Posted on 10/19/2006 6:55:14 AM PDT by presidio9
Former President Bill Clinton urged Democrats on Wednesday to strive for an inclusive politics of "common good" and fight back against the divisive approach of Republican leaders.
Less than three weeks before November 7 elections to decide control of Congress, Clinton said U.S. political debate had been degraded by "ideological, right-wing" Republicans who demonized opponents and concentrated power in the hands of a privileged few.
Clinton said he longed for a politics that celebrated differences and disagreements without condemnation, and worked toward equal opportunity, shared responsibility and a sense of community.
"Ideological, divisive, demonizing, distracting politics, they may be very good for an election, particularly when people feel unsettled and insecure, but they don't do much to advance the common good," he said at Georgetown University, on the same stage where 15 years ago he called for a "New Covenant" in politics.
"This sort of politics, striving for the common good, for me stands in stark contrast to both the political and governing philosophy of the leadership in Washington today and for the last six years," he said.
Clinton, whose presidency from 1993 to 2001 was marked by pitched battles with Republican congressional leaders, including his impeachment, said there was nothing wrong with a hard-nosed fight over philosophy or issues.
"It's not that we want a bland, mushy meaningless politics. We like our debate," Clinton said. "But we want it to be connected somehow to the real lives of real people."
Clinton has teamed recently with former Republican President George Bush, the current president's father, on relief efforts for victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
Clinton's wife, former first lady and New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a likely contender for the White House in 2008 and is running for re-election to the Senate this year.
Clinton said the growing strength in recent decades of the "ideological, right-wing" elements of the Republican Party had been realized in President George W. Bush's administration and the Republican-led Congress.
"This is the first time when on a consistent basis the most conservative and ideological wing of the Republican Party had both the executive and the legislative branch," Clinton said.
"They believe the country is best served by the maximum concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the right people -- right in both senses," he said.
"They favor unilateralism whenever possible and cooperation when it's unavoidable," he added.
He said the philosophy did not serve the country well.
"If you've got an ideology, you've already got your mind made up. You know all the answers and that makes evidence irrelevant and arguments a waste of time," he said.
Projection alert!!
Sure sounds like he's talking about Democrats......
Friggin communitarians.
New flash. It ain't going to work.
This from the most divisive President of the 20th century.
Nope, it ain't. Conservative Christians may be a little ticked at Republicans, but they sure as hell ain't gonna take political advice from an adulterous perjuror.
From RedState.com
But what does “common good” mean? We’re here to translate for you. It means: taxes, and lots of them.
Don’t take our word for it. Listen to Hillary Clinton, herself perhaps the originator of the “common good” theme:
“Many of you are well enough off that … the tax cuts may have helped you … We’re saying that for America to get back on track, we’re probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. … We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”
Yikes, put me down for the “common bad,” then.
.
In 1996 President CLINTON pushed hard to have our U.S. Long Beach Navy Base turned over to the Communist Chinese in exchange for the China Army Money flowing thru the Private Residence of the CLINTON White House at the time.
While still President, CLINTON went abroad to say that all the countries of the world should be playing on the same LEVEL playing field instead of their being just one Super Power = US.
After leaving the Presidency, CLINTON publically proclaimed that there may not even be an American around in 300 years.
This while doing all that he could as President to make it so..!!!
Common Good..?
.
"America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices for 'the common good,' but by the productive genius of free men ..."
Thank you komrade Klinton.
On a somewhat tangential theme, I happened to see the film "Failsafe" on tv the other day. And it struck me that this is the perfect Clinton-Democrat movie--sacrifice the lives of 3 million New Yorkers for the "common good."
Orwell called it 'doubleplusgood'.......
Correction...."Bill Clinton preaches politics of Communists Good".
"Get thee hence, Satan!"
This kind of talk leads one to believe he is still running for the UN office. It also implies that "the common good" means that the majority rules and that majority would be without limits like religion or moral convictions that appear to limit other behaviors. Not good.
Are there any people left in America who still believe something Clinton says?
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