Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

Big Mac Does a Nose Plant

by BooMan
Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 09:52:20 PM EST

For me, Terry McAuliffe is kind of a distilled, pure form of Clintonism. He basically represents the crystalline heart of Clintonism. Terry McAuliffe got his ass handed to him today in the Virginia governor's Democratic primary. This is a total repudiation. He didn't just lose. He got beat two-to-one in a three-way race. He was obliterated.

This is a guy who had the best rolodex of big-money donors on the planet. And he failed, utterly. If only more Democrats like him could be rejected, we might actually get some positive change in this country.

Big Mac Does a Nose Plant | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 1)

That is change that I can believe in!

The Underground Railroad

by Oscar In Louisville on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 09:54:10 PM EST

Clinton (none / 0)

Which didn't you like, was it the peace or the prosperity?

by AliceDem on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 10:06:45 PM EST

Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 1)

By a brisk accounting, Blacks got the crime bill, women got "welfare reform," labor got NAFTA, gays and lesbians got DOMA.

q.v. Rainbow's Gravity

The Underground Railroad

by Oscar In Louisville on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 10:20:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Brisk indeed, Oscar! Don't forget the phony anti-terrorist actions (Sudanese aspirin factory, anyone?) timed to draw attention away from his domestic troubles?

And yes, that pun was intended. ;)

Let's also not forget the DMCA, numerous extensions of police powers, handing control of Congress to the GOP, and so damaging the Democratic Party that we ended up with Dubya. NAFTA? Try the repeal of Glass-Steagall. Then there was the discreet non-stop bombing campaign in Iraq, Dubya-esque inaction on the I/P conflict (barring the traditional presidential eleventh-hour legacy-saving Hail Mary pass), and... well, I could go on all day.

The worst thing he did, IMHO, was welfare "reform". He reinforced the vicious Republican myths about the poor and hurt millions of the most vulnerable American families for political gain, instead of standing up to Gingrich and his fellow fascists and pointing out that 80% of welfare recipients were a) in the system for less than two years, and b) children.

Peace and prosperity, my ass. The only reason Clinton doesn't stand out as one of the worst presidents of the 20th century is that he was bookended by even worse presidents. Considering how low the GOP sets the bar, being better than a Republican really doesn't count for much.

by corvus on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 11:56:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Bill Clinton was the first black Republican President.

by Bob In Pacifica on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:08:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Sadly, I disagree with you on a couple of points.

First, welfare reform was nowhere near the worst of Clinton's domestic policies. I opposed it at the time, but I do not believe most of my fears were realized. He was a coward to sign it because of its draconian measures towards resident aliens, but the war on drugs was far worse, as was bank consolidation.

Second, our presidents have been epically bad. The last president we had other than Clinton that could be considered halfway decent was LBJ and he gave us Vietnam escalation. Kennedy's tenure was too brief to fairly judge, but he made some rather glaring errors. Truman gets rehabilitated by some, but I don't buy most of it. He left office as unpopular as Dubya for a reason.

Skipping FDR, the three preceding Republican presidents were absolutely dreadful. And Woodrow Wilson was an incredibly flawed president that gave us the Palmer Raids, and thought Birth of a Nation was a splendid film. Taft sucked. McKinley was the like a Dubya for his century.

In the entire twentieth-century, the only presidents I would elect again for a second chance are Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Kennedy (to give his a full-term), and Clinton. I'd take LBJ over the rest of him for his moral courage. I'd take Carter after that because he was a decent fellow.

As frustrating and disappointing as Clinton was, he was actually one of our better presidents. That's mainly because he was smart, curious, and genuinely interested in policy. He was also a mater politician, which helps.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:10:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

You realize that all reads like a condemnation of democracy, or one of those resigned acceptances of democracy as the least awful of the available alternatives.

Of course, I'd have to agree with that. After two terms of Dubya, the only excuse I can come up with for democracy is that the alternatives all suck more, not because democracy doesn't suck in every imaginable way.

Unfortunately, until we come up with a reliable way to manufacture benign and enlightened philosopher-kings, I'm going to be stuck in the bleachers waving my pro-democracy pennant with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

by corvus on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:37:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Meh.

I think we did alright considering.

Our country is rather fucked up, but we compare pretty favorably with other countries.

The good thing is that Obama can probably earn a spot in Mt. Rushmore simply by not getting caught with his penis in someone not-his-wife's mouth.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:45:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Dwight Eisenhower?????????? (none / 0)

Which did you prefer, his policy towards Iran, or Guatamala? Or was it the 4 recessions we had under his administration?

by AliceDem on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:40:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Dwight Eisenhower?????????? (none / 0)

The Iran and Guatemala coups are among Ike's biggest blunders. Along with them, I'd say the general glide-path of the early CIA were the biggest blots on his presidency. And the Bay of Pigs is really the legacy of that.

So, yeah, Ike made some errors, some of which really came back to bite us in the ass.

But, you know, FDR gave us the Japanese Internment camps, and Teddy gave us some rather muscular imperialism, and Woodrow flubbed the League of Nations and gave us the Palmer Raids.

No president is flawless and most of them have been terrible. Eisenhower's record is near the very top of 20th century presidents. I don't think it is really debatable, but I'm willing to debate it.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:55:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Clinton (none / 0)

what Oscar said...

by BooMan on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 10:22:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 1)

Maybe he shoulda done an Arlen and crossed to the other side. /snark

Oh, there you are, Perry. -Phineas -SLB-

by boran2 (blogistan@yahoo.com) on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 10:19:38 PM EST

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 0)

Thanks for your continuing coverage of this story. Very interesting. And satisfying!

by QueerReader (dean@queerreader.com) on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 10:51:56 PM EST

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 0)

maybe you should draw up a list of all of the democrats that should be removed from office.
How about starting with ...........

by billjpa (billjpa@aol.com) on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 11:11:42 PM EST

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 0)

Crystal McAuliffe. Nice. Synthesized in the McAuliffe labs of the Clintonista cartel.

Shall we call this a shining example of harm reduction?

by corvus on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 11:40:29 PM EST

Voter Literacy (none / 0)

Ya mean the voters would not let McAuliffe buy the nomination? They are becoming more literate? Praise the Lord, as they say in Rural Virginia.

Michaela

by michaelmt (MrMichael_t@yahoo.com) on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 11:44:23 PM EST

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 1)

This just in, Terry has declared that Virginia doesn't matter.

by Lawnguylander (lawnguylander@yahoo.com) on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:07:24 AM EST

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 0)

some hard working Americans, white Americans, voted for him, I'm sure.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:13:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

PUMA (none / 0)

Was busy getting 15 minutes hate on for Booman. Otherwise they would have ROARED!

Looks like once they purge Alegre it will be 100% cranks, crackpots and GOP astro-turfers.

by ILuvChez17 on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 01:16:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 0)

Frankly, the bigger news is that Creigh Deeds won two-to-one over both NOVA candidates. No surprise there.

But what is important is that Creigh Deeds will probably win as governor. Now, the question for Democrats in Virginia is how to increase the number of progressive Democrats in the Virginia legislature.

Most Virginia Democrats are confident that the blue wave will continue and into the 2010 Congressional elections.

Clintonism is over; it briefly saved the Democratic Party's bacon but as a fleeting blip in an otherwise bleak 30 years. All you can say is that it was less bad than the alternatives.

50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts

by TarheelDem on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 09:17:32 AM EST

Re: Big Mac Does a Nose Plant (none / 0)

there's been a strange misreading of this post in the intertubes. I didn't say Clintonism is dead. I said that Clintonism got hammered last night and that things would improve if more Clintonites got hammered in the future.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 09:15:05 PM EST

Big Mac Does a Nose Plant | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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