Electing Democrats

by

Allen Polk Hemphill

 To avoid the need to publicly conclude that the White House was involved in criminal activity in the Finance Scandal, Bill Press, former California Democratic Chairman and liberal defender of Democrats in print and CNN has concluded that it was "stupidity or incompetence." Maureen Dowd, liberal writing icon has cut the possibilities down to "incompetence."

Could it be all three? I recognize that liberals must try to put the best light on a train wreck, but it is a reflection on their desperation that they must defend this Arkansas crowd by accusing them of no more than stupidity and incompetence.

Democrats have this proclivity to run, and elect, scoundrels. From Mayor Curly, who you may remember, the Democrats in Boston reelected to office while he was in prison, to the more modern colorful rogues like Mayor Marion Barry, there is a parade of "colorful" Democrats who get elected and re-elected on the Democrat ticket. There is no better case than that of Alcee L. Hastings, a Federal Judge impeached by the House of Representatives, who now sits as a Democrat Representative from Florida in the House of Representatives! I won’t even mention except in passing the existence of the Kennedys in Democratic politics. It can easily be concluded that there is some genetic proclivity for Democrats to favor for office those who, if they were Republicans, would be hounded from office directly to jail.

But Democrats treasure, defend, circle the wagons, excuse, obfuscate, delay, deny the obvious, and, if necessary, go to jail themselves rather than admit the obvious. Republicans, as witness their turn against Richard Nixon and, more recently, Senator Packwood, will turn on the occasional rogue and cooperate cheerfully with those who want the rogue out of office. It is the definitive difference between similar parties..

It can be concluded that Democrats simply have a higher tolerance for, depending upon your philosophy, colorful characters or criminal activity. Either way, even the most ardent Clinton supporters are reduced to defending the President by calling his personally selected staff, "stupid" and/or "incompetent." Considering that the President has surrounded himself throughout his life with the likes of Susan McDougal (a convicted felon, awaiting another trial for embezzlement and presently in jail for Contempt of Court; Webster B. Hubbell (a convicted felon, presently in jail for embezzlement); …the list is too long for specific documentation.

Suffice to say, led by the cavalier attitude of Democrats, our country no longer can be shamed. President Clinton promised the cleanest administration in history. What he has given us is an employment boom in prosecutors, with no end in sight. Watergate, Filegate, the Travel Office Fiasco, Paula Jones, The Chinese Connection…