Republicans: “We Miss Bill Clinton”

by Stuart Shapiro

Clearly I wasn’t the only one whose jaw dropped to the floor upon reading the quotes from Republicans about Bill Clinton in this New York Times article.

Senator Orrin G. Hatch recently said that former President Bill Clinton “will go down in history as a better president” than the sitting one…Republicans in Congress have begun speaking of him with respect, even pining,“I enjoy Bill Clinton.” Representative Paul D. Ryan, a six-term Republican from Wisconsin, said in an interview, echoing several colleagues. “The first two years of his term were one thing, but the rest of his presidency was tempered with moderation, and the nation benefited.”

Um, do they remember the 1990s?  When Clinton was accused of being evil incarnate as a pot smoking former hippie who wanted to destroy the US?  Do they remember that they tried to impeach Bill Clinton?  Impeach him!!!!!  Jon Chait gets it right in commenting on the article.

The kicker is that everything Bossie thought was true of Clinton before he now believes is true of Obama. Clinton was once a radical leftist, infiltrating the governemnt to impose a radical agenda of wealth confiscation. Today we realize that was silly! But now we’re sure this is a good description of Obama.

This speaks to the general lack of seriousness in today’s Republican party.  Plus ca change . . .

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.