Bill and Hillary Clinton Led To Donald Trump
Despite Bill Clinton’s numerous extra-marital scandals culminating in the Monica Lewinsky impeachment, Democratic Party members, especially female members, stuck with him with the rationale that they liked his policies, if not his character. The Democratic controlled Senate refused to remove him after his impeachment by the Republican controlled House of Representatives, due to reflexive tribal instinct and pure short-term political calculation as proved by the fact that no Democrat senator defended Clinton’s conduct, which was truly unbecoming, to put it mildly, of a president and a terrible example for Americans, especially American youth. The Lewinsky affair reflected, consolidated, even validated a serious decline in American ethical values and the attitude that high principles are paramount. Such decline inevitably undermines a society’s cohesiveness and ultimately its success.
It is not an overstatement to say that Bill Clinton is responsible for Donald Trump’s election. The Democratic Senate’s refusal to remove Clinton validated not only his abusive treatment of women, but also his publicly lying to the American people on live television. The worst scandal was not Clinton’s abusive and dishonest behavior, but the Democratic Senate’s belittling highly unethical conduct by a president and effectively stating that it was acceptable. The same can be said of Democratic Party members. Clinton and the Democrats actually paved the road for Republican acceptance of Donald Trump’s highly unethical behavior and his questionable allegiance to our highest values and allies. The justification for Republicans defending an indefensible Trump is the same as for the Democrats defending an indefensible Clinton: they like his policies, not his character.
A nation which does not remove a dishonest, misbehaving president is a sick nation. A nation which does not remove a president mistreating our allies and cozying up to nations inimical to democracy and human rights is not just a sick nation but a foolish and ignorant nation. A nation which tolerates dishonest political leaders is a nation which has lost its moral compass and is superficial. It loses its self-respect and the respect of other nations. The toleration of dishonesty and betrayal by political leaders is very corrosive, and if not quickly reversed will spread to the toleration of dishonesty in every part of society, in business and in personal relationships. That will lead to a decline in true patriotism, and to a proliferation of false, tribal patriotisms.
Hillary Clinton was also responsible for Trump’s election. She was the weakest Democratic candidate to oppose Trump. She should never have run. She ran only because of personal ambition. She was despised by half the nation for acquiescing in her husband’s abusive behavior and lying, apparently for political calculation. If she could not take a courageous, principled stand against her dishonest husband by leaving him right after his justified impeachment, why should anyone believe she had the courage, ethical conviction, and strength to lead the nation? Furthermore, it was an intentional misleading Democratic partisan myth that Hillary was extremely competent. The incompetent Republican-led investigation of the Benghazi debacle masked the outrageous incompetence of both Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama, who sent an ambassador to jihadi-controlled Benghazi with just a couple of bodyguards. Only idiots would not foresee that he would be attacked and killed within days of arriving in Benghazi. Benghazi was incontrovertible proof of Hillary Clinton’s incompetence, of her lack of common sense and ignorance. (Also of Obama’s.)
How could anyone seriously believe Hillary was competent and would be a successful president? Was she an expert in anything? In economic policy? In social policy? In foreign policy? How can 8 years of experience as a senator or as the wife of an ineffective president be considered a qualification to be president, particularly in light of her poor record as Secretary of State (not just Benghazi, but her naive “reset” with Russia)? Bill Clinton was in fact an ineffective president. He “lost” Russia, failing to guide it to true democracy and human rights, and failing to give it intelligent economic advice to make the transition from a communist economy to a free market one; he did nothing to counter Al Qaeda over his two terms, with 9/11 the result of such failure; and he is falsely credited with the economic boom during his second term which had nothing to do with his policies.
In fact, the economic boom during Clinton’s second term was not the result of his economic policy, consisting only of a small increase in taxes and small decrease in government spending, which according to his spin led to reduced budget deficits and lower interest rates. The reality is that the lower interest rates, economic boom, and big drop in the budget deficits had only to do with 1) an easing monetary policy to stimulate a slowly recovering economy, 2) a big housing rebound after the early 1990’s S&L crisis, and 3) a historic capital spending boom due to the simultaneous roll-out of lap-tops, the internet, and mobile telephony, capped by enormous business and government spending to prepare for Y-2K. (Similarly, Trump is falsely credited with the strong economic recovery since his inauguration, as it has practically nothing to do with his corporate tax cuts and regulation cutbacks. Rather, it has all to do with typically delayed economic strength following a deep financial crisis, just as happened in Clinton’s second term. Such economic recoveries take time to build up momentum, as the financial damage of the crisis is gradually repaired. At a certain point, the economy builds up steam. Just like Clinton, Trump is simply lucky: his term as president has coincided with the economic acceleration that was years in the making under Obama and took off in 2017.)
Just as the Democratic Party showed its lack of principle and ignorance in promoting Hillary Clinton as its presidential candidate, so has the Republican Party in promoting Donald Trump as its presidential candidate. He was well known as a bankrupt con artist for years, shunned by all American banks and dependent on foreign loans of dubious origin, and being a reality show star did not make him qualified to be president. The Republican Party’s continued defense of an indefensible President Trump is inexcusable, just like the Democratic Party’s defense of an indefensible President Clinton.
Unfortunately, of great significance, both parties reflect large swaths of the American population and a worrisome general decline in ethics, logic, and knowledge. This is the result of a poor public education system, including a seriously inadequate curriculum. What is desperately needed to put the nation on the right track is to have the public high school curriculum include courses in 1) ethics; 2) logic; 3) 20th century history in great detail; 4) economics/investing (and the need to have QE-financed tax rebates as the standard economic stimulus tool in order to always nip recessions in the bud and avoid high unemployment); 5) the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the history of human rights violations; 6) the major mistakes in economic, social, and foreign policy over the past 100 years and what would have been the correct policies; 7) history of art, music, and design; 8) introductory law; 9) comparative religion; and 10) four years of psychology accompanied by “group therapy” and “good parenting” classes. Also, individual tutoring is absolutely necessary to prevent students having academic difficulty from falling behind and dropping out, as is lots of homework/study hall.
Only a well-educated and psychologically well-adjusted citizenry will guarantee a successful nation, an economically and socially prosperous society with an enlightened foreign policy. Unsurprisingly, and depressingly, not one of our presidential candidates is conscious of our widespread educational and ethical deficits, and not one is proposing solutions. We need our concerned citizens, the press and the media in general to be unforgiving about dishonesty and lack of ethics. We need our concerned citizens and the press/media to require very high qualifications of political candidates (i.e., the ability to explain the major mistakes in economic, social, and foreign policy of the past 100 years and what would have been the correct policies), and to actively search for and back enlightened political candidates as revealed by their platforms and personal character. If that finally takes place, we will start reversing our national decline which threatens not just our social and economic prosperity, but democracy and human rights worldwide of which the United States was the linchpin during the 20th Century. In fact, without the United States’ efforts during the last century, its many mistakes notwithstanding, the world today would be half fascist and half communist, with no democracy and no human rights. It would be tragic if we let the ball drop now, at a time when democracy and human rights are being increasingly threatened worldwide. If the U.S. fails, that’s it…. possibly forever.
© Edward Sonnino 2019
December 30, 2019
