It comes to no surprise that when someone or some group is in power, blaming the opposition is extremely easy to do when problems arise. When you feel pressured, you press back, hoping you come out with your dignity.
Recently, former President Bill Clinton repeated a phrase used by his wife in 1998 to undermine the opponents to Obama. When asked if a right- wing conspiracy still existed on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” his response was, “Oh, you bet. Sure it is. It’s not as strong as it was because America’s changed demographically, but it’s as virulent as it was.”
This tactic is not new to him. His wife, especially, is known for saying there is a group of people who were trying to bring down President Clinton in 1998 after the Monica Lewinski scandal, calling it a “vast right-wing conspiracy.”
However, what she failed to mention was most of the sensible outrage people were feeling was due to the fact the president had committed an illegal act of lying to a grand jury. Excuse me if I seem a little tender when my president breaks a law and violates an oath.
First, let me define what conspiracy is. To conspire is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to join in a secret agreement, to do an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which becomes unlawful as a result of the secret agreement.” I assume the Clintons only mean wrongful actions because only in a totalitarian mindset is bad-mouthing a government considered unlawful.
To further Mrs. Clinton’s view on the right-wing conspirators, in 1994, when asked about “right-winged ideologues,” her response was “I think they are a combination of the same kind of people who have been around in our country since its beginnings, the sort of ideologically-opposed who think that nobody should get anything from anyone else . There are people who opposed Social Security, opposed Civil Rights, opposed minimum wage, opposed Medicare, opposed Medicaid. I mean at every step along the way, there is this small core of people who do not believe that government should do anything.”
Forget Clinton compared her opposition and the opposition of her husband to racists.
She calls right wingers who oppose helping people through government social programs charitably obstinate. Take a look at the programs these right wingers were opposed to – Social Security is running out of money and Medicare is broken and fraught with fraud.
Were the people opposing these programs in their inception conspirators, or did they just figure inevitably government programs are inefficient? Sounds to me the only “conspiracy” is the fear of government inefficiency. And now President Clinton has taken a page out of his wife’s playbook. I recommend he stop.
So, let me get this straight. Conservatives are banning together to drive out those who disagree with them which is unpatriotic, and Democrats are innocent of such action. This is absurd and hypocritical!
Why is it when a Democratic president is in office, the problems with constituency are due to a conspiracy while when a Republican president is in office, the problems with constituency are due to incompetency with the president?
Here are some examples: When President Bush’s approval polls took a dive, did anyone call a conspiracy? When protestors appeared at his speeches and at the Republican National Convention, did anyone call a conspiracy? But, when President Obama’s approval ratings took a dip to the current 51 percent approval, people were called racist (by former President Jimmy Carter) and now conspirators to overthrow President Obama.
Did you, Mr. Clinton, ever claim there was a conspiracy against Bush? Where were you from 2001 to 2008 calling for a credible debate on Bush’s policies? You were remarkably silent, which makes you, sir, remarkably partisan. I am no fan of Republicans on the national stage either, Mr. President. But if I disagree with a policy, I am not out to destroy you or your party. I am a concerned citizen, and what Obama is doing concerns me. I wish no ill toward the man; I just wish he would change his policies.
Ryan Green is a junior majoring in electrical engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].