Reply #24: From 1993...Clinton discussion with reporters. Were words in quotes true? [View All]

[madfloridian]

Did the reporter correctly report quotations from the DLC leaders? If he did, then that is true.

Obviously something was going on. I did not know it was then, and I was not paying attention to the health care plan ins and outs. However, if the words in the quotes are true, then they did criticize him. I found this interview that indicates something was going on between Clinton and the DLC. I don't know what.

The fact remains that they are doing the same thing now to the activists in the party as they did in 03. They give Bullmoose credence in his flammatory words toward Lamont and his supporters. Read the memos from Al and Bruce from 2003 I posted above.

If the words in the quotes are true, they were saying that Clinton could not win without their support. If the words in quotes in the article are not true, then I guess they did not say that.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=46194

From 1993

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=46194
The President. "He saved the budget. But the DLC—well, there's no political correctness test here. Nobody can agree on every issue. But the DLC endorsed the Brady bill early. The DLC was an early supporter of the Brady bill, an early supporter of family medical leave, and—

Q. You haven't been critical about them, so they've been a little critical of you.

The President. "Yes, but that's why I—they said some things about the budget earlier on that I thought were not accurate. But Breaux didn't; he stayed with us on it and helped us pass it. So did Lieberman. So did Steny. So did most of the leaders. But I think they were wrong, and I said that.

On the health care thing, if you go back and read the DLC's health care package, which was written by Jeremy Rosner who now works in the White House, I think we're much closer on health care than you think. I think that a lot of this stuff has been overbloom. Every time one of them or one of us says, "Here's what the difference is between our two health care plans," somebody says, "Oh, they're dumping on each other again." I think that it's just an honest discussion. I predict that you will see an accommodation that will cause a health care plan to pass next year that has universal coverage and good benefits, and that's what I want."