On going against your own party
Playing It Dangerously Safe
By THOMAS B. EDSALL, NYT
In October, 1999, as George W. Bush prepared for the Republican presidential primaries, he took the unexpected step of denouncing a House Republican proposal to cut the Earned Income Tax Credit, a benefit for the working poor.
“I don’t think they ought to balance their budget on the backs of the poor,” Bush declared, while campaigning in California. “I’m concerned for someone who is moving from near-poverty to middle class.”
When Bill Clinton was preparing for the Democratic presidential primaries in 1992, he challenged the liberal wing of his own party over and over again. He declared that he would “end welfare as we know it”; he sanctioned the execution in Arkansas of Ricky Ray Rector, a mentally disabled murderer; and he denounced the appearance at a conference sponsored by Jesse Jackson of Sister Souljah, a political activist and rapper who had become notorious for her comments in the wake of the riots in Los Angeles riots earlier that year: “If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?”
Bush and Clinton, both of whom went on to win two terms in the White House, dealt head-on with one of the most difficult problems presidential candidates face: How to address issues which divide the candidate’s core constituencies.
(More here.)
In October, 1999, as George W. Bush prepared for the Republican presidential primaries, he took the unexpected step of denouncing a House Republican proposal to cut the Earned Income Tax Credit, a benefit for the working poor.
“I don’t think they ought to balance their budget on the backs of the poor,” Bush declared, while campaigning in California. “I’m concerned for someone who is moving from near-poverty to middle class.”
When Bill Clinton was preparing for the Democratic presidential primaries in 1992, he challenged the liberal wing of his own party over and over again. He declared that he would “end welfare as we know it”; he sanctioned the execution in Arkansas of Ricky Ray Rector, a mentally disabled murderer; and he denounced the appearance at a conference sponsored by Jesse Jackson of Sister Souljah, a political activist and rapper who had become notorious for her comments in the wake of the riots in Los Angeles riots earlier that year: “If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?”
Bush and Clinton, both of whom went on to win two terms in the White House, dealt head-on with one of the most difficult problems presidential candidates face: How to address issues which divide the candidate’s core constituencies.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
1 Comments:
imagine that. People will say anything to get elected. I'm shocked. Aren't you?
Post a Comment
<< Home