Panetta: Bill Clinton more than paid for Lewinsky scandal

[babylonsister]

Panetta: Bill Clinton ‘more than paid’ for Lewinsky scandal
By Julia Manchester - 11/18/17 05:25 PM EST


Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Saturday that former President Bill Clinton "more than paid the price" for his affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which led to his impeachment in the House of Representatives.

"The mere fact that he went through an impeachment process as President means that there will always be a shadow on the legacy of his presidency, so at least from my point of view, he's more than paid the price," Panetta said on CNN.

The former Obama official's remarks come as various Democrats have raised questions about the treatment of Clinton in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations made against him in the 1990s.

more...

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/361051-panetta-bill-clinton-more-than-paid-for-lewinsky-scandal

[pat_k]

1. Clinton's refusal to resign was imperative. Tragic to see any Dem parroting RW noise machine.

A consensual affair is NOT a "high crime." Refusing to resign was step one in a landmark fight for the integrity of our constitutional democracy. Rise of the netroots in opposition to the rise of the RW noise machine can be traced to the people who saw the concerted attack for what it was, stood up, said "No Way!" -- and won. MoveOn had it right (for those who may not remember, MoveOn was founded as "Censure and MoveOn" ). Folks who organized through those early forums -- like TableTalk, and later DU -- had it right. It's tragic to see people like Gillibrand (and some on this board) parroting RW propaganda from the players who poured money into destroying Clinton, tried to destroy ordinary truth tellers like Julie Hyatt Steele, financed the pillory of Anita Hill, orchestrated the stolen elections of 2001 and 2004, and on and on.

[GaryCnf]

6. Resisting impeachment

which was 100% politically- motivated and unfounded in any genuine concern for the rule of law, the rights of women in the workplace OR for a moral code of conduct was an imperative. Anyone who participated in the perpetration of that travesty betrayed their oath of office and their country.

Saying that Clinton should have resigned -- particularly if it refers to a point in time after he had fought back the abomination of impeachment -- is at very least acceptable coming from a Democrat who unquestionably fights for the rights of women across the board.

[R B Garr]

8. The "rights of women" do not purport to include protection for flashing your panties

in the workplace. Let's get real. Lots of women go to work everyday and do not do that. "Rights of women" also do not purport to protect people who commit felonies while trying to bust people having affairs with illegal recording devices.

It's just ridiculous how basic acts of decency are only applied to Democrats in power and then with an extra splurge of the ever-ubiquitous "moral code of conduct." WTF does that even mean. Should people be moral? Sure, but to use it as a catch-all just for piousness and gotchas is disingenuous. That must be why Bill Clinton remains very popular.

[GaryCnf]

10. Take out the Clinton name and this sounds

like it came from a Trumpster.

[R B Garr]

13. The same to you, ever more so.

Calling for a Democrat to resign over "morals" is EXACTLY what he was hunted down over -- for years. No questions asked, just march the Democrat out of the White House, u betcha.

[lunamagica]

7. Great post. I'm amazed by the posters here who say he should have resign.

[Yupster]

31. Here was the mistake

All the through the impeachment process, the Democratic position was that while Clinton was very wrong, what he did was no a high crime or misdemeanor that rose to impeachment. They urged censure instead.

So then the senate voted not to remove the president. Was the next move a formal vote of censure in the senate?

No, the Democratic senators went down and held a celebratory pep rally. At the time I said that looked bad.

I think if they would have quickly held their censure vote things would look a lot better for everyone including Clinton today.

[MiniMe]

11. It was never about the affair, it was about lying to Congress

Though they hated him so much, the lie was just an excuse, something they could nail him on

[pat_k]

19. As I answered another poster below...

... Not a high-crime. On the applicable law, I suggest Jeffrey Toobin's book: "A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President"

[madville]

12. He was impeached for perjury

which is a felony. The affair wasn't illegal but lying about it under oath was.

[pat_k]

18. Not a high-crime. On the applicable law, I suggest Jeffrey Toobin's book.

"A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President"

[R B Garr]

15. Exactly. The Moral Majority had a stranglehold on higher office and we

all know what and who that meant to harm and it included all manner of groups they wanted to reject. He did the right thing by fighting back against their war on liberals.

People should break out the Starr Report again and figure out what the lies actually were (mostly weren't).

[Gabi Hayes]

29. never Mind; shouldve read all posts first

re: msm v gore

[Turbineguy]

2. And thanks to the republican party...

so did we!

[Iliyah]

3. The RWers must be truly insecured because they are always

I mean always talk about the Clintons horribly like they are sub human and run the underworld.

[TheDebbieDee]

4. I agree. President get away with anything...

A married man that was caught in an affair was IMPEACHED for events related to trying to hide an extra-marital affair...

He's been slandered, accused of being a sexual predator, been disbarred, etc.

[aikoaiko]

5. I would say he paid the price for lying under oath.

[justiceischeap]

9. Yep, he was disbarred wasnt he? nt

[madville]

14. I always wondered if Gore would have handily beaten GWB in 2000

If Clinton had resigned and Gore had taken over. We'll never know but it's an interesting "what if" scenario.

[Alice11111]

17. Well, it didn't work for Prez Ford.

[VOX]

20. Gore is completely unlike Ford.

He’s the best president we never had.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

33. Youre missing the point

Clinton resigning would have legitimized the Lewinsky affair as an actual political scandal and not just an embarassing private matter gone public.

Ford was a mediocre president but a decent man but he couldn’t escape the overwhelming association with his former boss’s corruption.

[lunamagica]

21. The repugs went after him so he'd resign. I can't believe some here think he should have surrender

Last edited Sat Nov 18, 2017, 11:17 PM - Edit history (1)

to their demands. Bill Clinton was a good president who left the country in great shape. He deserved to finish his second term

[Hekate]

23. +1

[Alice11111]

25. Yeah. He had adult affairs, like a lot of others. Wish he hadn't.

However, he was a great Prez.

[still_one]

24. Nope. I remember the media were relentless with how they covered Al Gore. They used right wing

talking points to poison the whole environment.

"Gore was boring, Gore is stiff", and they constantly mocked Gore for "climate change", and "inventing the internet", instead of factually pointing out the fact that Al Gore was instrumental in legislation that made the internet accessible to the public.

The unfair treatment of Gore was outrageous. Chris Matthews, who voted for bush, always went out of his way to take a swipe at Gore. That is why I don't watch that phony creep

[Alice11111]

26. Chris Matthews voted for Bush??? No way. I get sick of

him, and he shares blame for Hillary's defeat, but I can't believe he voted for Bush. We had a large part of the Dem HQ, elected officials and unions, working out of my offices in 2000. We were up all night watching the coverage.
Matthews was engaged and upset.

[still_one]

28. By his own admission

He has always been a real jerk.

[Alice11111]

34. Dumbfounded. He's worse than I thought.

[emulatorloo]

35. Clinton was very popular (polls) and Gore distanced himself. Gore Might have won if he

had Clinton campaign for him.

[Alice11111]

16. No kidding. That show is over and done with.

Not to even mention it was with consenting adults, and one of them was egged on by the Repubs in the background.

[marble falls]

22. And he gave up his law licence for lying about it. He definately paid for it at least is some part.

[Alice11111]

27. Plus, millions in attorney fees, impeachment, and

the ongoing investigations.

[JI7]

30. Ken Starr had millions of Dollars and FBI agents and looked into everything and could only come up

with a consensual affair that he lied about.

[dalton99a]

36. Yep.

[riversedge]

32. Yes, Both Bill and Hillary have more than paid for Bills affair. I am glad that Bill

fought the impeachment charge.