Oliver Willis: Conservatives Rewrite History Again, Bill Clinton Edition

[highplainsdem]

http://thedailybanter.com/2014/01/conservatives-rewrite-history-again-bill-clinton-edition/

In order to cover up for their historic obstruction to enabling the basic functions of government under President Obama, conservatives have decided to do one of the things they do best: lie about history. In their retelling, Republicans were pleased to work side by side with President Bill Clinton, which resulted in the economic boom of the 1990s and the peace dividend.

-snip-

Republicans and conservatives did not work with Bill Clinton in the spirit of bipartisan cooperation. They tried to remove him from office, while also calling him every name in the book. Their opposition to Clinton was virulent, and his wife and child also bore the brunt of the conservative attack. The opposition to Clinton was much like the opposition to Obama, just without the racial overtones.

-snip-

They opposed the Clinton agenda. They called it communism and insisted it would bankrupt the nation. The Clinton economy they try to take partial credit for now? Republicans opposed the Clinton budget of 1993 that helped set the table for the boom. They opposed it completely, it passed solely with Democratic votes and Vice President Al Gore had to vote for it in the Senate in order for it to pass.

Today’s conservatives make out like they rolled up their sleeves and worked with Clinton, but with key legislation like the budget and health care reform they opposed it just like they have done with Obama on … the budget and health care reform (and the stimulus).

-snip-

[MannyGoldstein]

1. But Gingrich *did* make a deal with Bill to slash Social Security

Brokered by Erskine Bowles, of course.

If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's giving old people's money to the wealthy!

Unfortunately, the Lewinsky thing erupted right after, and sort of killed the deal.

[El_Johns]

3. +1

[BlueCaliDem]

2. Republicans lie about and revise history again and again because they're never held

to account for it. They know they'll get away with it because of a complicit corporate media posing as our Fourth Estate gives them free rein while attacking Democrats' announcements and achievements at the same time.

Now, thanks to VP Al Gore who got the funding to open the top-secret Internet for commerce, we are no longer dependent upon the whims of moneyed Corporatists who buy "journalists" in order to propagate their lies and revisions of documented history.

This is the reason why Obama won the election, why the American people are actually paying attention to the fact that, yes, we have THREE co-equal branches of government in order to get things done in this country, and yes, the president is NOT a king or dictator. We've still got a ways to go to have those truths ingrained in our populace, but we're getting there.

[Titonwan]

5. Vote for $hillary! Yayay!

NAFTA
Welfare "Reform"
All Glass-Steagall must die.

Sure, tell me I want more corporatist greed.

[ffr]

4. Remember that time well. Ging' was arrogant and spiteful.

<snip>
LARGEST UNIFIED SURPLUS EVER

Instead of a $455 billion deficit, a $167 billion surplus this year — the largest ever. In 1992, the deficit was $290 billion — the largest dollar deficit in American history. In January 1993, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit would grow to $455 billion by 2000. Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is projecting a $167 billion surplus — the third consecutive surplus and the largest surplus ever, even after adjusting for inflation.
<snip>
NARA.GOV

1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
SUMMARY:

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, better known as the Deficit Reduction Act of 1993, was President Bill Clinton’s first budget. The fiscal year 1994 budget proposed the highest peace-time tax increases (on high income earners) in United States history, cut appropriations spending, and renewed the framework of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.
<snip>
The budget passed by a narrow margin, 219-213 in the House and 50-49 in the Senate. bancroft.berkeley.edu

Vice President Gore cast the deciding vote. Every Republican Senator voted against it.

It laid the foundation for CBO office repeatedly issuing forecast revisions showing the entire fy 2000 U.S. Public Debt of $5.6T being paid off by the beginning of 2011, if not sooner.*

So when Clinton says that no one, not even he, could have brought this country back from the devastation left by 8 years of Republican authoritarian rule, I think he knows what he's talking about.

* CBO baseline budget and economic outlook (pg 17) forecast from 07/01/2000 estimated a budget surplus (2001 - 2010) of $5.7T, in 01/31/2001 was revised out to 2011 to be $5.6T* and on 12/28/2000 Clinton announced that Total Public Debt could be paid off by end of the decade...assuming tax policy and economic conditions remained unchanged and positive. <wiki: Change in debt position since 2001>