From: session@seq.uncwil.edu (Zack C. Sessions)
Subject: Rush and the Democrats
Organization: Univ. of North Carolina @ Wilmington
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 20:00:10 GMT


regarding the political campaigns:

>Now that Perot is out of the campaign, though, Clinton has
>allegedly moved back to the center; this is why he attacked
>Sister Souljah, so that he could attract those who are offended
>by Souljah's type of liberalism. This is why Slick Willie is so
>slick - he tries to be all things to all people.

Umm, excuse me? But didn't Clinton make his comments regarding the
song by Sister Souljah WEEKS, nay MONTHS before Perot announced his
withdrawal from the campaign?

>At his speech to the American Legion yesterday, Clinton said that
>it was their right not to vote for him because he ran away from
>the draft and Vietnam War, but he claimed that he did this not
>because he was a coward or because he wasn't patriotic, but
>because he "didn't believe in US policy in Vietnam." This is yet
>more history revisionism from Clinton; however, he did finally
>admit that he did something illegal in dodging the draft.

History revisionism? How so? The facts speak for themselves. Clinton
did not dodge the draft. And he most certainly did not admit, not
did he, do anything illegal in his actions which some refer to as
draft dodging.

>Clinton also accuses Bush of having a pro-life litmus test for
>his Supreme Court appointments, yet Clinton is the one who stated
>point-blank that he would demand support for abortion from all of
>his appointments to the Court. Democrats attack their opponents
>for certain things, and then turn around and do these very same
>things.

While Clinton does sadly admit that he too would have a "litmus test"
for SC appointees, but his is not "support for abortion", but for "support
for the right to choose".

Regarding the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement:

>However, there is a good political reason for this, and Rush will
>explain later. One reason to support the agreement, though, is
>that Richard Gephardt is against it. As usual, Slick Willie is
>positioning himself on both sides of the fence on this issue.

During a live interview on "This Week With David Brinkley" today,
Al Gore stated that Clinton and himself agree with the proposal
IN PRINCIPLE. However, as of this time, no one in Congress has even
got a look at the agreement's wording. It has yet to be released
by the White House.

>However, Rush thinks Bush should get off of this 128 figure since
>the real issue is Clinton's proposed economic plan which would
>take two-thirds of American businesses' profits. All Clinton
>knows about is raising taxes and spending money; he's never had a
>job in the private sector.

Rush should be careful, he seems to be pandering to the president's
re-election campaign. First of all, Clinton's economic plan will not
take two-thirds of American buisinesses' profits. This is an unrealistic
conclusion made by the re-election campaign. Secondly, how many jobs
in the private sector did Reagan have? Bush? Quayle?

regarding teacher's average pay:

>Michigan pays $40,700, Rhode Island pays $39,397, and Arkansas is
>near the bottom of the list. California, which pays $40,425, is
>having a budget crisis because the "education czars" don't think
>education gets enough money. New Jersey is now spending over
>$7,000 per student per year, which works out to $210,000 per an
>average-sized classroom. Since teachers get paid an average
>$41,000, what happens to the remaining $169,000? Does this money
>go to classrooms, chalk, blackboards? Rush, though, feels sorry
>for these poor teachers who are earning so "little" when compared
>to the rest of the country.

Rush couldn't resist that jab about Arkansas teacher's pay being
"near the bottom of the list". He fails to mention here that teacher's
pay in Arkansas has had the highest increase than all other states
during Clinton's tenure as governor.

And regarding where does the exess money over teacher's salaries which
we are paying for education really go for? Does Rush really believe
that a teacher's salary is the only cost in operating a school? Yes,
indeed, some of that goes to classrooms, chalk and blackboards. But
what does a classroom need? Desks. Lighting. Heat during the winter and
cooling during the spring and fall. Cleaning. Other costs? Books. Audio
visual equipment. Various other teaching aids. Not to mention a big
cost in education FOOD.

I am not saying that all school boards are run just as efficiently as
a business or that none of them are corrupt, but to make such a sweeping
allegation as Rush has is plain stupid.

TYPO ALERT!!
>A show with Lisa Gibsons and John Tesh is being discussed as a
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's Leeza Gibbons. I see that John is so busy transcripbing these
summaries that he doesn't have time to watch Entertainment Tonight.

during a call the conversation was:

>Billie says that Bill Clinton claimed in his acceptance speech
>that he has balanced the Arkansas state budget in every year he's
>been governor. However, what he failed to say was that Arkansas
>has had a law mandating a balanced budget since 1934. Clinton
>also told the people of Arkansas in 1990 that he would be their
>governor for four years because this was the job he wanted.

It is irrelevant that there is a law requiring a balanced budget
in Arkansas. It had been brought out so many times during the primaries
that one would have had to be living in Antarctica to not already
know this. Point is he DID balance the budget.

As far as the second claim, I think that is a pretty weak reason to
not support Clinton for president.

>Billie adds that Arkansas needs foreign markets for its farm
>exports and this is why most Arkansas residents are in favor of
>NAFTA. Clinton was always totally in favor of this agreement
>until he got the Presidential nomination. Rush pounds the desk as
>he excitedly claims "I told you, folks, I told you."

Clinton has not come out against the NAFTA. The democratic ticket
supports the NAFTA *IN PRINCIPLE*. They, just as the rest of Congress,
is holding back full support until they can read the text of the
agreement, which has yet to be released by the White House.

>Billie also points out that the main highways in Arkansas are a
>disgrace, and Arkansas is number one in only one area - teenage
>pregnancy. Billie wishes people would concentrate on the fact
>that Clinton is the "most taxing" governor in Arkansas' history,
>and he wrote the two largest tax increases in the state's
>history.

Clinton's record in Arkansas stands for itself. Yes, Arkansas ranks
in the lower quadrant of the nation in many metrics by which states
are judged. But the fact is that Arkansas is a hell of a lot better
off now that it was 12 years ago, it's growth in educational reform
and improvement are unmatched in the country. The national conference
of governors voted Clinton as the best governor for improving conditions
in his state recently. And, given all of the factors involved, I seriously
doubt if Clinton would have been able to balance the state budget year
after year (as it is legally required to be) and to not only maintain
the level of basic government services and to actually increase the
quality of others without some increase in revenue.

-- 
Zack Sessions
sessions@seq.uncwil.edu
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
"Good health is merely the slowest form of dying."
Newsgroups: alt.rush-limbaugh