for 3 of them to agree that it's not THAT crazy of an idea and they start repeating it...

[sufrommich]

14. lol. I take it by your screen name that you might

have some first hand knowledge of the way that works. Hilarious.

[Captain Hilts]

52. Gingrich was a whole lot smarter and vicious than Mitch McConnell, if only...

because Gingrich generated more loyalty than McConnell. And Lott's gone.

And Dick Armey, Bob Michael, Tom Delay are gone.

[PatGund]

57. On election night.....

....I saw the local "Young Americans for Freedom" holding up PROFESSIONALLY PRINTED "Impeach Clinton" signs.

The hate was there long before Bill Clinton took office. The racism is what gives this an added disgust

[elleng]

3. Remember Don't Ask/Don't Tell?

Was pretty bad, but I can't exactly compare.

[Phx_Dem]

4. Oh yeah! Worse. n/t

[SharonAnn]

45. I agree! Much worse at that time. And there was no large % of supporters

like Obama has. Remember, for Clinton it was a three man race and he got less than 50% of the vote. And even those who supported him were not as enthusiastic. Of course, he ran a more top-down campaign so I thnk people felt less invested.

[quickesst]

5. I was going to say.......

....it probably wouldn't have been as bad, but you can always count on the Democrats, in office and out, to level the playing field. A lot of Democrats just don't like winners. Thanks.
quickesst

[rvablue]

18. "A lot of Democrats dont like winners"?!?!?!?

:wtf: are you talking about.


Are you blaming the incoherent smears and lies that spew out of the RW on Democrats.

I'm not following your reasoning?

[Captain Hilts]

21. Sam Nunn was so pissed he didn't have the guts to run for Prez he made Bubba miserable.

He gave us Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. yes

[billyoc]

7. Except for the Birthers, it seems identical to me.

[Hekate]

9. Minus the death threats, yeah. The GOP's wingnut masters and base are despicable. nt

[backscatter712]

42. No, the death threats were out there too.

IIRC, some companies were openly selling bumper stickers saying "Where's Lee Harvey Oswald when we need him?"

You stay classy, Republicans...

[Hekate]

46. True, I forgot--and the Clintons were accused of being murderers as well. nt

[sufrommich]

10. Yes. The republicans are pros at squealing like pigs. nt

[kickysnana]

11. So ugly Vince Foster offed himself. n/t

[bluestateguy]

12. Yes. I actually remember it being worse

They constantly reminded us every day that Clinton did not win a 50%+ majority of the vote.

Guess that argument is not operable this time.

[seemunkee]

13. I saw Impeach Hillary too stickers before the inauguration

Yeah, it started just as early. They can barely contain the bile when their own people are in control

[Peacetrain]

15. Oh yeah.,.. it is modus operendi republicani loonitis striking again

[PlanetBev]

22. Loonitis

I like that...adding to vocabulary right now!

These people have jungle rot of the mind.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. It was just as bad,

although this time there is the extra special racist sauce they serve up with it all. But during Clinton, they nuts were making Militias and preparing for the One World Government to take their guns, from day one.

[Captain Hilts]

20. The 'white trash' meme was used against Clinton. nt

[rvablue]

17. It was just as bad. It's the GOP's M.O.......slash and burn politics... that's all they got AND

tax cuts. :grr:

[Captain Hilts]

19. Ooooh yeeeeaaaah.

They're stupid hillbillies.
They're murderers.
He's a draft dodger who has no right to let gays in the military.
She must be gay.
He doesn't know what he's doing. Two AG nominees have stepped down.
He wears a polo shirt in the Oval Office at night.
His mother is white trash who goes to the racetrack.
Vince Foster was having an affair with Hillary.
The Clintons had Foster killed.

[Still Sensible]

23. Pretty much.

They were after Clinton as an "immoral" person even before the inauguration because of the Jennifer Flowers dust up. Then when he came out of the gate with executive orders overturning some of his predecessors' actions and moved forward on DADT, it was like the bulls had been let loose in Spain. They hammered and hammered on everything imaginable. With that starting point, they never let up--just killing the administration on Hillary's health care initiatives (admittedly she did not approach that well at all). They trumped up the whole "Travel Gate" situation and when Vince Foster committed suicide the crazies were out there accusing Bill and Hillary of murder. Of course all that eventually led to Monica and impeachment... but the climate from the day Bill was elected was toxic to say the least.

The only thing the Limbaugh-led republicans hate worse than a democratic president is a popular one! At this point President Obama's popularity is not budging and it is certainly driving them crazy. They will stay in an all out assault as long as they can (until it starts to cost them politically). They never really had to pay much of political price because of the perceived vulnerability of Bill Clinton. They always carried out their bile with the fervor of the religious right which always considered Bill a sleazeball--Slick Willie they called him. It had to gall them to no end for Clinton to leave office with high approval ratings.

It won't be so easy for them to maintain such an onslaught against Obama unless he somehow really screws up and gives them an opening.

[Captain Hilts]

39. The media has convinced people that Clinton was unpopular.

And all the Clinton fatigue crap, which just didn't exist. I was in political polling at the time, and every, EVERY survey showed Bubba beating either Bush or Gore and beating Bush and Gore. Not even close. There was no Clinton fatigue. And he left office at 70% approval.

Sad to see folks here fall for that shit.

[Fresh_Start]

24. happened earlier in the CLinton administration

I seem to recall it started the first week after the inauguration.

[ddeclue]

25. YES... if anything it was worse then than now...

The Republicans KNOW they've fucked up the whole world right now and the peasants with pitchforks and torches aren't on their side so they are being more careful now than then.

Doug D.

[Captain Hilts]

28. Interesting point. There's a wee spot of contrition now that was absent then. nt

[slackmaster]

26. Yes

Very much so.

[Clio the Leo]

27. Yep and it ended EVEN WORSE! :-) NT

[Beacool]

30. Hell, yes!!!

The day that a special prosecutor goes after the Obamas, humiliates Michelle by dragging her in front of a grand jury, bankrupts them, persecutes them for 5 years and spends millions of dollars just to find out that he got a few BJs from some more than willing girl, then I'll agree that Obama had it just as bad as the Clintons.

Oh, and let's not forget about the impeachment. Hell, If we could right now have the economy that we had under Clinton, I would volunteer to get on my knees if that's what it took.

x(

[jmowreader]

31. It was this mean and ugly in August 1992

IIRC the Pukes were blaming Bush's recession on the fact Clinton was talking about it. They claimed he was talking the economy into the recession Bush had already put it in.

OTOH, in 2000 Bush's people really DID talk the economy down. But that was okay. IOKIYAR, y'know?

[bigwillq]

32. Yes, yes, yes.

Yes.

[Captain Hilts]

33. Don't forget the FDR was crippled from catching VD from Eleanor who got it from a black man shit.

Everything old is new again.

[sandnsea]

49. I missed that

I occasionally remind people that FDR was a communist, but I never heard that little dit about Eleanor.

[Captain Hilts]

63. Actually, 'they' said she was actually part black and, to her credit, she would not deny...

or refute this charge.

She'd say, "I have relatives and ancestors from Georgia and I can't account for their behavior."

Never denied being 'part black' thus not acknowledging it as the insult it was intended to be.

[DFLforever]

34. It was worse with Clinton

The media were asking whether he was a failure a month BEFORE he took office.

Plus the Repubs were much more powerful in the early 90's than they are now...they were on the ascendant rather than in decline.

[creeksneakers2]

35. Much worse

Bob Dornan had Clinton pegged as a KGB agent. Dornan tried to provoke mass desertion by US troops too.

Others said Clinton went from Russia to North Vietnam where he teased American POWs in tiger cages.

They said Hillary was a witch. They also said she had a plot to have children sue their parents.

They said both Clintons had a plot to destroy families.

That's just the beginning of it. They launched about a dozen new smears a day, watching to see which ones gained momentum.

They are afraid to smear as much now. The net is around, and people complain to the media via E-mail. The GOP also overreacted to Hillary. They let Obama define himself because they wanted Hillary stopped above all else.

[Captain Hilts]

37. I forgot about the children taking their parents to court stufff! And B-1 Bob Dornan.

Remember how it was George F. Will and Bill Weld who ended up defending Clinton about the trip to the Soviet Union? THAT's how weird it got.

Ah, such bad memories.

Thanks a LOT, pal!

[Beacool]

72. Dornan!!!

I had completely forgotten about that asshole.

x(

[AllentownJake]

36. Yep

Absolutely bat shit insane, they were accusing Clinton of everything from fraud to murder before he even took the oath.

[JuniperLea]

38. Yes, absolutely...

And it never let up.

[AZBlue]

40. I don't think DU was around during the beginning of the Clinton administration.

[WonderGrunion]

41. Somalia and Waco

Both operations were started under poppy's regime and he promised to have both finished before Clinton stepped into office. He didn't and left both situations simmering for an unprepared administration to deal with and Clinton was roundly blamed for both incidents collapsing. It wasn't his fault, but that didn't stop the Murrow building from being bombed by McVeigh or "Blackhawk Down" from getting made.

[Top Cat]

43. I'm sorry but I think race has alot to do with it..

[Captain Hilts]

51. But it doesn't explain the hugely high positive ratings Colin Powell has no matter what or why...

Condi Rice's never fell that low. Or why black men have been the top box office star several times.

[TayTay]

44. Yes, it was this bad.

Pres. Clinton as sandbagged his 2nd or 3rd day in office with the "Gays in the Military" issue. It went down hill from there.

This is all about the money, the only thing the opposition really holds near and dear to their hearts. They will do or say anything, without pause or scruples, to protect the money. We have only just begun and the mean stuff has yet to really begin.

[old mark]

47. It got bad the first day he was in office. The RWers were complaining

that he had done nothing about his campaiogn promises! This was about 11AM the day after the inauguration.

They are very good haters not much good at anything else.

mark

[Midwestern Democrat]

48. Much, much worse - especially "on the street" as opposed to "on the TV"

The hatred of Clinton in '93 was palpable - I honestly haven't really heard people complaining about Obama on the street and in the workplace; with Clinton, I heard it every single day.

[Captain Hilts]

50. The gays in the military thing really pissed off white men over 40 and vets. nt

[AlinPA]

53. Yes, but now there is intense racial hatred and what seems like a more fervent wish

that the administration fail. It is going to get worse, hate groups are growing.

[msanthrope]

54. Oh, yeah--it was even worse with the Clintons...they had special

prosecutors out the ying yang....these birther clowns are comical in comparison.

[cherish44]

55. Clinton was pounded nonstop from the time he was elected

It was one bullshit thing after another. It was their intent to see him impeached from day one.

[Captain Hilts]

65. And to distract him from being Prez. nt

[Jakes Progress]

56. I remember how elated I was

on the night of the inauguration. I thought America had finally come to its senses. I remember watching the Bill and Hillary and Al and Tipper dancing to Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow", laughing and being happy.

Later I read how many republicans swore to wipe that smile from his hillbilly face. It was a shock to me that they couldn't see. Now I know that as our wonderful new president and his classy first lady danced at the inauguration, there were thousands of bitter, mean, nasty souls out there grinding their teeth and venting their bile.

The lack of any form of bipartisanship or even wanting what's best for the country on the part of the greedy, selfish, small-minded, hypocritical republicans was a wake-up call for me. THe honorable members of the opposition that I argued with in my youth are gone. The gop is filled with small thinkers and selfish bastards. That's why I hated to see Obama wasting his time trying to get them to come to the table. To me, Rush Limbaugh IS the republican party. Don't expect fairness or thought or reflection or honesty from them.

Obama is getting just what Clinton got. It is just what the neocons planned from the beginning.

[x-g.o.p.er]

58. Yes, and it was this bad this early when

Bush 43 was inagurated, and it was this bad this early when Bush 41 was inagurated. And everyone went apeshit when Ford pardoned Nixon, but that was kind of a different circumstance.

The last real "honeymoon" where there was a lot of Kumbayah was either Reagan or Carter.

There's no one on either side of the aisle anymore that gives the new guy a break if he or she is of the opposite party, it's just part of the fabric of modern politics.

[Jennicut]

59. Yup. I was 17 in 1993 and I remember it well. It was very ugly. Be prepared.

[cooolandrew]

60. They threw all they could at Clintons murder, false land deal claims, affairs, it's the same poop >

different day. It's just boring at this stage I just zone them out keep moving forward. I expected no less from these people really, very sad. All they are doing is showing to the world who they truly are as the world previously didn't have as much awareness ot what they were like. Internationally the Clintons had a great reputation within the borders they were totally harassed by these pigs.

[Captain Hilts]

66. That's exactly my attitude. nt

[PurityOfEssence]

61. Worse

They didn't think he was entitled to it due to Perot's soaking-off of lots of voters, and they HATED him for toting around that bible and having the gall to admit infidelity.

People forget that one of the first things he did was to push for gays in the military, something not very popular and that really couldn't net him much advantage in purely numerical political terms.

They HATED him. It was considerably worse; people had no compunction about calling him a degenerate, lying so-and-so; they're studiously avoiding questioning Obama's character. George W. Bush had been flying so high after the successful Gulf War that many Democratic hopefuls didn't even bother to run. The Republicans considered the White House their rightful property, and this upstart took it away.

[Captain Hilts]

67. A vital point you made: Dems like Nunn, Rockefeller, etc. were PISSED Bubba had the nerve to run

and that he managed to win. They realized they should have made a 'go' at it and didn't. They were jealous Bubba beat a prez with approval ratings in the 90s.

[PurityOfEssence]

68. The reactionaries were also out for blood

Obama's personality isn't being questioned at all. Clinton was embattled from the very beginning.

[Drunken Irishman]

62. It was worse because Clinton had to fight off those in his own party.

Clinton originally wanted to push through a stimulus bill similar to Obama's, but was met with opposition not only within the right, but within his own party. The conservative Democrats were just as much a thorn in his side as the Republicans.

Remember, Clinton's approval ratings tanked in his first year.

His highest of that year was 64, on Feb. 20th.



By June of 1993, he was at 38%.

1993 was horrible for Clinton. 1994 wasn't much better.

[Captain Hilts]

64. Sam Nunn. Jim Cooper. Etc. nt

[Ladyhawk]

69. I was hoping the division in my family would lessen.

Now I see it's just getting revved up and it's up to me to release the anger on a daily basis. I can't change my family. I can only change myself.

[AndrewP]

70. Yes it was. Repigs were in full attack mode then as well.

[BuyingThyme]

71. It's difficult to compare being that they didn't hand Clinton a bag of shit

as he crossed the threshold.

[marshall]

73. It's a catch 22 of being so high profile

I was looking at a graphic for the old "Office of the President Elect" and thinking--that was good because it gave pep[;e hope and it helped pave the way for the transition. But on the other hand it gave the impression that Obama was in charge before he actually was. His authority seems to overlap into the Bush era (in the minds of the masses) when in fact it really didn't. And as a result he's getting blamed for stuff that wasn't his fault.