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Jewish World Review Nov. 8, 2000 / 10 Mar-Cheshvan, 5761

David Limbaugh

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Consumer Reports


Bill and Al:
Your time is up


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- IF THE ELECTION turns out the way I'm anticipating -- Republicans win the presidency and retain both Houses of Congress -- I think two factors will be at work, which will also interact after Nov. 7. So, let's look at the election for purposes of looking beyond it.

The first factor is conservatism. Given the essential foundation laid down by a handful of seminal conservatives such as William F. Buckley Jr., Ronald Reagan almost single-handedly legitimized conservatism among the body politic. For the last eight years, Bill Clinton and Al Gore have done a great deal to de-legitimize it.

They have been so successful in demonizing Republicans that Al Gore miscalculated that he could run as a liberal without risk. His unabashed big-government platform provided an oversized bull's-eye for George Dubya's sights. Bush shrewdly shot directly into Gore's target by contrasting himself as one who trusts the people rather than government.

We haven't had such a distinct ideological dichotomy between the presidential candidates since Vice President Bush ran as a conservative against the unapologetically liberal Michael Dukakis. Remember how that turned out? You will also recall that neither President Bush nor Bob Dole ran as conservatives, and Bill Clinton certainly didn't run as a liberal against either one of them.

For Democrats to recapture the White House they had to edge toward the right. Enter Clinton-Gore's New Democrat facade. They tried to govern as Old Democrats -- Hillarycare, tax hikes, opposing Welfare, Medicare and Social Security Reform -- but always campaigned as New Democrats. They didn't dare expose their complete leftist colors, especially at election time, because they knew they were out of sync with the electorate.

The second factor is Clintonism. Nationwide, people are going to reject it -- resoundingly. In New York, I'm not so sure.

Unhappily for Democrats, Bill Clinton infected their entire party with his corruption. More significantly, the party allowed it to happen because it willingly embraced him. The contamination was complete. The party sold its soul, and is about to reap the consequences of its Faustian bargain.

The American people ultimately demand accountability from their elected officials. Indeed, the nation's survival as a constitutional republic depends on it. If America's political and legal institutions are prevented from exacting accountability, the electorate will assume the duty. The wages of unrepentant, unjustified political sin is political death.

The Republican Party was able to purge itself of the Nixon taint for one simple reason that has everything to do with human nature. They owned up to it -- a delegation of Republican senators encouraged Nixon to resign. Nixon had the residual integrity not to oppose his impeachment.

Clinton and congressional Democrats did just the opposite. Clinton has never genuinely apologized. For those who have deluded themselves into thinking he did, consider two things: First, he's denied any wrongdoing other than having "non-sexual" relations in the Oval Office and lying to the American people about it. He's denied the entire panoply of felonies he committed in trying to cover up his tryst. Second, if he were truly sorry, would he still be demanding an apology from his Republican prosecutors?

Congressional Democrats conspired with Clinton to deny the gravity of his infractions. They aided him in redefining words, redefining conduct, and redefining the Constitution to permit Clinton, and thus their party, to hold on to power.

Neither congressional Democrats nor the Clinton Justice Department discharged their constitutional obligation to help bring Clinton and Gore to justice. They have left that unfinished business to the voters who will complete it.

The consummation of "the bargain" will also have consequences beyond the election. In the final years of their Faustian temporal euphoria, Clinton, Gore and his congressional lieutenants have begun to lose their magic -- the public is no longer buying into their duplicity and fear-mongering. Even in his double-dealings with Congress, Clinton has finally run out of juice. So, I disagree with those who say Bush will have no takers when he extends his hand across the aisle to congressional Democrats.

Having lost the bully pulpit of the presidency, the Democrats are going to have to make their case on the merits instead of scare-tactics. The bargain's final payoff, then, is that Bush will start with a clean slate. Even with a recalcitrant minority he'll be able to achieve most of his agenda. That's justice.

Soon, G-d willing, it will be morning in America again.



JWR contributor David Limbaugh is an attorney practicing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and a political analyst and commentator. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

WND

Up

11/06/00:The impending Bush mandate
11/01/00: Can't stop thinkin' 'bout tomorrow
10/30/00: George: Give Gore the ball back
10/25/00: Mr. Gore: A few more questions
10/23/00: It's the big government, stupid
10/18/00: Gore's down, so will he panic?
10/16/00: We're fresh out of new Al Gores
10/11/00: Gore: Fuzzy math = dirty politics
10/10/00:Gore: Renaissance man or unbalanced?
10/04/00: Where have you been, Albert Jr.?
10/02/00: Clinton’s fragmented presidency
09/27/00: Liberal media doth protest too much
09/25/00: AlGore: Turning dreams into nightmares
09/20/00: Something fishy's going on
09/18/00: It's the liberalism, stupid
09/13/00: An open letter to open-minded cynics
09/11/00: The virtues of going negative
09/06/00: On a mission for marriage
09/04/00: Al Gore's 'Trivial Pursuits'
08/30/00: Lieberman and the paradox of liberal 'tolerance'
08/28/00: A campaign divided against itself
08/23/00: Al Gore's trickle-down populism
08/21/00: Prosperity without a clue
08/16/00: AlGore can run but he can't hide
08/14/00: When hate speech is OK
08/09/00: Bush: The pundits' enigma
08/07/00: GOP convention: Live or Memorex?
08/02/00: The first attack dog
07/31/00: The Cheney taint?
07/26/00: The anti-gun bogeyman
07/24/00: The raging culture war
07/19/00: Is Hillary 'Good for the Jews'?
07/17/00: How dare you, George?
07/12/00: Jacoby's raw deal
07/10/00: The perplexities of liberalism
07/05/00: Big Al and big oil
07/03/00: Partial-birth and total death
06/28/00: Some questions for you, Mr. Gore
06/26/00: Supreme Court assaults religious freedom
06/21/00: Waco: We are the jury
06/19/00: "Outrage" just doesn't quite cut it anymore!
06/14/00: Al Gore: Government's best friend
06/12/00: Say goodbye to medical privacy
06/07/00: Elian: Whose hands were tied?
06/05/00: Who, which, what is the real Al Gore?
06/01/00: Legacy-building idea for Clinton
05/30/00: Clinton: Above the law or not?
05/24/00: Not so fast, Hillary
05/22/00: Gore's risky, fear-mongering schemes
05/17/00: Can Bush risk pro-choice running mate?
05/15/00: Right to privacy, Clinton-style
05/10/00: Patrick Kennedy and his suit-happy fiddlers
05/08/00: Don't shoot Eddie Eagle
05/03/00: Congress caves to Clinton, again?
05/01/00: The resurrection of outrage
04/28/00: A picture of Bill Clinton's America
04/19/00: President Clinton: Teaching children responsibility
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04/12/00: Elian, freedom deserve a hearing
04/10/00:The fraying of America
04/05/00: Noonan: End Clintonism now
04/03/00: Bush: On going for the gold
03/29/00: Phantasma-Gore-ia
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03/20/00: Stop the insanity
03/15/00: OK Al Gore: Let's go negative
03/13/00: Deifying of the center
03/08/00: The media, the establishment and the people
03/01/00: McCain's coalition-busting daggers in GOP's heart
02/28/00: Bush's silver lining in McMichigan
02/24/00: A conservative firewall, after all
02/22/00: Bush or four more of Clinton-Gore?
02/16/00: Substance trumps process
02/14/00: The campaign finance reform mirage
02/09/00: President McCain: End of the GOP as we know it?
02/07/00: From New Hampshire to South Carolina
02/02/00: SDI must fly
01/31/00: Veep gores Bradley
01/26/00: The issues gap
01/24/00: GOP: Exit, stage left
01/20/00: Nationalizing congressional elections
01/18/00: Do voters really prefer straight talk?
01/12/00: Media's McCain efforts may backfire
01/10/00: Conservative racism myth
01/05/00: Just one more year of Clintonian politics
01/03/00: McMedia?
12/27/99: Al Gore: Bullish on government
12/22/99: Bradley's full-court press
12/20/99: Bush: Rendering unto Caesar
12/15/99: Beltway media bias
12/13/99: White House ambulance chasing
12/08/99: Clinton's labor pains
12/06/99:The lust for power
12/01/99: In defense of liberty
11/29/99: Are Republicans obsolete?
11/24/99: Say you're sorry, Mr. President
11/22/99: Architects of victory
11/17/99: Trump's tax on freedom
11/15/99: GOP caves again
11/10/99: Triangulation and 'The Third Way'
11/08/99: Sticks and stones
11/03/99: Keyes vs. media lapdogs
11/01/99: Signs of the times
10/27/99: The false charge of isolationism
10/25/99: A matter of freedom
10/20/99: Clinton's mini-meltdown
10/18/99: Senate GOP shows statesmanship
10/13/99: Senate must reject nuclear treaty
10/11/99: Bush bites feeding hand
10/06/99: Jesse accidentally opens door for Pat
10/04/99: Clinton and his media enablers
09/29/99: Reagan: Big-tent conservatism
09/27/99: The Clinton/Gore taint?
09/22/99: Have gun (tragedy), will travel
09/20/99: Hillary's blunders and bloopers
09/15/99: GOP must remain conservative
09/13/99:Time for Bush to take charge, please
09/10/99: Bush's education plan: Dubya confounds again
09/07/99: Pat, savior or spoiler?
09/02/99: Character doesn't matter?
08/30/99: Should we judge?
08/25/99: Dubyah's drug question: Not a hill to die on
08/23/99: Should Dubyah start buying soap ... for all that mud?
08/16/99: 'W' stands for 'winner'
08/11/99: The truth about tax cuts
08/09/99: Hillary: Threading the needle
08/04/99: What would you do?
08/02/99: No appeasement for China
07/30/99: Hate Crimes Bill: Cynical Symbolism
07/26/99: It’s the 'moderates', stupid
07/21/99: JFK Jr. and Diana: the pain of privilege
07/19/99: Smith, Bush and the GOP
07/14/99: GOP must be a party of ideas
07/12/99: Gore's gender gap
07/08/99: Clinton’s faustian bargain: our justice
07/06/99: The key to Bush's $36 million
06/30/99: Gore: a soda in every fountain
06/28/99: 'Sacred wall' or religious barrier?
06/23/99: GOP must lead in foreign policy
06/21/99: Crumbs of compassion
06/16/99: Compassionate conservatism: face-lift or body transplant?
06/10/99: Victory in Kosovo? Now What?

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