Bill Clinton stars in new anti-Brown California ad

[Joanne98]

Source: AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former President Bill Clinton is the unwitting star of a new TV ad in the California governor's race in which he is shown criticizing the record of fellow Democrat Jerry Brown.

The ad released Thursday by Republican candidate Meg Whitman uses footage from a 1992 Democratic presidential primary debate in which Clinton and Brown squared off.

Clinton calls Brown's assertion about his tax record "just plain wrong" and says he took credit for voters approving Proposition 13, which cut property taxes. He also said Brown rang up a deficit as governor from 1975 to 1983 and "doesn't tell people the truth."

Clinton endorsed Brown's primary opponent, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, before Newsom dropped out.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iayTTFCyL3Z0c21zb_BrLHSjaQfgD9I4J6R03

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It would be nice if we could get Bill Clinton to STOP WASTING TIME ON BLANCHE LINCOLN and help us on things like this!

[hlthe2b]

1. Yes...Big Dawg MUST step in and counter this BS

That Arkansas sell-out is a lost cause. Brown can actually make a damned difference in California. Bill, get your but out there!

[jobycom]

4. I wonder. Their battle in 92 was pretty aggressive. Their are lots of clips

of them attacking each other. I wonder how much Clinton's presence would help Brown, when it would just give the Republicans and the media (but I repeat myself) license to replay all of them. Have they gotten around to the one where Bill says Jerry reinvents himself every decade or so, or the one where Clinton stepped out from around the podium after Brown accused Hillary of funneling state funds to her law firm?

That might be more of a distraction than help.

[hlthe2b]

6. Possibly... You remember far better than I the details/tenor

or their encounters. I just think this is a damned shame and would be really frustrated if this makes any difference.

[jobycom]

7. One or two commercials won't. They'll probably look petty. But if Clinton starts campaigning

then the media could start hounding him and Brown at every public event about the past debates, which could turn Brown's campaign defensive and distract the attention away from Whitman's negatives. That could have an effect.

I don't know if it would help or hurt, but that could be one reason Clinton stays away. Even if he stays away, though, he can still help raise funds quietly.

[Beacool]

11. Arkansas sell out????

Then get Obama to campaign for Brown. Oh, I forgot, Democrats are running away from him.

:eyes:

[hlthe2b]

12. Oh, so you are a big Blanche Lincoln fan, eh?

and don't consider her to be a "sell-out" Really? :wtf:

[Dogmudgeon]

2. Misleading AP headline

"Former President Bill Clinton is the unwitting star of a new TV ad in the California governor's race in which he is shown criticizing the record of fellow Democrat Jerry Brown."

It would be even nicer if we could get people to actually READ the news instead of just the headline.

--d!

[jobycom]

3. You live long enough, your old battles come back to haunt you.

:(

[Radical Activist]

5. Wasn't getting Blanche the nomination enough damage for one election season?

[defendandprotect]

8. Isn't Bill's CORPORATE imagine catching up with him at last????

Somehow he escaped being branded with the DLC stigma --

Bill pushed the trade agreements which have done such harm to America --

set up the "bubble economy" -- some say . . .

And overturned 60 years of welfare guarantees --

Both Bill and Hillary are part of DLC leadership --


AND, would always trust Jerry Brown more than Clinton -- and too bad '92 didn't turn out

to be a Jerry BROWN year -- think we would have been better off!!

"WE THE PEOPLE" . . . anyone remember it?



And, also find the "we're pals" relationship between Poppy Bush and Clinton disgusting -- !!!

[karynnj]

13. Harkin or Tsongus might have been better as well

but Clinton was the President who we elected. This is really not his fault as ANY opponent of anyone who had a reasonable chance of winning will have framed the others past negatively. Look at things Bradley said of Gore or Gore of Bradley, or Dean of Kerry or Kerry of Dean, or HRC of Obama or Obama of HRC. All will try to take the strengths of the other and minimize them and take the weaknesses and spotlight them.

But, the points hold only if they are true. In 1992, which is 18 years ago, Brown did not brag about proposition 13, which he hadn't supported. He did claim the fact that the economy in CA was good. This has a parallel. Bill Clinton, gets and deserves credit for the economy when he was President - even though many things that happened were not his choice. The head - whether Governor or President gets the credit or blame.

[defendandprotect]

14. Jerry Brown was to the LEFT of all mentioned .... including

-- I'm guessing -- Harkin --

Like Harkin but something off there -- can't recall --

is his wife a lobbyist?

[karynnj]

15. You are correct - and that was what i intended by saying "as well"

The person I responded to spoke of Brown as President rather than Clinton.

You are right on Ruth Harkins - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Harkin I was going only from positions that I heard him express on HELP and elsewhere.

It is hard to know what Kerrey would have done, which is why I didn't add him.

Tsongus was my favorite in 1992. Brown was a close second. If forced to have a third, I would have picked Harkin, as Kerrey was always a bit of a loose cannon.

[provis99]

9. of course he endorsed Newsom, fellow serial adulterer.

I wonder if they ran in the same circles while they were cheating on their wives?

[alp227]

10. Whitman merely used a clip. What has Clinton actually said this time around? n/t

[dimbear]

16. Simple solution: get Hillary to speak up and say that you

can't always believe Bill.

[Fumesucker]

17. And of course we know Hillary is always truthful..

She really, really did come under sniper fire at Tuzla..

[ClarkUSA]

18. Bill Clinton was incredibly stupid to even make such an attack. He should've known better.

The man has clearly lost any political deftness he ever had. Either that, or he's still holding a grudge against Brown, which would be insane.

Bubba had better cut an ad for Brown ASAP and campaign with him often in order to rectify his mistake or else Whitman will use her billions to pound Brown using Clinton's toxic attacks on the best CA gubernatorial pick-up chance Democrats have had in quite awhile.