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(Photo: Kate Wellington / Flickr)
Hillary Wants to Bring Back Bill. She Shouldn't.
Why would Hillary threaten workaday Americans with another poke in the eye from her con man spouse?
Jun 15, 2016
This year, despite the unnerving presidential freak show the Republicans are putting on, Hillary Clinton is the one who recently stunned me.
Attempting to convince wary working class families that she'll lift up the poor, shore up the middle class, and stand against the abuses of her Wall Street financial backers, Clinton made a horrifying declaration that she'll bring back Bill.
Specifically, she promised that her former-president husband will be put "in charge of revitalizing the economy."
Good grief. Isn't he the big galoot who turned his economic policy over to Wall Street's Machiavellian, Robert Rubin?
And didn't Bill break his 1992 campaign promise to raise the minimum wage in his first year? Afraid so -- he put it off until his fourth year, and even then provided only a token increase that left the working poor still mired in poverty.
And let's not forget his "welfare reform" bill, which shredded the safety net for America's poorest, most vulnerable people.
This is the same Bill who rammed NAFTA down our throats, creating the job-sucking sound that continues to devastate today's middle class. He also colluded with laissez-faire ideologues and plutocratic Republicans to deregulate Wall Street, allowing global speculators to wreck our economy by playing casino games with our bank deposits and home mortgages.
By the way, since leaving office, Bill has amassed a personal fortune through smarmy, often-secret deals with Wall Street banks and global corporations.
Why would Hillary threaten workaday Americans with another poke in the eye from this big money con man? Instead, she should use Bill's gift of gab by making him her official greeter for White House visitors.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
This year, despite the unnerving presidential freak show the Republicans are putting on, Hillary Clinton is the one who recently stunned me.
Attempting to convince wary working class families that she'll lift up the poor, shore up the middle class, and stand against the abuses of her Wall Street financial backers, Clinton made a horrifying declaration that she'll bring back Bill.
Specifically, she promised that her former-president husband will be put "in charge of revitalizing the economy."
Good grief. Isn't he the big galoot who turned his economic policy over to Wall Street's Machiavellian, Robert Rubin?
And didn't Bill break his 1992 campaign promise to raise the minimum wage in his first year? Afraid so -- he put it off until his fourth year, and even then provided only a token increase that left the working poor still mired in poverty.
And let's not forget his "welfare reform" bill, which shredded the safety net for America's poorest, most vulnerable people.
This is the same Bill who rammed NAFTA down our throats, creating the job-sucking sound that continues to devastate today's middle class. He also colluded with laissez-faire ideologues and plutocratic Republicans to deregulate Wall Street, allowing global speculators to wreck our economy by playing casino games with our bank deposits and home mortgages.
By the way, since leaving office, Bill has amassed a personal fortune through smarmy, often-secret deals with Wall Street banks and global corporations.
Why would Hillary threaten workaday Americans with another poke in the eye from this big money con man? Instead, she should use Bill's gift of gab by making him her official greeter for White House visitors.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
This year, despite the unnerving presidential freak show the Republicans are putting on, Hillary Clinton is the one who recently stunned me.
Attempting to convince wary working class families that she'll lift up the poor, shore up the middle class, and stand against the abuses of her Wall Street financial backers, Clinton made a horrifying declaration that she'll bring back Bill.
Specifically, she promised that her former-president husband will be put "in charge of revitalizing the economy."
Good grief. Isn't he the big galoot who turned his economic policy over to Wall Street's Machiavellian, Robert Rubin?
And didn't Bill break his 1992 campaign promise to raise the minimum wage in his first year? Afraid so -- he put it off until his fourth year, and even then provided only a token increase that left the working poor still mired in poverty.
And let's not forget his "welfare reform" bill, which shredded the safety net for America's poorest, most vulnerable people.
This is the same Bill who rammed NAFTA down our throats, creating the job-sucking sound that continues to devastate today's middle class. He also colluded with laissez-faire ideologues and plutocratic Republicans to deregulate Wall Street, allowing global speculators to wreck our economy by playing casino games with our bank deposits and home mortgages.
By the way, since leaving office, Bill has amassed a personal fortune through smarmy, often-secret deals with Wall Street banks and global corporations.
Why would Hillary threaten workaday Americans with another poke in the eye from this big money con man? Instead, she should use Bill's gift of gab by making him her official greeter for White House visitors.
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