Obama praise of Bill Clinton: pure DLC

[Enrique]

in response to Brian Williams asking him to say something about Bill Clinton:

I, as much as Hillary Clinton, are building on the legacy of Bill Clinton. The things he did in the early 90's to help the Democratic Party shed some of its excesses, to recalibrate it in a direction that was pro-growth, to send a message that we weren't anti-business, to recognize that we've got to compete in the world economy, to balance the budget, those are all singular accomplishments of Bill Clinton. And understandably, he wants that legacy continued and understandably he thinks his wife would have been the best person to carry that forward. But my strong feeling is that moving forward I'm going to need Bill Clinton involved in this process. He still is a transcendent political figure in this country, and I want him involved and I'll be looking for his counsel and his advice.


edit to add link to video: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24974708#24974708

[JuniperLea]

1. I disagree...

Obama is very wise to make statements such as this. In politics, those who are not your friends are your enemies... he doesn't need any enemies at all, least of all someone like WJC who has many, many friends.

People who are in positions of power must do things that may ruffle the feathers of some. You can't please all the people all the time, so you have to do what's right and let it settle itself out.

[Mudoria]

2. You're surprised Obama is a politician?

Being a politician pretty much means saying or doing whatever it takes to get elected.

[Enrique]

6. I'm not surprised, I always saw Obama as a centrist

and have said repeatedly that his policies are consistent with Hillary's.

[MarjorieG]

3. He's already been critical of the regulation excess. Got Nobel economists on board.

This is good strategy.

[lastliberalintexas]

24. What "regulation excess"?

I can't believe someone posting on DU would be in favor of further deregulation, so surely I am misunderstanding your post?

[Straight Shooter]

4. "I, as much as Hillary Clinton, are building on the legacy of Bill Clinton."

Please tell me he didn't actually say "are" instead of "am." :(

The rest of it, par for the course.

[Enrique]

7. I transcribed it myself from the video

I think he did say "are", but it sounded ok when hearing it. He was stammering a bit while finding his words.

[Straight Shooter]

14. It's probably just one of those "Is our children learning" moments.

:7

[AtomicKitten]

5. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Obama didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

[lastliberalintexas]

25. That's njot really a good saying to use when speaking of a Black person

At least from most Southerners' perspectives, I would say it's rather offensive. I know you didn't mean it that way, I was just sayin'. :)

[The Magistrate]

8. Welcome To The Wonderful World Of General Elections, Sir

Sen. Obama is serious about becoming President.

His leading backers, or 'clout' as we say locally, are the Daley machine here in Chicago, as ruthless and pragmatic and basically centerist a bunch as ever spoiled a paper ballot with a pinky ring to get the count to come out right from the precinct. They are serious about his becoming President, too....

"The 'NEW!' on the package, that's what's new!"

[Benhurst]

9. Shh! We're not supposed to know that.

[Enrique]

11. lol, I bet you anything Rezko wears a pinky ring

yeah, I agree with what you say. This isn't a slam on Obama, it's refutation of the picture of Obama as the DLC-slayer.

[The Magistrate]

13. Be Assured, Sir, These Comments Constitute High Praise In My Book, And Not Criticism Of Any Sort

"Just because they're dead don't mean they stopped being Democrats."

[scarletwoman]

16. I just shake my head over the naivite constantly displayed on DU. I honestly don't understand

how it is that people who are supposedly deeply interested in politics seem to have no clue about how politics actually works in the real world.

Personally, I'm all for having a new "machine" in town. I'm damn sick and tired of the DC Beltway machine, so I'm very much enjoying the prospect of a shake-up. But I've never been under any illusion that one machine is somehow more virtuous than another, since I consider the Ruling Class to be nothing more than a form of organized crime, no matter who's in charge.

And, as a Midwesterner, the Chicago gang are much more my homies than than the DC gang.

Also, I'm part Irish.

:D

sw

[wvbygod]

10. How can he do that while so many here want Bill crucified?

Maybe this will help divide the Obama drones and the Clinton haters?

[Enrique]

12. no, they are united in their denial

they will convince themselves that he is a stealth DLC-slayer, that his utterly DLC-friendly rhetoric and voting record is just a trap for them.

[QC]

15. Some people here remind me of fans who think that pro wrestlers really do

mean it when they declare that they hate one another, are going to kill one another, etc.

In real life, those wrestlers are going out for drinks after the match while their obsessed fans are lying awake at night wondering when the final showdown will come and who will live and who will die.

A lot of people here are acting like this is their first campaign or something.

[Exilednight]

18. Sometimes ........

wrestling is more real than you think. You never know what goes on behind the scenes until someone feels slighted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Screwjob

[QC]

19. And sometimes people are just talking shit for the sake of drama.

If wrestling doesn't work, I think a lot of people here would do well to go hang out at the courthouse for a while and watch the lawyers rip each other to pieces in the courtroom and then go out for lunch together.

[scarletwoman]

17. Do you not understand how politics works? Obama is an extraordinarily skilled politician. (nt)

[Enrique]

21. some skilled politicians oppose DLC policies

and Obama isn't one of them.

He's a skilled politician who promotes them, along with Bill and Hillary Clinton.

[vaberella]

27. He promotes them because the Clintons have a lot of bloody power and clout still...

When that clout dies down then he'll move into something more aggressive. He's just recently wrestled the power from the Clintons, ever since they were in the lead they NEVER gave up that power. We all know that Gore would still be using Clinton policies. Obama needs to use this before he makes changes.

[LWolf]

20. Obama has been promoting DLC talking points all along,

at the same time making productive use of the fact that he is not a member.

There's nothing surprising here, for anybody who ever spent time reading the DLC site and it's "progressive policy institute."

[stillcool]

29. Time will tell, but so far....

I'm not seeing the allegiance.

The right wing current of the Democratic party, characterized by its neoliberal economic policies, support of Israel, desire to increase defense spending, and links to heavy donors and fundraisers.

Believes that "left-wing" positions are not politically viable. Describes itself as "moderate and pro-growth". Probably responsible for erosion of the Democratic Party's historical labor and minority base due to support of treaties like NAFTA, lack of support for affirmative action and poverty programs, and their siphoning away of campaign funds from minority groups.

At the national level, the movement was founded by the Democratic Leadership Council (501c4 educational non-profit, founded 1984) and includes the House New Democrat Coalition (founded 1997), the Senate New Democrat Coalition (founded 2000), the New Democrat Network PAC (founded 1996), the misnamed Progressive Policy Institute (501c4 think tank, "Bill Clinton's idea mill", founded 1989), and the umbrella funding group The Third Way Foundation (501c3 non-profit, founded 1996).

Since coming to power within the Democratic Party with Bill Clinton's presidency, the New Democrats/DLC have worked towards "essentially the same purpose as the Christian Coalition... to pull a broad political party dramatically to the right" according to John Nichols of The Progressive.

DLC operatives actively worked to sabotage Howard Dean's candidacy for the US Presidency in 2004, claiming that the "far-left" Democrat was wrong to attack George W. Bush's tax cuts and national security policies.

Corporate contributors to the DLC and New Democratic Network include Bank One, Citigroup, Dow Chemical, DuPont, General Electric, Health Insurance Corporation of America, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Philip Morris, RJR Nabisco, Chevron, Prudential Foundation, Amoco Foundation, AT&T, Morgan Stanley, Occidental Petroleum, Raytheon, and many other Fortune 500 companies.

The New Democrat Movement is sometimes referred to as the Dixiecrat movement due to the DLC's origination in the southern states, their desire to get rid of affirmative action, and their membership's overwhelming whiteness.

"Democrats should shift the primary focus from racism, the traditional enemy without, to self-defeating patterns of behavior among blacks" --Chuck Robb, 2nd DLC Chairman, Governor & Senator of the Great State of Virginia, White Man, 1986.

"I'm from the democratic wing of the Democrat Party" --Paul Wellstone, progressive Democrat, criticizing the New Democrat Movement.

"Democrats for the Leadership Class" --Jesse Jackson, progressive black Democrat, describing the DLC.

Official Website:
http://www.ndol.org

[LWolf]

35. Try looking at the DLC itself.

http://www.dlc.org/

And the PPI:

http://www.ppionline.org/index.cfm

I see the association in the link you provided:

The neoliberal economic policies: I believe I just heard Obama on NPR this morning praising BClinton for his economic policies. He again talked about "leaving the excesses behind." Of course, when he used that phrase to praise Ronald Reagan, he meant the liberal excesses of the 60s and 70s. I'm not sure which excesses he thought Clinton left behind. Perhaps it was his welfare reform, leaving behind more excesses from an earlier era. :shrug:

Support of Israel: Did you hear what he had to say to AIPAC this week? I did. He didn't leave me confident that we will not be going to war with Iran under an Obama administration.

Time will tell. Obama doesn't have a good record, imo, of walking his talk. I don't know whether that's a good thing or not. I'd prefer a straight shooter, myself, but I don't really want him walking much of the talk I've heard from him on a variety of issues.

[stillcool]

38. I don't come to the same conclusions..

as you do, based on the facts in evidence. The information I have read regarding his legislative record, allows me to be optimistic. A fatal flaw of mine perhaps, but I can not tolerate the opposite.
http://irregularnews.com/senate/senObamaIL.html
http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/Barack_Obama.htm

[LWolf]

39. Optimism is good.

When it comes to politics and politicians, I feel it's skepticism rather than pessimism. Politics have that self-serving, anything-to-win corruption that keeps my skepticism to the fore.

Having seen enough of Obama in action, and heard enough of his rhetoric fit the DLC too nicely, my skepticism is firmly in place.

I'll be delighted should it prove to be unwarranted.

[L0oniX]

22. Geeze ...does anyone remember that we lost Dem seats during Bills term?

[SoxFan]

23. And the Pup Tent Democrats are back

We've had a nominee for all of 48 hours and already we have people bitching about ideological purity.

Sad.

[vaberella]

26. He's strategizing. I think he's being very garded or I should say very general in his statements

and as such he's indulging Clinton. So he hears it, and lays off of Obama. But also, that Obama ends up looking better than the "deranged narcissist" that is Bill.

[stillcool]

28. The democratic party is anti-business?

we don't want to balance the budget? We don't want to compete in the world economy?

[genna]

30. Ideological purity and other myths

Driving from the left in the primary and talking from the right in the general...

What is more disturbing: a person who is so pure that they can only govern by saying what is not possible (G.W.) or a person who says the right things but doesn't govern because it offends their sensibilities?


Maybe I'm a bad Democrat, but the truth is we are not 100% of the American citizenry. Surely the ones who are not Democrats have something to say about what is in their own best interests? HRC has been on the roof standing on the ledge for more than 2 months. I don't think it makes sense to have an idealogical purity test prior to talking to either Clinton.

We do have to talk to people we don't agree with, don't we?

[JVS]

31. You can't fool the forum by changing your avatar and continuing to bash Obama

Still smarting from Hillary's defeat, huh?

[Enrique]

36. I've never bashed Obama with either avatar

I've known Obama is a centrist DLC type since I volunteered for his senate primary campaign.

Bursting people's fantasy of Obama as an enemy of the DLC is not bashing Obama.

[rox63]

32. He is trying to court the Clintons and their supporters to his side

Would you want him to say nasty things about our last Dem president? He's way too much of a gentleman to do that.

[JVS]

33. Put the OP's name in the google feature.

he's one of the Clinton supporters that Obama's trying to court. He's trolling.

[Enrique]

37. did you find this one?

Enrique (1000+ posts) Mon Jun-02-08 05:46 PM

Response to Original message

8. Tuesday is the last day I'll support her

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6231191#6231427



I changed my avatar Wed. morning.

[polichick]

34. Probably trying to make up for those Reagan comments...

...smooth the old dawg's hackles a little.