On October 11, former President Bill Clinton appeared in Binghamton, New York, to campaign for Representative Maurice Hinchey, the Democratic incumbent in New York’s 22nd Congressional District. There, Clinton faced a barrage of heckles after he offensively claimed that half of Republicans today need psychiatric help and that Republicans are guilty of misunderstanding the Democratic agenda.
During his speech, Clinton blamed Fox News for the current success of GOP candidates, as well as a variety of other anonymous “fabulous disinformation campaigns that’s [sic] whipped those poor Republicans up into a white heat.”
He added, “And honest to God, half of [Republicans] need psychiatric help … not because they are crazy but because no one can be that angry for that long.”
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In response to Clinton’s psychiatric remark, conservative blogsite Weasel Zippers quipped, “And a married guy who sticks his cigar up the crotch of a female intern doesn’t need psychiatric help?”
Clinton went on to accuse Republicans of trying to “make this a referendum rooted in anger and apathy and amnesia, saying if things aren’t perfect, vote them out.”
Taking offense at Clinton’s harsh criticisms, audience members began to heckle him. The heckling, often loud enough to be disruptive, provoked the former President to address the protestors with, “I don’t know what you’re saying."
Though much of the heckling was indecipherable, one phrase audibly stood out: “Where’s Monica?”
Visually frazzled by the heckling, Clinton took the opportunity to promote the highlights of his presidency in order to distract the hecklers from his moral failures: “Compared to all those Republicans and what they’re saying, there’s only one person in America that’s balanced four budgets, run four surpluses….“ The rest was interrupted by a boisterous standing ovation from the loyal Democrats in the audience.
According to a writer at Zimbio.com, however, “I can’t find in Article II of the Constitution where Clinton ever had the authority to create a surplus. I am pretty sure the Constitution in Article One gives the power of the purse to Congress, and it was Republicans who created those surpluses.”
Once the applause died down, Clinton added, “[Republicans] never care about the deficit except when there is Democratic President.”
He concluded his response to the hecklers by saying, “I want to remind the shouters that when I left office we had the smallest federal government since 1960 … therefore, I don’t need any lectures or shouting. You need to listen to me!”
Ironically, despite Clinton’s criticisms of the GOP, many Republicans view him in a more favorable light as compared to President Obama. In fact, some Republicans have labeled Clinton a good President for his willingness to cooperate with a Republican Congress.
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch said that Clinton “will go down in history as a better President” than Obama. Similarly, Republican Representative Paul Ryan claimed that “the nation benefited” from Clinton’s moderation, at least in the last six years of his presidency.
GOP strategist Ron Bonjean explains that Republicans speak fondly of the former President because they are not intimidated by his presence on the campaign trail. “I don’t think it really matters that he’s campaigning,” said Bonjean.
Bonjean agrees with the Republicans who credit Clinton with a cooperative streak that is far stronger than that found in President Obama.
With the exception of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, “Clinton was viewed much more as a pragmatic leader and one who tried to make bipartisan deals such as the welfare reform bill or balancing the budget,” explains Bonjean.
Bonjean adds, “He understood that even though he’s president, he needed Congress. Obama doesn’t think that way.”
Fox News writes, according to Bonjean, “Obama’s partisanship has just about hit a ‘breaking point’ where, even if he takes a Clinton-esque trek toward the center after the midterm election, Republicans might not reciprocate.”
Photo of Bill Clinton: AP Images
