Atticus_Finch

After reading countless posts on this forum attacking President Bush I believe that those who oppose him should read this .

I support Bush and many of his policies. I cetainly understand that many people do not. However, it is truly disappointing that many of those who disagree with his policies feel the need to attack him personally. I encourage those of you here who disagree with him to rise above the personal attacks and deal solely with policy.

Regards,

Finch

Grad Student Humanist

Where were you during the eight years of Clinton's administration when the Republicans and their cronies spent every waking moment personally attacking the President and hatching schemes to dicredit him and remove him from office?

You remember, don't you, how the same Republicans who fathered illegitimate children, had multiple affairs and broke up marriages (actions they then tried to shrug off as "youthful indiscretions") decided to set up a perjury trap for Clinton because they were "outraged" and "offended" that he would be getting blow jobs in the White House. Or maybe you recall how none of them admitted it until they were confronted with the smoking gun and had no chioce but resign before they discredited themselves further.

And now that the Republicans are in power they're the ones who are crying about people making fun of Bush. Because we all know that the GOP is above making personal attacks; they are all perfect gentlemen, the models of civility.

Seems conservatives have trouble swallowing their own medicine.

Cry me a river. :boohoo:

Atticus_Finch

I have three respones to your post:

1. Do you really believe the "...but he did it first" argument carries weight? It is either right or wrong. If it is wrong, which I believe, then the fact that the Republicans did it to Clinton does not justify the action.

2. I agree that many Republicans and conservatives spoke inappropriately with respect to Clinton. I personally criticized them for doing so at the time. I found enough things objectionable about Clinton's policies that I did not need to call him names.

3. There is a principled distinction between finding fault with a president that perjured himself, thereby breaking the laws he was sworn to uphold, and calling Bush an idiot or questioning his motives. It is interesting that you note that the Republicans caught having affairs during the impeachment process resigned. Although I find them at fault for having the affair in the first place, at least they showed some conviction by resigning.

Regards,

Finch

emphryio

The most annoying thing is all people have done to Bush is say that he is stupid.

Meanwhile men such as Richard Mellon Scaife spent tens of million sending lawyer after lawyer with lawsuit after lawsuit in an attempt to destroy Clinton.

And Bush has received a free pass while being AWOL from the service for a year and a half, snorting cocaine, drunk driving in his 30's, insider trading, a "missing decade" apparently spent unemployed, a ridiculous amount of nepotism, and now generating the greatest protest movement in the history of the world.

Zar

Oh my goodness, this is really some silly stuff in here. Yes, let's all be good little Neros and play this violin while Rome burns.

Do not let this mental truck-bomb of a thread destroy your brain.

emphryio

BTW, for those who actually read that excellent link I just posted. The writer of it was later found dead outside Scaife's office.

Grad Student Humanist

1) Of course it carries weight. So now that Clinton is out of office the rules are suddenly changed? It was all right to hound Clinton out of office and turn Clinton-bashing into a cottage industry but now that the Republicans are in control they demand civility? How convenient . . . for them. How much do you want to bet that as soon as another Democrat is elected the GOP does the exact same thing to him/her that they did to Clinton?

2) If you held the Republicans to the same standard during Clinton's administration then I applaud you.

3) Clinton wouldn't have perjured himself had the Republicans not set out to trap him regarding his adulterous actions. Who/what/where/why/and how Clinton had sex is nobody's business but his own and his family's. He broke no laws by having consensual oral sex with another legal adult. Thus it's not your business, my business and certainly not the Republicans' business. It's between Clinton and his wife, not Clinton and the world. The Republicans chose to turn it into a national soap opera to further their political goals.

Clinton didn't perjure himself concerning matters that were relevant to the nation. The Republicans had no right to inquire as to his personal business.

And the Republicans who did resign didn't do it because they were "honorable" men. The fact that they let Clinton have it with both barrels while engaging in behavior which was equally reprehensible proves the depth of their hypocrisy and their total lack of honor. They only resigned because they were politically disgraced and staying in the Congress at that point would have hurt their chances of impeaching Clinton.

Clinton's only mistake was in not admitting he had an affair. Instead of denying he had sex with Miss Lewinsky he should have said, "Yes I have had sexual relations with someone other than my wife and the details of said affair are none of your business."

Autonemesis

"No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. " - G.H.W. Bush

And I don't think "wealthy white man" is anywhere near the last acceptable slur in our society.

It baffles me that stupidity and malevolence can be overlooked if the stupid or malevolent appear to be "decent people" and invite you to dinner.

HaysooChreesto!

Oh please. Like nasty politics isn't just par for the course. Remember the Bork fiasco? Remember the Clarence Thomas inquisitions? Both sides fuck with one another every chance they get.
If it were possible I'd bet that if it were Bush Sr. getting a blowjob and then lieing about it that Dems would've been leading the charge for impeachment. That whole incident was what caused me to forever leave the Republican party because the hypocrisy from both sides couldn't have been any clearer.

Grad Student Humanist

Then what are you complaining about?

The first poster demanded that civility be restored when it came to the President, overlooking the fact that for the previous eight years of the last administration the GOP engaged in a concerted effort to both discredit Clinton and throw him out of office. And now that their boy is in charge they demand civility. Too bad.

In no way did I imply that the Democrats don't personally attack Republicans. What is clear, however, is that the Republicans are in no position to demand civility when it comes to this administration when they weren't willing to offer it to the last administration.