I’ve long thought that the Republican Party’s burning hatred of Bill Clinton was because he had co-opted their message. He was a centrist Democrat who was willing to go along with a lot of Republican aspirations like cutting back on Welfare, embracing some law-and-order positions, implementing don’t-ask-don’t-tell, relaxing regulations on banking, balancing the budget. I even used to quip that I’d never voted Republican unless you count my vote for Bill Clinton. So the Rs had to double down on the direction they’d begun under Reagan, moving further and further right. By the time Obama was elected, the country was in economic turmoil, the Rs knew nothing but opposition and he had to fight just to keep the country working. I think Obama would have liked to pull the party a little more to the left but didn’t have that option. I’m grateful for Bernie and his movement, as it appears to be finally moving back in a healthier, balanced direction. I’d like to think that the Rs would swing back from the rather bleak and destructive place on the Right fringe they’re in now. That would take a resounding victory for Joe Biden and two houses.
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Aurin:
Great piece. It brings what is now historical context to life. Having lived through the period and observing the Clintons, I was convinced that the crime bills were a cross between good intentions and what was politically feasible at the time but as a white person didn’t feel that my making that defense would be heard as intended.
The thing I am most interested in is this passage:
So, the Republican Party made some sense. From our perspective, it offered the appealing one-two punch of cruel torture for our enemies and champagne bubble baths for our friends. The Democratic Party message was “they’re wrong. This won’t work.” Of course, the Dems were right. ** I even think most of us knew they were right at the time**
Given that, what could the Democrats have done to break through at the time?
The author’s claim that the Democratic Party in 2020 is ideologically the same as the Republican Party of the 80s and 90s is ridiculous on its face.
Very interesting story, but I’m wondering:
“Mazda rolled out the Luce, Nissan created the Gloria, and by the end of the 1980s, Toyota introduced the king of German luxury rip-offs: the Lexus.”
Some generations of the Mazda Luce were imported into the US, but as the Mazda 929, similar to their other two sizes of cars only one size up, and sold at regular Mazda dealers. Mazda never sold any car labeled as the Luce in the US. Mazda did later try to market a premium line to compete with Lexus and Infinity, the Millenia, but dropped it after one generation and didn’t ever have separate dealerships. No model of Nissan Gloria was ever sold in the US under any name. The premium line at Nissan is the Infinity, and the flagship Infinity Q45 sedan arrived at the same time as Toyota’s Lexus LS 400, both using dealerships that were separate from the parent company ones.
I just wonder how that happened. Japanese editor?
Oh wait - “Toyota introduced the king of German luxury rip-offs: the Lexus.”
German editor? The original Lexus LS 400 sedan was definitely styled with inspiration from the Mercedes S class, but not exactly a rip off or copy. Its body was built to visibly closer tolerances than any Mercedes, it was far more reliable, and a third cheaper.
“…the cool baritones of Margaret Thatcher and John Majors.” I don’t think Thatcher was a baritone.
All just odd, if not major problems with the piece which I’m sure is generally representing the truth, but enough weirdness to make me wonder how much of the rest was really exactly reliable.
Somebody please do a comparison of that Buchanan speech and Trump’s from last night so I don’t have to. I’m guessing mostly very similar arguments. I also remember a truly odious speech from Mrs Quayle.
I agree with most of what you say. You definitely have the facts right. But I was, and remain, cognizant of a conservative side to his fiscal policy, at least as he expressed it.
BTW: Joel, male, he or that motherfucker.
I read this from Mr. Squire:
So, the Republican Party made some sense. From our perspective, it offered the appealing one-two punch of cruel torture for our enemies and champagne bubble baths for our friends. The Democratic Party message was “they’re wrong. This won’t work.” Of course, the Dems were right. I even think most of us knew they were right at the time
Then I had the mischance to start reading Andrew Sullivan’s latest self-made controvery:
Rioting and lawlessness is evil. And any civil authority that permits, condones or dismisses violence, looting and mayhem in the streets disqualifies itself from any legitimacy. This comes first. If one party supports everything I believe in but doesn’t believe in maintaining law and order all the time and everywhere, I’ll back a party that does. In that sense, I’m a one-issue voter, because without order, there is no room for any other issue. Disorder always and everywhere begets more disorder; the minute the authorities appear to permit such violence, it is destined to grow. And if liberals do not defend order, fascists will.
And so we come around again. Fear and greed drive decisions. Just as we see with many personal risk management decisions for Covid or societal decisions regarding climate change. There is little time left for people to learn and grow as Mr. Squire had the opportunity to do
So the DLC, the Third Way, and Clinton’s own statements on the failures of the traditional Democrat party ideals were all fabrication by the GOP? Yeah… no.
Democrat Party??? So you also say the Republicon Party?
Hillary did not call the working class deplorables. That’s a lie. She said Trump supporters are a basket of deplorables. And she was right.
Well-chosen moniker, Bubba, for a bunkophile.
Poorly chosen fight.
THIS! 1000 likes.
Just because it makes you uncomfortable doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Clinton tried for more than “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He wanted gays to be able to serve openly. The Republicans fought it and he had to settle for allowing them to serve by making it illegal to ask about a person’s sexual preference. You can scoff at it now, but it was a huge step forward to acknowledge that it was not right to drum people out of the military because of sexual orientation. Clinton didn’t have to try, but he did, and he got the ball rolling in the right direction. I know it’s fashionable to bash him now, but Clinton did a whole lot of good for working people, and tried to do more, but never had the votes to get everything he wanted done.
The “Clinton was Reaganism with Black friends” part is describing an alternate reality. His administration was filled with people who believed in things like expanding access to health care and balancing the budget, not for ideological reasons, but because they were smart public policy. Clinton surely had his faults as a man and made huge mistakes in his policy choices, but I don’t recognize the picture painted of him here.
I really enjoyed the first half though, where the author described how his family came to be Black Republicans. Although, a true C-SPAN nerd would know that the name of the British PM who succeeded Margaret Thatcher was John Major, not “John Majors.”
Thank you for sharing your personal political experiences. Your article gave me some insights on believing in Republicans. So glad your parents woke up to smell the roses!
Over time Bill Clinton has been revised from the centrist Democrat he was to the junk version you spew. Note your use of trite platitudes ( capitalist globalism guy ) which rat you out. The President does not grant citizenship…that’s a Bernie Bro lie. FOX is the product of Ronald Reagan not Clinton.
HRC never said a disparaging word about Black people now take you fucking GOP’er ass out of here and go jerk off to Tucker.
Ah…an ankle biter. No idea what issue you have and since you declined to state it, nor does anyone else. Good job.
Specter also left the Republican Party.