Amid the chaos and confusion surrounding the Obamacare debacle, the national press turned its all-powerful gaze to the Oracle of the Ozarks, former Big Chief Wild Bill Clinton, to shed light on the subject.
“The President must not break his promise to the people,” Bubba opined. “He must make whole that which he has rent asunder.”
It sent shockwaves through the political pigsty. After all the oinking and snorting a consensus was reached: Bill Clinton has finally severed his family name from the floundering White House. The blond queen-in-waiting has set the dragon loose upon the pretenders to the throne.
Willy Jeff’s term was the closest thing we have to a Successful Presidency in this generation. He could deftly parry any thrust Newt and his Turks could muster, even after his nationally televised disgrace. Millions of otherwise committed feminists admire him, even though had it been their husband, they would have neutered him and emptied his coffers faster than you can say Gloria Allred.
Hillary swallowed her pride and walked to the helicopter. Even the heartbreak of infidelity could not end the partnership of the ultimate political lovers. Together they would go where no political family since the Roosevelts had gone; four terms in the White House.
But upstart Senator Barack Obama screwed up the schedule. Democrats saw the opportunity to fulfill the Promise of Lincoln and elect the first Black American President, a man who offered hope and change to a weary, divided nation. As recently reported, Clinton admitted that Obama was “luckier than a dog with two dicks.”
It hasn’t turned out that way lately, and Obama understood that he had to bite the bullet or risk losing his own party to the usurpers. His improvised “fix” was to pass the buck back to the insurance cartel, who now must bear the brunt of public scorn. Will it work? The jury’s still out, but it’s doubtful that the image of Obama’s promises will disappear from the TV screens from now until election day.
Charlie Krauthammer, currently making the new book circuit, announced that we are witnessing the Death of Liberalism, but that is mostly wishful thinking. We heard the same thing about the Republicans in 2008, but they are still kicking, fitfully. Other conservative scribes compared it to George the Second’s “Katrina” moment, when the Bush name was so tainted that it would hang around the family’s neck like a dead chicken till the end of days.
Yet even now, we hear distant rumblings of a Jeb Bush candidacy in 2016, and when you look at the competition you have to think he has a good chance to carry the elephant banner one more time. The Clintons know, and it could be that we’ll see the last titanic struggle between the two most influential names in modern American history.
Hillary’s chances will depend on how this healthcare issue is resolved. The liberal press is in high spin mode, trying to explain to an angry electorate that they’ll be better off, someday. High Priestess St. Joan Walsh dismissed the Obamacare/Katrina comparison by noting that with Obamacare, nobody died.
She probably should have ended the sentence with the word “yet”.
Here’s the Joan Walsh article…
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/15/stop_comparing_obamacares_flaws_to_hurricane_katrina/
When around 50% of the legislative government is doing everything in their power to destroy a program before it even gets off the ground of course it is going to have set backs. I don’t like Affordable Care Act and have said from day one without the public option I would have never voted for it. The problems with the law is that very issue, no public option. Without the public option the health care industry holds the reins that lead this horse to whatever path it takes.
Remember Obama made a back room deal with the industry lobbyists in 2009 that eliminated the participation of public option and single payer advocates in this law.
As the idiom goes “If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas”.
Obama most definitely sold out the law when he made this deal the industry, which is more proof of a fascist/ corporatist state. The very industry that should be heavily regulated and not for profit are receiving one on one time with the President of the United States. Not only getting one on one time but getting legislative deals through the executive branch before the “public” debate in the legislative chambers even get heated up.
TR Reid left PBS when they edited or really censored his piece by removing all references that every other developed nation on the planet makes health care industry not for profit by law, including Switzerland.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/
Good Lord. Just mentioning the 2016 race is the primary cause of depression from sea to shining sea. Heard the Mayor of Toronto is coming down to our fair country to get some free dope and booze treatment. Can’t hurt.
Bubba Billy is in full campaign mode now. The Clinton don’t say or do anything that is not political. Never. Hilary’s 2016 slogan might be “I am not Obama.”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/11/16/when_the_obama_magic_died_120680.html
Another Clinton, Rodham or not, is just another figure head to continue the absolutely destructive status quo.
Neither party has any potential candidate who doesn’t fit that description.
A brain-numbing ho-hummer, which means a republican President.
I agree Ben. The US will be better off without another Clinton or a Bush in the White House. In a nation of 315,000,000 citizens we can hopefully find at least three other qualified individuals in 2016. Hopefully a viable third party can emerge, but I ain’t holding my breath.
If we were to have a Presidential election that more accurately reflected the tribes of America it might look something like this:
Rand Paul/Susana Martinez v. Christie/Jindal v. Clinton/Warner v. Warren/O’Malley
I wouldn’t discount Jeb Bush, should he choose to enter the fray. He was popular in Florida, a key state, and his bi-racial family could attract Latino voters. Conservatives are going to have a problem with Paul’s libertarian isolationism and Christie may end up being the Rudy Gulliani of 2016.
There’s always a chance that the progressive wing will talk Lizzy Warren into mounting a challenge to Hillary, but it depends on how the Democrats are perceived by that time. Liberalism won’t be dead, but the drag on the economy (higher taxes and energy prices for starters) may tempt the party to head back to the center.
I certainly agree Jeb could be a strong force; my post was trying to represent the ‘tribes of America’, not what I think will happen. I actually think Christie gets significantly weakened in the primary process, particularly after New Hampshire, and my not be able to overcome ‘the hug’. I think the Republicans may need to run their Barry Goldwater to kill the fiction that the reason they have not won is that they have not been true to their conservative base. I am doubting Warren will run if Clinton does, but if she does a challenge from the left only makes Clinton stronger, because she can be seen as more acceptable to the center, whereas a set of strong challengers from the right makes the Republican nominee weaker, because the nominee will need to move to the right to be nominated. Finally, I don’t think that either Clinton or Obama are actually liberals, they are centrists in the American political spectrum, they have merely been pegged as liberal by the right wing media machine and in the minds of crypto-fascists 🙂
Of course its all silly bull hockey on my part right now anyway, 3 years is an awfully long time.
Yeah, it’s all idle noodling this far out, but I was a little surprised that another Bush was considering entry to the game of thrones. Could be it will fizzle after a few years, or maybe it will be the last gasp of the baby boomers.
Jeb is the choice of the establishment Republicans and with the political stunt shut down the TP shot themselves in the foot within the party and the nation. I would say at this point Jeb Bush would be the front runner in the GOP.
I predict the lowest voter turnout since the Coolidge election.
It will be the usual big money battle between two camps that no longer have anything new to offer. Neither side can offer anything we haven’t seen in the recent past; the repubs will offer a “way back” to the good ol’ days via some $5K suit, and the dems don’t have a chance in hell of offering any “savior” from past transgressions; been there, seen that, and it ain’t workin’ out so good.
Hillary I a past Walmart board member, and the most intertwined Wall Street candidate to date for the dems. Whomever gets the nod for the repubs will be beholden to the radical voices and money that has been calling their shots for quite a few years. And right smack dab in the middle is the still-central American public.
Very low voter turnout, especially independents, (I could honestly give a crap for the first time in my life), and a republican win by default. Either way, more than ever; more of the same.
Who, in their right mind, could ever get excited about that.
Just getting back into the Nevada County blogosphere this evening…highly amusing as always, and the quality and quantity of comedy continues to amaze me.
Nice to see the pension boogey man resurrected, that one is always good for a few virtual lynchings, especially over at the RR circus.
But I thought Chris’ comment above was the best; extremely cynical and right on the money. We have a broken and corrupt political system that is in a high level of status quo, which hands bags of money to a huge number of citizens of all ages, political affiliations, and special interests. The entire country is bought off, basically.
Living in America is like being given the privilege of driving the latest Lamborghini or Tesla S4 through a large sewer pipe. We’ll just have to see how long Americans can stand throwing up into their own mouths on a daily basis.
They’ve been doing it now going on four decades–I am so far very impressed with their esophageal fortitude.
Trouble in River City…Seven California Dems vote for GOP plan. Three more don’t vote at all…
http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-california-democrats-gop-healthcare-bill-20131115,0,4417597.story?track=rss#axzz2knP78Ngi
Typical; those who face tough races in the near future vote for their own legislative longevity rather than for what their constituents want. I really don’t care which way they vote; it’s WHY they’re voting the way they are that’s so repugnant. Nuthin’ worse than a career politician who’s thinks he may lose his job doing what he’s paid for.
Doesn’t really make a hoot of a difference; Obama has promised to veto it, and it’s not going to fly in the Senate, anyway.
The D’s are just as morally empty as the R’s at this point and the loyal 15-20% of both parties will turn out in 14′ the independents being the swing votes. If only those who are tired of the two parties would vote outside them we could see a humongous shift away from the two dinosaur or titanic parties. By 16′ who knows what our nation will be experiencing?
Clinton Speaks! and the world is changed. Just one little sentence of common sense is all it took for the shot heard around the 2016 campaign world. Like him or despise him, Bubba is one shrewd politico.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbasile/2013/11/17/bill-clinton-feels-president-obamas-pain-and-hes-loving-it/
Nobody should be surprised that some House Democrats are jumping ship. The No. 1 goal of every elected official is to get reelected. As Harry Truman said: “If you want a friend in Washington get a dog.”
Dissent shall not be tolerated. Circle the wagons…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/17/william-p-white-obamacare_n_4293566.html
Bob,
The number biggest problem with ACA is Obama/ Executive Branch made back room deals early on that were the role of the Legislative Branch thus handcuffing the entire process. Now the health care/ pharmaceutical industries are holding the reins and have turned this horse down a different path. If a public option was part of this law the problems of people losing their policies wouldn’t be an issue but since Obama dealt that away despite having nearly 80% support among Americans we are once again spoon fed lies at how a half measure is some great reform. I said it in 2009 and say it still today, if in congress I would not have voted for any legislation without a strong public option included, preferably controlled at the state level.
You know Ben. You and I agree on more than you think.
Barry,
That wouldn’t surprise me a bit. If we drop the R vs D who is worse or better and admit neither of them are operating our government on behalf of the people we allow ourselves to see our agreements heavily outweigh our disagreements.
Well, let’s get you in Congress then, Ben.
Unfortunately, single payer will never happen. With Washington being completely hog-tied, it falls on the states to make such changes. Vermont is headed that way, but the republicans are a decade ahead of the dems in recognizing that, and through gerrymandering, have effectively quashed all hopes of any such action on the state level.
The only possible way forward at this point is for every dem and independent to join the republican party and seize the reins of this runaway gambit; and that’s even less a possibility.
Dropping another hint?…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/bill-clinton-woman-president_n_4297978.html