Sanders: Bill Clinton's Scandals 'Totally Disgraceful'

[Purveyor]

Source: The Hill

By Lisa Hagen - 01/08/16 06:29 PM EST
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Friday called Bill Clinton’s sexual scandals “totally disgraceful and unacceptable” but said he would not use the former president's infidelities against Hillary Clinton.

Sanders' comments came after an Iowa town hall attendee raised Bill Clinton's affair in the White House and questioned if Hillary Clinton was qualified to be president, the Washington Post reported.

“My question to you is, isn't one of the qualifications to be president to have some kind of moral authority?,” the attendee asked Sanders. “I mean, how can you tell a Secret Service agent that he has to be fired for having an affair with a prostitute in a hotel room, but support a president who has an affair -- a known affair -- in the White House. It seems to me she isn't qualified."

"I hear what you’re saying,” Sanders responded. “Hillary Clinton is not Bill Clinton. What Bill Clinton did, I think we can all acknowledge was totally, totally, totally disgraceful and unacceptable.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/265297-sanders-bill-clintons-scandals-totally-disgraceful

[randys1]

1. AGain, Bernie rises above others. HILLARY CLINTON IS NOT BILL CLINTON

[24601]

34. Agree that she is not Bill. What did she know, when did she know it, and what part did she play in

attacking any woman upon which he preyed?

That is what is relevant to her fitness for office.

If she knew nothing and did nothing, fine. If she enabled him by attacking his accusers, then she is complicit and we should find someone else.

[CoffeeCat]

52. We should find someone else anyway (nt)

[NastyRiffraff]

55. That's a lot of "ifs"

Bernie Sanders is classier than a lot of his supporters.

[24601]

62. A lot of "ifs"? It was just two of them. And I set them up as binary (If A then B, if C then D)

without any shades of grey. The first "if" has a positive outcome for Mrs. Clinton while the second results in a negative outcome.

[Hortensis]

71. Actually, attacking Bill Clinton is NOT working for Trump,

with other GOP candidates distancing themselves from his comments. Perhaps Bernie should wait until Trump moves on to another topic before resuming it -- just to avoid the association.

[emulatorloo]

2. Good on Bernie.

Handled that excellently with his usual plain-spoken honesty and integrity.

[Renew Deal]

3. I don't think the president should be a moral authority.

We don't need fundies and other wanna-be moralists running this country.

[emulatorloo]

8. One can't blame Bernie for the language of the person who asked the question.

However one can praise Bernie for slapping down a Trump talking-point

[Renew Deal]

13. Not blaming him at all

[NJCher]

66. yes

Cher

[SoLeftIAmRight]

9. American are prudes

still - sex in the office can end badly

[840high]

12. Especially the Oval Office.

[CommonSenseDemocrat]

64. Monica Lewinsky worked for the President

Not cool. Not impeachable, but not cool.

BTW, my criticism of Clinton on this topic does extend to probably a great majority of male politicians historically, both Democrat and Republican.

[AlbertCat]

33. I don't think the president should be a moral authority.

I don't either.

Blow jobs are great!
But how STUPID is it to get a blow job IN THE OVAL OFFICE?

From some Fellini-esque intern????

[Uncle Joe]

58. You would grant fundies a monopoly on what moral authority means?

Are the issues of civil rights, voting rights, marriage rights, environmentalism, pay equity, universal health-care, massive income disparity, a woman's right to choose, anti-racism, and anti-demagoguery just to name a few moral issues?

[Arkana]

4. Yeah, piss off the Big Dog.

Good luck getting him to help you if you're the nominee.

[Robbins]

6. which was never going to happen

bernie isn't corporist.When clintons lose nomination they will stay quiet inless miracle happens and jeb Bush wins nodd then they
might endorse him like their old buddy Lieberman did to Mccain.

[Renew Deal]

15. Where were you convention time 2008?

[emulatorloo]

18. Historical precedent doesn't support that narrative.

When Bernie gets the nomination, HRC will endorse him and both will stump for him.

[Robbins]

20. I disagree

she is done in politics if bernie beats her.with obama they had to support him to be viable in future.when she loses again she has no
motivation to support him.

[Arkana]

28. Yup, just like they did with Obama.

Oh, wait, that's the opposite of what happened.

[Robbins]

42. Your ignoring what i said

she had to remain vital in 2008 for eacther 2012 or 2016.and bill clinton supporting obama in 2012 was all about her 2016 run.

[tularetom]

10. Um, he ain't so big anymore

Sort of like a really annoying yappy chihuahua.

Besides, he's spent his whole adult life sucking up to the republican elites like daddy bush. You think he'd jeopardize that relationship to campaign for the guy who beat out Hillary for the nomination?

Bill Clinton's sell by date was a long time ago. We used to feel sorry for him because the republicans hated him so much. But the country doesn't need the drama anymore.

[Arkana]

26. Yeah, you're right. It's not like he's an immensely popular ex-President

who positively brims with charisma and can rile a crowd anywhere or anything.

[denvine]

36. Actually, I am still pissed at him

What he does privately shouldn't matter but the repugs were trying to get him on anything they could. He gave them the ammo which I George Bush Presidency. Even though everything was going well in the country, everyone was focusing on his affair. Because of that Gore distanced himself from him when he should have been able to ride his coattails. In short, the fact that he couldn't keep his d#%k in his pants gave us 8 yrs of hell that will take a long time to get over. Because of the economy and all else going well, it should have been a cake walk for Gore.

[kjackson227]

69. ITA... eom

[Indepatriot]

32. Screw the Big Dog, he's a big reason we're in the shape we're in.

[thucythucy]

57. I think Reagan and the Bushes

are far more responsible for our current problems.

Reagan--derailed Carter's renewable energy and conservation efforts, derailed the Camp David peace process, funded bin Laden, gave us hundred billion dollar deficits, repealed the Fairness Doctrine, gave us Scalia et al on the Supreme Court and dozens of right wing federal district and appellate judges.

Bush II--9-11, Iraq, Katrina, more hundred billion dollar deficits, gutted regulatory agencies, gave us Roberts and Alito on the Supreme Court and scores of right wing judges, etc. etc.

Yes, I know about repealing Wall Street regs and "reforming" welfare. But compared to what the GOP has done, Clinton's era was a fairly good one, which is why he's still so popular. I still remember the (not so mock) headline when Bush II took office: "Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is over."

Sadly, truer words were rarely spoken.

[Indepatriot]

59. Lucy, The Lesser Of Two Evils is still Evil... his bullshit triangulating and indiscretions had

MAJOR consequences that we STILL haven't recovered from. Comparing someone to Reagan/Bush is fish in a barrel.

[thucythucy]

67. And the greater of two evils

Last edited Mon Jan 11, 2016, 12:51 PM - Edit history (1)

is still the greater of two evils, by definition.

I'm with Sanders, but if Hillary gets the nomination she'll have my support. Anything to keep the GOP hands off the White House and to stop any further infiltration of the far right into the federal courts.

Edited to add: and one reason we ended up with Reagan/Bush in the first place was all the folks telling us Carter was simply "the lessor of two evils." Because, you know, Carter reinstituted registration for the draft, increased defense spending, and did other stuff progressives in general didn't like.

[jberryhill]

53. Um, Bill Clinton agrees that what he did was disgraceful

I doubt Bill Clinton is proud of what he did with Lewinski.

In point of fact, he gave a televised speech to say so.

This was a question thrown at Bernie to which he noted that Bill Clinton is not running.

Ask Joe Biden sometime how he feels about the Bill Clinton thing with Lewinski. You'll hear some choice words.

[Historic NY]

5. Maybe he should spread the message to his minions.

[AlbertCat]

31. Maybe he should spread the message to his minions.

His "minions"?

That's rich!

[leftyladyfrommo]

65. It was 17 fucking years ago

Give it a rest.

Our representatives in Missouri government are way worse .

Now if they have sex with a lobbyist they have to show it as a gift. How weird is that?

Sex and politics. Just go together and always have.

[AlbertCat]

68. Give it a rest.

I don't care what stupid thing Bill did, like you said, 17 years ago.

I was laughing at the idea Sanders has "minions".


Both concepts are not worth worrying about.

[Gawdless Pinko Lib]

7. Brilliant!

Like Pete Carroll's decision to throw the ball instead of giving it to Marshawn Lynch.

[brush]

45. Now that's what I call disgraceful.

[SoapBox]

11. They were disgraceful...

In particular, as President of the United States...AND in the White House...AND for heaven's sake he is/was married.

Oh I know...a BJ isn't really sex.

He was SUPPOSED to uphold that higher standard...but yet, because he was Bill Clinton, with a wink and a nod, it was ok.

This is just one aspect of the more I learned about both of them, the more disgusted I have become.

I don't want either one of them in the White House ever again.

[840high]

16. ...+1

[kjackson227]

70. ...+2

[melman]

21. You sound like Tom Delay

Seriously, leave that shit in the 90s where it belongs.

[Pathwalker]

22. I bet you hate JFK and FDR, too, from the sound of it.

Gad, I loathe puritanism.

[thereismore]

39. I am with you on this, and I support Bernie. nt

[onehandle]

24. DU has become a right-wing paradise. nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

46. There are people who seriously support Sanders....

....and there are others who really don't. Those are being revealed.

[onehandle]

50. Yep. nt

[Arkana]

29. Being a bad husband didn't make him a bad President, nor does it make him

a bad campaigner.

I don't give a damn about my President being a paragon of moral virtue. If you are expecting your leaders to embody some higher form of morality, then you are ASKING to be lied to.

[denvine]

38. I agree

But that is not the political landscape of reality in the USA. The Republicans were waiting for some ammunition to use against him and he gave it to them on a silver platter. The repercussions led to Bush's presidency.

[truthisfreedom]

37. Bizarre. Nobody died. It was consenting adults. WTF is the big deal?

You sound like you're not a member of the Democratic Party. Hillary had no idea. Seriously, WTF?

[babylonsister]

14. I was none too thrilled either at the time.

His behavior was not at all fitting for a President imo. But we are all entitled to our opinions, right, including Bernie?

My views have softened; none of my biz, for starters.

[suston96]

17. Disgraceful?

What was even more disgraceful back then was the impeachment and trial that attempted to remove a twice elected president strictly long partisan lines.

What bothers me most right now is not the primary race for president but the numerous races for congress, governorships and state legislatures.

I believe Republicans control all three of those categories and it may be that they will continue to do so after the next election.

Know what control of the state legislatures could do to our constitution? H'mmmmm?

But never mind.....talk some more about that totally disgraceful stuff back then......

[Tom Rinaldo]

23. I agree that was far more disgraceful.

I would bet Sanders does also, but he was asked a different direct question and he didn't duck it.

[emulatorloo]

25. And he asserted that HRC is not WJC, and knocked down an egregious Trump talking point

that HRC is responsible for WJC's infidelity. IMHO headline writer totally missed the main points of the interaction.

[AzDar]

19. He's right.

[Bernin]

27. Personally,

I try to stay out of married people's business b/c it is just that. Their business.
What I find totally disgraceful is relishing in someone's death.
As in "We came; We saw; He died. laugh laugh laugh"

[KingCharlemagne]

60. +Infinity! - nt

[MrWendel]

30. Well well...

Bernie "Trump" Sanders comes out to play. Man this guy can talk on both sides of his mouth.

[quickesst]

35. Saying he would not use it....

...and using it in the same breath. What a peach!

[JRLeft]

40. Why should I give a fuck who the president fucks as long as it isn't the country?

[BlueStater]

41. Barf.

This sounds like something Joe Lieberman would say. Shame on Sanders.

[Dawson Leery]

43. Now that Bernie has gone VRWC on Bill,

it is time to look into his personal life.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

48. Bring what you've got. nt

[CTyankee]

44. I came to that conclusion a long time ago. however, it's wrong to tar her with

what he did.

[Purveyor]

49. No. There is to much enabling there for me to discount.

[CTyankee]

56. Yes, I understand. You are right there.

[azmom]

47. I agree with Bernie.

[RandySF]

51. Sanders is a chickenshit. Gloves are off.

First he sits out there as an independent and asks fr someone to primary Obama in 2012. Then he joins the party last year just so he can run for president. And all this time I had nothing but the highest respect for him. But enough is enough. He joined the party I've been a part of for three decades and now he trashes it while using it for his ends. He is dead to me. I hope Hillary kicks his ass from NH to CA.

[djean111]

54. I's sure that no one is astonished by this and I am sure that Bernie won't even notice.

Oh, and the party that I have been a member of for five decades is certainly not the party I joined when I was able to vote. It has been infested with the Third Way.

[KingCharlemagne]

61. He "trashes it"??? Please proceed - nt

[bobthedrummer]

63. Good reply from Bernie in the context of the war criminals and worse that have been in the WH

Chapter 21-Omaha
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016139460

[itcfish]

72. He would not use them

But he is mentioning them so the public does not forget? I thought Bernie was above that crap???