From: colten@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (marc.colten)
Newsgroups: alt.activism
Subject: Re: Predictions after a Clinton victory
Summary: You're wrong
Date: 9 Nov 92 00:49:32 GMT
Organization: AT&T

In article <1992Nov7.153340.5041@anasazi.com>, john@anasazi.com (John R. Moore) writes:
> Keywords: 
> 
> In article <1992Nov4.140150.27652@cbfsb.cb.att.com> colten@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (marc.colten) writes:
> ]
> ]However - I thought I'd drop in a few predictions for the future:
> ]
> ]1) Conservatives will now start whining about the election - vote
> ]   totals, electoral vs popular, exit polls and other stuff.  Just
> ]   remember - if Bush had won they wouldn't listen to our whining,
> ]   so why worry about theirs.  Just say to them "Hey, imagine what
> ]   you would say to me if Clinton had lost - and then say that to
> ]   yourself."
> 
> Wrongo. All the conservative pundits I heard in the past week 
> were discussing how to revitalize the republican party
> and were accepting the election as a repudiation of George Bush.
> George Bush just made a statement that HE was personally responsible for
> the electoral loss.
> 

You should read the net more - all thos messages saying "We're doomed 
... doomed .. doomed .. oh my God they're socialist, they're
communists .... oh my god, we're doomed"  

> Furthermore, consider that the conservative agenda, when subjected to
> popular vote in initiatives, won hands down. Term limits won by
> overwhelming margin (here in AZ 3 to 1) in all 14 states where they
> were on the ballot. Measures to hold the line on taxes won in almost
> all cases. For example, a measure to require a 2/3 supermajority to
> pass a tax increase and a 3/4 supermajority to override a veto
> passed her in AZ by a 3 to 1 margin. Conservatives don't feel that
> conservativism was repudiated - just Bushism.
> 

Exactly why are "term limits" a conservative agenda?  Who passed
the term limit on the presidency - Liberals?  Hardly - it was
conservatives who couldn't stand it that the American people elected
FDR 4 times.  Who complained about the presidential term limit 
becuase Reagan couldn't run again - Liberals?  no - conservatives.
Now - who is pushing for term limits when the national legislature
is overwhelming Democratic - guess.  As for voting FOR term limits
- I'd have to know more about the 14 states that voted for it -
but since when are government regulations to forbid the people to do
what they choose to do a conservative idea?  We've always had
term limits - its called the vote.

>   Now that Clinton has won, I am willing to give him the benefit of the 
> doubt. If he ends up giving in to the left wing of the Democratic party, 
> we will scream to high heaven.  If he maintains the more moderate policy
> on foreign policy and economics policy that he campaigned on, I think
> you will find the criticism muted.
> 

You may be the only one giving Clinton the benefit of the doubt. The
honeymoon was over when he was nominated.  If you dont' believe me
ask the guy in front of me yesterday - the guy with the sign in
his back window that said "Comrade Clinton is in office - pray for
1996" - a sentiment that has been echoed all over the net.

>   The fun is going to come when Clinton and Congress get over their love
> affair. The more moderate Clinton is, the sooner this will happen.
> 
It should happen sooner than later.  If they expect him to rubber
stamp their ideas they will be as wrong as he will be if he expects
them to roll over him.  Should be interesting.

> ]
> ]2) Sometime this morning Conservative pundits will start refering to
> ]   the national mood as "The Clinton Malaise".  
> 
> I guess we must just be a bunch of hypocrits, huh? 
> 
Could be - but I was refering to the Conservative effort to call
something by a name they like and expect us to believe it.  Carter
was in office 1976-1980 and I didn't feel malaised then at all.

> ]4) Watch out for Country and Western fans - some of them think
> ]   *George* Clinton was elected president and will be very disappointed
> ]   when they find out otherwise.
> 
> What is this, a gratuitous slur of red-necks?

O please,  it's a joke!  It was gratuitous or a slur, and you are
the one who said that George Clinton fans are rednecks, not me.

> ]
> ]5) Just for fun - get a large sheet of paper, oaktag or foamboard and
> ]   make up a chart with all of this week economic indicators - GNP,
> ]   housing starts, unemployment, Dow Jones Average, anything you like.
> ]   Take it to 20 Conservative pundits and/or economists.  Ask them
> ]   to comment on it and they will all tell you that it shows the
> ]   country has never been healthier and happier and Democrats are
> ]   all doom and gloomers.  Then put the chart away for six months.
> 
> This is nonsense. No one believes that the country is at its healthiest,
> but a lot of us believe that it is better off than the press would have
> us believe. The press, now that the election is over, is starting to
> report the positive side.

I've seen articles for years claiming that everything was great during
the 12 years of Reagan/Bush.  Many of the articles strained credulity
and said that everything from unemployment to foreign companies buying
up huge chunks of America were all good signs.  I was indicating that
you could take those articles and compare them to articles that will
be written in the next four years and see a complete turn aroun in
opinion.

> ]6) Expect the 1996 Presidential election to start immediately with
> ]   4 years of sniping and complaining.
> 
> Well, it will build over time. When you consider that the Democrats
> have been sniping, snarling, obfuscating, obstructing, complaining,
> and blaming for 12 years when the Republicans didn't even control the
> congress, you can bet that Republicans will complain when the
> Democrat controlled GOVERNMENT screws up.

Us complain, nah!  Truth is they're already complaining and he hasn't
done anything yet.  Like Reagan talking credit for stuff that hapened
30 seconds into his administration and refusing to take blame for
anything that went wrong.  Anything that goes wrong from Nov 3 to
1996 will be Clinton's fault even while bush is still in office.
Watch and see.

marc colten
Xref: sparky alt.activism:18656 talk.politics.misc:59665