Where is the outrage? Democratic ex-Presidents not wanted.

[LiberalForEver]

I have read in the Drudge Report that Presidents Clinton and Carter have not been asked to speak at Reagan's STATE Funeral. Clinton felt understandably rebuked by this imposed exile. Drudge thinks Nancy Reagan is responsible.

If it is Nancy, many people say 'The Widow should be allowed to pick those people who would speak at the funeral'. Well, if the widow wanted to make all the decision SHE should not have a State Funeral.

Everything concerning this 'State Event' is being paid for by your and my tax dollars. Yet although we are paying for it , our ex-presidents are not included but Bush 41 and 43 are included.

Is this truly becoming partisan? Is it going to become a photo-op for Bush's reelection? Reagan once said 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall'; is Mrs. Reagan going to build a wall that keep Presidents Clinton and Carter from participating in a relevant way?

Nancy, tear down this wall!

[Lindacooks]

1. Typical Repuke

After all the whining they did about Senator Wellstone's heart felt memorial, leave it to Repukes to be as divisive and partisan as possible about ol' Ronnie's funeral.

[Lindacooks]

2. And welcome to DU!

[mmonk]

3. Our new "one party" state.

Democrats need to stop taking it or disband and come up with a real party.

[LTR]

4. It's Drudge

Drudge=Bullshit.

Remember the Kerry intern?

[benburch]

5. Here is the outrage.

How DARE they.

I'll tell you what, when W's worthless ass is laying on a slab (when old age takes him) I intend to do everything I can to deny him a State Funeral.

[Catch22Dem]

6. Dunno

I'll withold outrage until it comes from something other than Drudge. Hope it's not true.

[Catherine Vincent]

7. I'm impressed.

Your first post and you already have a star.:)

[yardwork]

8. I don't believe Drudge on this. It doesn't make sense.

I think that this is a Republican ploy to stir up trouble. Probably Clinton or Carter will speak, and the Republicans will say it was because Democrats complained.

Besides, I never believe anything from Drudge unless it is corroborated by more reliable sources. Sometimes he's right, but he's often wrong, and he's always right-wing slanted.

[yardwork]

9. Oh, and welcome to DU!

[freetobegay]

11. Well Clinton wasn't suposedly invited to WWII dedication.

:shrug:

[PretzelWarrior]

welcome to DU. this is what the country has sunk to

people make fun of or get the vapors about all our sh!t flinging regarding Reagan on DU..but it is in direct response to the full court f*ckjob they give to anyone who attempts to be a little bit democratic or compromising.

I swear. Old Bush is gonna see his popularity soar if only because he'll get a bullet where it counts. It will come to that when the will of the people is continually b!tch slapped down with impugnity.

And then, the mother of all civil wars will break out.

[NavajoRug]

10. We should not make an issue of this . . .

. . . because we are going to look silly.

Ex-presidents don't automatically receive an invitation to speak at state funerals. Notice that Gerald Ford isn't speaking, either.

The fact that the event is being paid for by tax dollars doesn't mean anything, either. If that were the case, then you and I would have as much a right to demand a speaking role as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

In addition to all that, there's one other thing that bothers me about this story. Clinton supposedly claims that he and Jimmy Carter should also have been asked to speak, and yet I have seen no indication that Jimmy Carter thinks Jimmy Carter should have been asked to speak. Something smells wrong about this.

[PretzelWarrior]

12. Clinton's trying to outsell his wife in the book business

that's what's up. that guy is seriously cracking me up. he offers to solace to the beaten down spirit of Democrats these days. I'm starting to think he's more of the problem for Democrats than this administration.

At least this administration is unifying and motivating us. All Clinton has done the past 5 years is let us down time and again.

[Justice]

13. What is This?

[PretzelWarrior]

16. he just ticked me off when I saw him on C-Span

I'm really upset with his pandering to every audience and trying to build his seat at the table rather than say it like it is--that we should be p!ssed about what the GOP have done for the past 11 years and it's time to take this country back.

[lancdem]

19. He will

wait till he campaigns for Kerry. BTW, this story is garbage, I'm almost certain. A Clinton insider would never give Drudge a scoop -ever.

[NavajoRug]

15. There's some truth to what you say about Clinton . . .

One thing that stands out in my mind is that since he left office, just about every Democratic candidate he supported in an election has lost. That includes Gray Davis, by the way -- whose ouster from office may have been the most humiliating political event of the last 50 years.

[lancdem]

18. No, he also supported a number who won

Jennifer Granholm, for instance.

[lancdem]

20. It smells wrong because

the story is almost certainly bogus.

[NavajoRug]

24. You could be right about that . . .

. . . in which case all comments about this subject are meaningless!

[saracat]

22. I get what you are saying but

I am still disturbed that this is a partisan event in an election year. And with two Bushes speaking it might as well be a campaign commercial. It is my understanding that usually they do invite the Ex-Presidents to speak at the funerals of their peers. Gerald Ford declined to speak at Nixon's.
What doesn't smell right about this is Clinton blaming Nancy when the entire world knows how she felt about the Bushes. It is very weird that Bush would give the eulogy instead of Gorbachev, who was first choice and is, I believe .attending. That would make the service non-partisan and would be appropriate. BTW, for the record, so I don't get accused of being hypocritical, I didn't approve of the government paying for JFK Jr.'s funeral and burial at sea either. He was no veteran, or war hero. Neither were his wife and sister in law. Veterans wait forever for a burial at sea and then it is done enmasse. The Kennedy family could well have afforded any funeral they wanted.Instead we were stuck with the bill. Democrat or not, that was wrong,too.JMHO.

[NavajoRug]

26. I think the Bushes are really just a "coincidence" of sorts . . .

Bush 43 is the president, while Bush 41 was Reagan's vice president for eight years. I don't think there's any other reason why these two are speaking.

If this were truly a "campaign rally" type of event, you'd think the GOP would do everything they could to keep Bush 41 out of the spotlight. Nobody likes to be reminded of a losing candidate like that -- this is why people like Walter Mondale, Mike Dukakis and Bob Dole pretty much vanished from the national scene after they lost.

[unfrigginreal]

14. Stop speaking poorly of the dead's family!

Have you no shame!?!? We don't act like that around here. If the other side wants to be partisan, so be it, we should be better than that.

[crossroads]

17. Taxpayers paying for gas to fly jets in this funeral...

We are paying $2 a gallon for gas...and how much gas is it going to cost to have those jets fly in honor of Raygun, not to mention the costs of the planes themselves??? Clinton can't go? Hello?
Let the family pay for this nonsense!

:silly:

[spotbird]

21. If Clinton died tomorrow, would you want Chimp

to speak at his funeral?

Drudge makes things up, it's doubtful that Clinton's feelings were hurt. Chimp gets his place in the sun because he is a Republican president.

[KittyWampus]

23. Please Don't Take Drudge's Bait. He's Trying To Stir Things Up.

and make Clinton and Democrats look bad.

Drudge certainly does NOT have a source in Clinton's inner circle.

Please don't take the bait.

[carpetbagger]

27. I agree. It's about Drudge saying Clinton threw a fit.

Nothing more.

Clinton and Carter had very little to do with Reagan's presidency and legacy (except that it was Carter's fiscal policy that led to some of Reagan's alleged feats, good as well as bad, in the early-mid 80's). Neither did Baby Bush, but he's the head of state (ibid. Clinton eulogizing Nixon), and his father is now the senior surviving official of the Reagan administration.

[ibegurpard]

25. shit, I'd be relieved

like not being invited to a wedding I had absolutely no desire to attend.

[Roark]

28. This is Drudge bait...

Don't fall for it.

Gerald Ford, Nixon's VP, was not invited to speak at his State Funeral arranged by Clinton.

Ford certainly had more of a claim to Nixon than Clinton does to Reagan. Its a trap. Don't fall into it.

[KharmaTrain]

29. Are We Really Gonna Watch The Funeral???

Face it, we're Raygun's Death to death. The "emotion" (all contrived) is a joke as is how this is being handled. Five days to "remember" someone who hasn't had any impact on American society since his disasterous second term (and we have the felons in power to prove it).

This afternoon I turned on CNN for a brief second and there's Miles Mindbender claiming that Raygun's death was "so untimely". Hey dude, the guy was 93, had a fatal disease for a decade and rumors of his death were all over the place for the past 3 months. Untimely? How about over-hyped.

I surely will pay little attention to the funeral...especially the eulogies...another sugar-coating and revision of what his life really was. If Carter or Clinton were to speak during this time, it'd be a bigger outrage to me, than if they were "shunned". Big deal!

Clinton only spoke at Nixon's silver stake driving ceremony since he was the President (we have none at the present time) and someone had to say something nice about this felon. Raygun won't be a problem as his history has already been "rehabilitated" and "revisited". Yep, it's been nothing but a week-long GOOP commerical...let 'em have their week, we've got a lot of good ones about to happen.

Cheers!

[newyawker99]

30. Hi kippm99!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[devinsgram]

31. Let's face it, they can't let "Little Napoleon" be outshined.

[Jose Diablo]

32. I would prefer the ex pres dems not speak about Reagan

Reagan was/is the ICON of everything the dems should not be.

[John_H]

33. No outrage from me. None at all.

They're trying to play politics with Reagan's death, so let's let the show their asses fully enough for the dimmest 'mercun to see.

[ScreamingMeemie]

34. I am not outraged.

In the end it's the wishes of the family. And I hope that's what is being followed. :)

[Hamlette]

35. You want Bush the younger to speak at Clinton's funeral?

I don't believe Clinton was pissed and I absolutely LOVE that the GOP is making this partisan. That's how it will be remembered. A love fest funeral not of Americans but of republicans.

[LTR]

36. Just checked Drudge

The story has been pulled off the front page.

Guess no sources available to confirm.

Of course, you'll never see a retraction from Drudge.

[Imperialism Inc.]

37. Not sure I want to see Clinton praising Reagan.

And that is what he would have to do. He couldn't go up there and rip the guy. Let them keep it partisan, there is no need for Democrats to help them canonize the guy.