Posted by
The Proud Liberal on Saturday, December 22, 2007 11:01:55 AM
"Exactly why the American right hates the Clintons so fervidly remains a subject of debate among both political scientists and psychiatrists, but the persistence of those emotions is beyond dispute." From Joe Conason this morning in Salon.
I believe that the American electorate once again needs to immerse itself in that hatred during the 2008 presidential contest, with Hillary as the Democratic nominee. My hope is that it would serve as a great big emetic for America.
Hillary misstated when she cited "a vast right wing conspiracy." But I have no doubt that there existed before and during the Clinton presidency a "shared understanding" among conservative activists, driven by the anti-abortion conservative activists, but consisting of an opportunistic coalition including fiscal conservatives.
Perhaps the building conservative movement since Reagan simply reached a critical mass at this time. Many people for many years had been working tirelessly to destroy the American Welfare State: Vigerie, the tax guy, forget his name, Heritage Foundation, AEI, all felt that government was the enemy of freedom and now comes along the passion and burgeoning organization of the religious right and its obsession with abortion as "mass murder."
Perhaps they just all achieved this critical mass as Bill Clinton ascended to the presidency. But it is clear that there was a "shared understanding" that the right would do everything in its power to undermine and sabotage the Clinton presidency as a means to further their own ideological ambitions.
Part Two: