Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Fri 04/19/2024 View Thu 04/18/2024 View Wed 04/17/2024 View Tue 04/16/2024 View Mon 04/15/2024 View Sun 04/14/2024 View Sat 04/13/2024
2010-04-17 Home Front: Politix
Clinton concerned about angry anti-government rhetoric
Former President Bill Clinton warned of a slippery slope from angry anti-government rhetoric to violence like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, saying "the words we use really do matter."
You mean "matter" like "it didn't matter what the people said about healthcare takeover"?
The two-term Democratic president insisted he wasn't trying to restrict free speech, but in remarks Friday he said incendiary language can be taken the wrong way by some Americans. He drew parallels to words demonizing the government before Oklahoma City.

On April 19, 1995, an anti-government conspiracy led by Army veteran Timothy McVeigh exploded a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people.

"What we learned from Oklahoma City is not that we should gag each other or that we should reduce our passion for the positions we hold - but that the words we use really do matter, because there's this vast echo chamber, and they go across space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the connected and the unhinged alike," he said.
Better not talk about the Oblivious One like that or he'll fire your wife.
"One of the things that the conservatives have always brought to the table in America is a reminder that no law can replace personal responsibility. And the more power you have and the more influence you have, the more responsibility you have."
Tell that to our president!
Clinton made the remarks at events sponsored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund on the upcoming anniversary of the bombing.

He mentioned the rancorous fight over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Passage of the law elicited threats against some lawmakers.

"I'm glad they're fighting over health care and everything else. Let them have at it. But I think that all you have to do is read the paper every day to see how many people there are who are deeply, deeply troubled," he said.
Is that what you think an insurrection is all about?
He also alluded to the anti-government tea party movement, which held protests in several states Thursday. At the Washington rally, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota railed against "gangster government."

Clinton argued that the Boston Tea Party was in response to taxation without representation. The current protesters, he said, are challenging taxation by elected officials, and the demonstrators have the power to vote them out of office.

"By all means keep fighting, by all means, keep arguing," he said. "But remember, words have consequences as much as actions do, and what we advocate, commensurate with our position and responsibility, we have to take responsibility for. We owe that to Oklahoma City."
It's called escalation, Billy Boy. And things will keep escalating until the problem is settled.
Posted by gorb 2010-04-17 00:14|| || Front Page|| [8 views ]  Top

#1  "the words we use really do matter."

And "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."
Posted by Pappy 2010-04-17 01:21||   2010-04-17 01:21|| Front Page Top

#2 He does split hairs... but:

Clinton argued that the Boston Tea Party was in response to taxation without representation. The current protesters, he said, are challenging taxation by elected officials, and the demonstrators have the power to vote them out of office.

That much is true. This bullshit militia crap is going to set back conservative governance another 20 years. The government we have was elected legally and we all own it. Get used to it and change it by methods proven over the last 145 years. If you want to join a militia join Deacons and do it right.
Posted by Shipman 2010-04-17 04:25||   2010-04-17 04:25|| Front Page Top

#3 This bullshit militia crap is going to set back conservative governance another 20 years.

Given that most of the male population of America doesn't even understand that they're already members of the militia.

TITLE 10 United States Code, Subtitle A, PART I, CHAPTER 13, paragraph 311

311. Militia: composition and classes

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia areĀ—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
Posted by Procopius2k 2010-04-17 06:52||   2010-04-17 06:52|| Front Page Top

#4 It's not Anti-Government, it's Anti-Excess Government. It's an understanding that Government=Force and that Force is not an optimal way to achieve most things (especially social).
Posted by Bright Pebbles 2010-04-17 07:31||   2010-04-17 07:31|| Front Page Top

#5 Obumble has been such a disaster that I'd forgotten what an unctuous, race baiting, fraud Clinton is.
Posted by regular joe 2010-04-17 08:44||   2010-04-17 08:44|| Front Page Top

#6 Scandalous Arkansas real estate deals. State Troopers used as pimps. A rapid, lamp throwing Hildebeast. Vince Foster's "sucicide." Impeachment less removal from office, perjury, eight years of whoremongering, bumm bandit Clinton attempting to deny a blow job. Quite enough for me.
Posted by Besoeker 2010-04-17 09:00||   2010-04-17 09:00|| Front Page Top

#7 She didn't seem to mind it much during the 2007 campaign.
Posted by Iblis 2010-04-17 09:30||   2010-04-17 09:30|| Front Page Top

#8 Theanti-government rhettoric was so much hotter and loonier during the last administration. Comedians joked of snipers wanted and movies and books talked about assassinating a sitting Prez and Mr Clinton said nothing, naffa, zero. The worst we have now are a few fringe and a few lefty infiltrators trying to discredit an actual grass roots movement.

Clinton should just be quiet as was the custom for ex Presidents until recently.
Posted by Rjschwarz 2010-04-17 09:38||   2010-04-17 09:38|| Front Page Top

#9 Thanks for the trip down memory lane Besoeker.

I like the fact that the "dissent is patriotism" crowd is now wringing their hands over Ms. Bachmann's comment on "gangster government."

The term is apt: government has taken over the numbers racket and other forms of gambling (it's ok -- the $ are for the kids!), is moving into to the drug racket (legalize it for the sick!), has taken over unions, has taken over legitimate businesses (auto, health, lending) while shaking down others (Hon. Cong. Waxman et al) and is now doing a bust-out -- spending $ on credit that they'll never pay back -- until there's nothing left to steal.

If you complain, it's "remember, words have consequences" eg, "shut up," he explained.
Posted by regular joe 2010-04-17 09:41||   2010-04-17 09:41|| Front Page Top

#10 Do you miss me yet?
Posted by Bill Clinton 2010-04-17 09:42||   2010-04-17 09:42|| Front Page Top

#11 This bullshit militia crap

Oh yas - deh sight of all dem machiney-guns at deh ralleyes dost put the tremblins intah mah hart.

conservative governance

Deh Shipman tahkins abouts conservaytin guhvinance is lak Tigah Wood tahkins abouts marryage Fidel-ahtee.

And deh gud sportysmynship.
Posted by Pappy 2010-04-17 09:52||   2010-04-17 09:52|| Front Page Top

#12 Third party movements have an impact only when they seize on one and only one issue of extreme urgency. That issue is the debt crisis.

Not "socialism" or "big government"-- the Tea Partiers are totally in favor of broad-based multi-trillion dollar social welfare programs like medicare and social security-- not the 2nd Amendment, not "government" per se, but the extraordinary and devastating increase in public debt from ca 40% of GDP not long ago to a projected 100% of GDP within this decade.

The Tea partiers have a huge opportunity to have a real impact, but only if they clearly and repeatedly distance themselves from the militia and 2nd Amendment and nuttier libertarian types. There is a huge majority that is scared sh*tless about the mountain of debt piled up by this admin, and the one before it. Keep the focus on this and only this issue, be sensible (yes, we have to have a national consumption tax), and always, always distance yourself from the birther and other nuts.

That way lies a political realignment, and real hope for this country. Before it goes the way of Argentina.

/rant
Posted by lex 2010-04-17 09:53||   2010-04-17 09:53|| Front Page Top

#13 Rush Limbaugh Respondes to Clinton

RUSH: Let's go back, April 24th, 1995, Mississippi, Minnesota.

CLINTON 1995: We hear so many loud and angry voices in America today whose sole goal seems to be to try to keep some people as paranoid as possible and the rest of us all torn up and upset with each other. They spread hate. They leave the impression that -- by their very words, that -- violence is a acceptable. You ought to see -- I'm sure you are now seeing the reports of some things that are regularly said over the airwaves in America today. It is time we all stood up and spoke against that kind of (pounding podium) reckless speech and behavior.

RUSH: That was Bill Clinton, blaming me for the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19th, 1995. Yesterday we had the tea parties, and the Drive-By Media (I'm sure to its great chagrin) is filled with stories about how festive and how peaceful and how unthreatening all of the tea parties were. The effort to infiltrate these tea parties fizzled. They have stories on that that they probably do not like having to report. And, ladies and gentlemen, it's very clear that these citizen uprisings -- genuine grassroots citizen's uprisings -- are far more powerful than an attempt to drum up fake opposition to them from the White House. Yet, Bill Clinton is back in the game, expanding that threat via this sound bite.

CLINTON 2010: There was this rising movement in the early nineties that was basically not just a carefully orchestrated plot by people of extreme right-wing views but one that fell into fertile soil because there were so many people for whom the world no longer made sense. They wanted a simple, clear explanation of what was an inherently complex, mixed picture full of challenges that required not only changes in public policy, but personnel conduct and imagination about the world we were living in. So demonizing the government and the people that work for it sort of fit that -- and there were a lot of people who were in the business back then of saying that the biggest threat to our liberty and the cause of our economic problems was the federal government itself.

RUSH: So there you have it: Bill Clinton once again trying to rebirth his empty threat from 1995. He starts out tracing the plot that started in the eighties to "demonize government." I have a question. We have two more sound bites of the president here specifying right-wing talk radio, but I have a question: How come we're supposed to draw (on the basis of no evidence), a connection between conservatism and terrorism, conservative ideology and terrorism? Where is that connection? Yet we are told we must reject, despite tons of evidence, the connection between Islamist ideology and terrorism. So we can't call Islamist fundamentalists "terrorists." We can't even use the word. But we can have ex-presidents and current presidents running around trying to associate conservatives with nonexistent terrorism at peaceful tea parties. Somebody needs to explain this to me.

RUSH: Bill Clinton. By the way, these statements were this morning at the big left-wing think tank, The Center for American Progress. So we played the sound bite where he starts out tracing the "plot" that started in the eighties to demonize government. Next sound bite, Clinton says that right-wing talk radio has made money off of anger, aided by the Internet.

CLINTON 2010: When I became president, it's hard to remember this, there were only 50 sites on the World Wide Web. Among those who first saw its potential and made use of it were those who used the Internet to do all kinds of interesting things, including share information on how to make bombs. We didn't have blog sites back then, so the instrument of carrying this forward was basically the right-wing radio talk show hosts. They understood that emotion was more powerful than reason. They got much bigger listenership and more advertisers and more commercial success if they kept people in the white heat. For 99% of them, it was just that: Turn on the radio, listen to somebody say something you agree with, vent your anger.

RUSH: They just can't get away from it. We are living in their heads rent free. We are in their heads and on their minds. They -- and I'm going to throw they in there -- are out to destroy Western civilization, folks. Why do you think the tea party people are so reviled? Why is it that we can sit there and accuse nonviolent tea party people of committing terrorist acts? I mean that's what Clinton's doing. He's predicting that tea party people are going to blow up a federal building again, and in the process.... I'm going to state right now: If there is a future incident such as Oklahoma City, the blame is squarely Clinton's on the shoulders of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who I'm sure is coordinating Clinton's appearance on this.

Bill Clinton, with the sound bite you just heard just gave the kooks out there an excuse to be violent. He just offered them an opportunity to be violent -- and lest we forget, the politics of the militia members that the FBI took down recently: One was a registered Democrat; the rest were not affiliated by party. Of course the New York Times has reported national security secrets. They are responsible for any terror attack on this country. They have published all kinds of battle plans. They have given up our military secrets in Iraq and Afghanistan and yet they sit here, Clinton and Obama, and try to blame me and us on the radio for something that has not happened, while setting the stage for it to happen? And let's not forget this. It's very important.

This is the president who pardoned and released a bunch of Puerto Rican terrorists on his last week in office. The FALN gang. He also pardoned the Weather Underground terrorists -- and he's now lecturing us on violence that hasn't happened, a peaceful tea party movement. We cannot even say "Islamic" and "terrorists" in the same sentence! We cannot associate radical Islam with terrorism but the president can go out and Obama can go out and try to associate the tea party -- genuine, peace-loving, middle-American citizens of this country -- with future acts of terrorism? The tea parties, you know why they're hated? I'll tell you why they're hated. If you're a member of a tea party, if you participated in one yesterday, why you're hated, why you're feared: This regime and the Clintons, everybody else knows that all you want to do is defend what's left of this country and try to rebuild it.

Read the whole link, expecially regarding Hillary
Posted by Ebbenter Elmenter7037 2010-04-17 10:06||   2010-04-17 10:06|| Front Page Top

#14 Don't see any mention in here about Waco, which is what really triggered McVeigh.
You remember Waco, don't you, Bubba?
Posted by tu3031 2010-04-17 10:13||   2010-04-17 10:13|| Front Page Top

#15 A National Consumption tax IS THE most nutty thing you can do.
Posted by Bright Pebbles 2010-04-17 10:50||   2010-04-17 10:50|| Front Page Top

#16 But I think that all you have to do is read the paper every day to see how many people there are who are deeply, deeply troubled," he said.

Like that Harvard-educated, Obama-supporting loon who shot six people (three died) because she wasn't offered tenure???

Like that, Slick???
Posted by Gomez Threter7450 2010-04-17 11:51||   2010-04-17 11:51|| Front Page Top

#17 Slick Willy lost his credibility long ago. Had something to do with the woman he didn't have sex with and quibbling about the meaning of simple words.
Posted by JohnQC 2010-04-17 18:14||   2010-04-17 18:14|| Front Page Top

#18 So back to smoking your funny smelling cigars, Willy. And FFS, lock the door next time.
Posted by ed 2010-04-17 18:21||   2010-04-17 18:21|| Front Page Top

#19 And yet again, the media totally fails to note that the OKC bombing and the Branch Davidian extermination were on the same date. Strange coincidence, that.
Posted by gromky 2010-04-17 19:00||   2010-04-17 19:00|| Front Page Top

#20 "10 Do you miss me yet
Posted by Bill Clinton"

Hell, NO.
Posted by Barbara Skolaut 2010-04-17 20:03||   2010-04-17 20:03|| Front Page Top

#21 OKC Bombing 4/19/95

Waco attack 2/28/93.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-04-17 20:31||   2010-04-17 20:31|| Front Page Top

#22 #21 OKC Bombing 4/19/95

Waco attack Beginning of Waco Siece 2/28/93.

Final day of Waco Siege 4/19/93
Posted by Rob06  2010-04-17 23:48||   2010-04-17 23:48|| Front Page Top

18:40 3dc
18:39 3dc
18:38 3dc
18:36 3dc
18:35 3dc
18:33 3dc
18:23 DooDahMan
18:21 DooDahMan
18:16 3dc
17:57 Huputle+Cherelet4131
17:53 SteveS
17:52 SteveS
17:49 lord garth
17:26 trailing wife
17:21 M. Murcek
17:17 lord garth
17:03 trailing wife
16:57 trailing wife
16:57 trailing wife
16:41 swksvolFF
16:36 swksvolFF
16:26 Skidmark
16:25 Grom the Reflective
15:31 European Conservative









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com