Bill Clinton and Paul Ryan

VERY interesting......

http://themoderatevoice.com/111472/b...to-do-nothing/

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Bill Clinton to Paul Ryan: Hochul Win No Excuse to Do Nothing

Posted by TAYLOR MARSH, Guest Voice Columnist in At TMV.
May 26th, 2011 | 9 responses
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WASHINGTON – Nicely placed microphone, ABC. This is the stuff people love to hear.

“So anyway, I told them before you got here, I said I’m glad we won this race in New York,” Clinton told Ryan, when the two met backstage at a forum on the national debt held by the Pete Peterson Foundation. But he added, “I hope Democrats don’t use this as an excuse to do nothing.” – ABC News

The “Clintonistas” are in full damage control. Having been called a “Clintonista” since 2007, as well as a Clinton loyalist, the only analysis I can render is that while it’s understandable that William Jefferson Clinton would want to interact with Paul Ryan, this is duplicitous at best. Ryan”s clearly a very smart (and calculating) politician, with the two brainiacs having a lot in common as economic masters. But Clinton’s words are unconscionable coming the day after a huge upset handed to Kathy Hochul because of Paul Ryan’s budget scheme that ends Medicare.
If you want to know why some progressives and liberals aren’t crazy about former Pres. Bill Clinton this gives you an idea. Coming after the win in NY-26, hearing Clinton say this has got to be music to Ryan’s ears.
Rep. Ryan went on to tell ABC News that “this is not the time to go wobbly,” because the Dem attack ads are coming regardless. It’s time for “leaders to be leaders.”
There is few things more infuriating for the progressives I’ve talked to than hearing people like former Pres. Bill Clinton and other Democratic elites talk about entitlement reform while the U.S. is nation building in Afghanistan, just finished nation building in Iraq, while we play kill the dictator in Libya, and give billions and billions of aid dollars to Pakistan.
People might listen to “entitlement reform talk” after the Defense budget was trimmed, troops brought home from far off bases where we no longer need to be, while the foreign policy experts come to grips that massive boots on the ground in far off land is so 20th century.
If turning Medicare into a voucher system that leaves a big hole in your wallet is “leadership,” well, we’re all screwed.
Rein in our foreign policy misadventurism and then come to us about “entitlement reform.” …and while you’re at it do something about the tax code, including adding a super wealthy bracket for the multiple mill-billionaire bunch.
After all that’s done then you can come to the next generation of blue collar, truckers and waitresses to tell them they’re going to have to suck it up for Pakistan, because Medicare is too expensive.
Taylor Marsh is a Washington based political analyst, writer and commentator on national politics, foreign policy, and women in power. A veteran national politics writer, Taylor’s been writing on the web since 1996. She has reported from the White House, been profiled in the Washington Post, The New Republic, and has been seen on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Arabic, as well as on radio across the dial and on satellite, including the BBC. Marsh lives in the Washington, D.C. area. This column is cross posted from her blog.

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Bill Clinton to Paul Ryan: The Democrats need to do something about Medicare

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posted at 5:16 pm on May 25, 2011 by Allahpundit
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A la Ron Burgundy, I want to say something. I’m going to put it out there. If you like it, you can take it, if you don’t, send it right back:
Ryan/Clinton 2012?

“So anyway, I told them before you got here, I said I’m glad we won this race in New York,” Clinton told Ryan, when the two met backstage at a forum on the national debt held by the Pete Peterson Foundation. But he added, “I hope Democrats don’t use this as an excuse to do nothing.”
Ryan told Clinton he fears that now nothing will get done in Washington.
“My guess is it’s going to sink into paralysis is what’s going to happen. And you know the math. It’s just, I mean, we knew we were putting ourselves out there. You gotta start this. You gotta get out there. You gotta get this thing moving,” Ryan said.
Clinton told Ryan that if he ever wanted to talk about it, he should “give me a call.” Ryan said he would.

Afterward, in an interview with ABC, Ryan begged Republicans not to go wobbly in the aftermath of NY-26. Quote: “This is a time for leaders to be leaders.” What’s Clinton’s game here, though? Not only did he tell Ryan privately that he hopes Democrats will act on Medicare, he said so in his speech a few minutes earlier:

Former President Bill Clinton, still widely considered one of his party’s foremost politicians, said on Wednesday that Democrats should cut a “reasonable” deal with Republicans on Medicare savings rather than conclude from Tuesday’s upset in a special Congressional election that bashing Republicans on the issue is the key to a party comeback in 2012…
“You shouldn’t draw the conclusion that the New York race means that nobody can do anything to slow the rate of Medicare costs. I just don’t agree with that,” Mr. Clinton said at a budget forum sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Instead, he said, “you should draw the conclusion that the people made a judgment that the proposal in the Republican budget is not the right one. I agree with that.”…
Mr. Clinton, with some passion, returned to the topic at the end of an hour-long interview. “I think the Democrats are going to have to be willing to give up, maybe, some short-term political gain by whipping up fears on some of these things — if it’s a reasonable Social Security proposal, a reasonable Medicare proposal. We’ve got to deal with these things. You cannot have health care devour the economy.”

The last thing Obama, Reid, and Schumer want before the election is one of their own elder statesmen — one who’s personally popular and famous for budget-balancing, no less — pressuring them to inch out on the Medicare limb that’s cracking under Ryan. So … why would he do it? Could be that he’s earnestly concerned about the Medicare time bomb and appreciates Ryan’s leadership on it. Remember, before Erskine Bowles was co-chair of the Deficit Commission, he was Clinton’s White House chief of staff. Or it could be that Clinton’s worried about Democrats being perceived as debt do-nothings even though the public, for the moment at least, is with them on the specific issue of Medicare. As we saw earlier today, the more the GOP can drive home to voters that preserving the program as-is necessarily means raising the debt ceiling again and again, the more potentially vulnerable Democrats are. Or maybe Clinton doesn’t much care what the White House thinks or what it might do for the Democrats’ electoral prospects. Being an ex-president means never having to say you’re sorry. Why not let it rip?
Whatever the answer, I think “We’ve got to deal with these things. You cannot have health care devour the economy” will make a dynamite little soundbite for attack ads next year. Get cracking on it, RNC.
Update: Clinton’s not the only prominent 90s politician showing boldness on Medicare reform today, but the reasons for this are far more obvious.

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Originally Posted by michael2

William Jefferson Clinton and his wife Hillary are ambitious. I do not for a minute believe that either one has given up on a return in some fashion to the White House.

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You are correct sir. Love him or hate him, Bubba was one of the great politicians of my lifetime so far. Together with Hillary they are one of the greatest Machiavellian, political power couples I may have ever seen in DC. I don't like it but I believe to be true.

However, I think Bill Clinton's main motivation at this stage of the game is based entirely on spite and hatred for Obama. He didn't like how his wife was treated by Obama and the press during the primaries and thinks she got screwed. He also didn't like how his wife was basically the most marginalized SOS we may have ever seen. While the big boys played in the middle east, she was sent off to Africa to talk about things like womens rights. Kinda hard to become the next Kissenger going off to third world crap holes nobody ever heard off. I'm not really convinced that whole push the reset button with Russia wasn't a stunt to make her look bad. I mean it was painful to watch, I almost felt sorry for her.

But the real number one reason why Bubba resents Obama? Obama had quite possibly the best chance any president ever had of passing major, sweeping, country changing legislation that the left dreams about, and squandered it. All the cards were stacked in their favor and they blew it. Clinton knows this and knows that if his wife was president he would have been there both behind the scenes and in front doing what he does best and things would have been a lot different. That chance is gone forever now.

I am almost positive Bill Clinton is motivated to take out Obama at any cost, including bringing down the democratic party if that's what it takes.

Spot on catfish. Bill Clinton is the consummate definition of a politician, leftist though he may be.

Together the Clintons are very power hungry and I believe would sabotage Obama if given the opportunity to return to power.

Now one thing though, I'm not sure the Clintons are people with the same dictatorial aims as Obama. I think the Clintons are in it solely for the money, power, and notoriety. Sure they want "social justice" but, they don't come across as iron fisted as Obama.

Ryan, I agree as well, Obama comes across much more dictatorial than the Clinton's.

The Paul Ryan plan has been out for around 2 weeks or so. It has been extremely criticized by almost everyone on the left, including Obama. The fact Clinton actually talked to the guy and said call me sends up major red flags. The Ryan plan has been demonized by the left, along with the man himself. Along comes the titular head of the left wing actually offering a helping hand, that has got to burn. The beauty of this plan is that Clinton is right, something has to be done! Now every time Paul Ryan and his ideas are mentioned, Bill Clinton will be mentioned in almost the same breath.

I can almost see the press conference now. Reporter, "President Obama what do you think of the Paul Ryan plan?" Obama, "I think its a horrible idea". Reporter, "But Bill Clinton thinks there is something to it." Obama, "Ah, ah, um, my teleprompter isn't telling me what to say."

Interesting.