[lbo-talk] Kerryismo - an end in itself

[Joseph Wanzala]

I deliberately placed it in that time frame because Clintonism began before 
he took office, as far back as 1990, during his campaign he indicated that 
he would be taking a stolidly neo-liberal path. Indeed, one might argue that 
there was smooth continuity from Reagan, through Bush 1, into Clintontime on 
virtually all policy fronts. 2004 is very much like 1992 in that we have a 
much hated Bush in the White House and a Democratic Party candidate whose 
principal selling point is that he is not in fact Bush himself. Progressives 
made precisely the same compromises and vows to 'put pressure on Clinton' in 
1990-1992 as they are making now. Here we go again......

and don't forget to pipe in the Clintonista theme from Fleetwood Mac:  
"Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow, Don't stop, it'll soon be here, It'll 
be, better than before, Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone"........


>From: Jon Johanning <jjohanning at igc.org>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Kerryismo - an end in itself
>Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 10:18:44 -0400
>
>On Tuesday, May 11, 2004, at 12:01  PM, Joseph Wanzala wrote:
>
>>the evidence: 1990 - 2000.
>
>Not very specific, eh? I suppose you mean the Clinton administration 
>(though 1990-2 fall outside that time frame).
>
>For some reason which I was never very clear about, an awful lot of 
>Democrats were charmed out of their socks by Bill. I could never understand 
>what they saw in him, just as I never understood what was so charming about 
>Reagan -- to me, he was always a pretty sleazy character, with his obvious 
>womanizing, his pouting lower lip, and a general sort of greasy demeanor. I 
>regarded him as a character I wouldn't trust any further than I could throw 
>him.. And I never cared much for his brilliant, lovely wife either. When he 
>and she went on to screw up the health care issue, make a killing on inside 
>information about cattle futures (I think it was), attack welfare, etc., I 
>was even less amused. I nevertheless voted for him twice, because I sure 
>didn't want a Republican to win.
>
>With Kerry (should he win), I think things will be different. He obviously 
>has no charm whatsoever. Other than his wife and kids (I suppose), 
>absolutely no one really likes him, much less has fallen in love with him. 
>He is only the person who is the designated agent to get Bush out of the 
>White House -- nothing more. Therefore, should he win, everyone on the 
>Left, including the left wing of the DP, will be gunning for him from Day 
>1. I think it'll be quite different from the Clinton administration.
>
>
>Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org
>__________________________________
>A sympathetic Scot summed it all up very neatly in the remark, 'You should 
>make a point of trying every experience once, excepting incest and 
>folk-dancing.' -- Sir Arnold Bax
>
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