Clark voted repuke in 72, 80 & 84!

[goodhue]

Does anyone know how he voted in 76, 88 or 92?

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/19/politics/campaigns/19CLAR.html?ex=1064635200&

Moving to fill in the blanks of his candidacy a day after he announced for president, General Clark also said that he had been a Republican who had turned Democratic after listening to the early campaign appeals of a fellow Arkansan, Bill Clinton.

Indeed, after caustically comparing the actions of the Bush administration to what he described as the abuses of Richard M. Nixon, he said that he voted for Mr. Nixon in 1972. He also said he had voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.

[Octafish]

1. Shows people can be misled by hype and propaganda.

It seems he's honest about making a mistake and admits to it. Clark was fooled by the campaign rhetoric: "Morning in America." I see many of the same things happening today with people supporting a candidate who "speaks to me." People, they aren't speaking to your brain — they're appealing to your gut. And there's a big, big difference. It's like night and day. Nixon and McGovern.

[corgigrrl]

44. FOOLED? by "Morning in America"

well, i was 20 years old, not in politics at all, pretty naive, and i can tell you, i wasn't fooled by Reagan for a moment, nor, I suspect was anyone else of voting age at the time in this cyber community.

the excuses for Clark's republican history are beginning to sound ... Stepford-ish? What can Clark do to turn Clark supporters off? Keynote a Republican fundraiser in 2003 instead of 2001? I just don't get it. I've seen every candidate practically crucified here for far less than he readily admits to. Can you imagine Kerry or Dean living down being the keynoter at a 2001 Republican fundraiser? Or praising the "resolve of Bush and Blair" in April 2003? I just don't get it.

[XNASA]

2. What I'd like to know is..........

Did he vote for w*'s daddy in '88 and/or '92?

Wouldn't that be sumpthin'?

[madaboutharry]

40. in '92 he voted for Clinton

Clark said he "was inspired by the man."

[Brucey]

3. It's nice that people come around in their thinking,

but wasn't he kind of old and mature for such a turnaround? Most people see it well before he did. Do we want a leader who is so late to understand things? Why not pick someone who was right all along?

[asjr]

7. Clark

I don't think we could find someone who was "right all along." It is not human nature. I was a Repub for years and voted for Raygun. Not until George the First did I wake up from years of slumber. But I am from an era when Repubs had some decency. I voted for Bill Clinton in two campaigns and I am proud of it. I will vote for the Dem nominee in 2004. Don't hold it against us if we have voted Repub before. It just takes some of us a little longer to see the light.

[polpilot]

9. It's called opportunistic. I prefer principled. And wow it just 'happens'

to benefit the Clintstones.

Dean '04...The New Democratic Leader of The NEW Democratic Party

[Sagan]

4. BFD! I've voted for Repukes before...

Voted for Poppy Bush in 88 and even voted for Kay Bailey Hutchinson once. That was before the myth of Repug financial conservatism was completely exploded, of course. And there were other issues.

I don't think this is a huge deal.

[roughsatori]

8. It's not a huge deal,unless you are running for president

Which Clark is. You may not have a problem with it, but it is clear I am not the only one here who does.

[Renew Deal]

43. It will be a benefit in the General.

He will apeal more to both sides. One of the resons he didn't want to get in, is the extreme left that hates the military.

[CMT]

5. glad that he is a democrat now

and as the old saying goes I welcome Clark at the church door, will escort him to a front pew, by by gosh I draw the line at his leading the choir.

[cosmicdot]

13. ah, but, will you choose him as Church Treasurer?

surely I jest ... but, you know, that Treasurer is likely the most tested of all lay positions ... my grandfather and an uncle served as Treasurer of our church (Founded by Family) for a span of 50+ years ... total integrity in tack in the end ...

[Syrinx]

6. Remember...

Hilary was a Goldwater Republican.

[cosmicdot]

11. for my files, could I get a link to that?

thanks in advance

gosh, when Goldwater ran ... I was 13 ... yikes!

[Syrinx]

19. I don't have a link

I've heard her talk about it, she doesn't deny.

[dsc]

28. It is in her auto biography

but she was not old enough to vote at the time.

[cosmicdot]

10. '72, '80, '84.. how many times will history keep on teaching?

to quote our esteemed pseudo-pResident:

"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."

"caveat emptor" --- buyer beware ... each time, the people lose ... progress ... the essence of our evolving socio-economic-political history ... is sent on a detour and/or delayed ... corruption enters, etc.

There is nothing new under the Republican tent ... they've always been the Party of Big Business ... conservative ... right-wing ... if anyone believe(s)d otherwise ... what can one say? ...don't be fooled again

I've been thinking about the term "Reagan Democrats" ... it has resurfaced at DU as some sort of safety zone for apologists ... so and so voted Republican ... some confess doing the same ... it's no badge of courage ... I never cared for the term ... was this a Media- coined term? a Reagan operative-coined term? more of the same spin that we get today??? We have better tools to challenge these things today because of the Internet.

Democrats vote Democratic. I'd say that many who strayed ... stayed ... some, I suppose, are/were taken by the stealth myth of return to the days of segregation ... some fall for the scare tactics and lies ... some vote with greed at their stern ... some are truly military-industrial complex types and the money it offers ... and, other sundry reasons ... but, in the final analysis ... Democrats don't vote Republican ... especially in the Presidential race ... and, if they do ... I wouldn't follow their advice too closely this time either ... don't be fooled again.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

12. Imo,

Anyone who voted for Reagan was(is?) an idiot.

[cosmicdot]

14. thank you!

[returnable]

15. And Kucinich voted for anti-choice measures

Hey, I applaud Dennis for finally figuring out he was on the wrong end of that debate.

But it seems odd to me you can dismiss a candidate for voting Republican in the past, yet endorse a man who not too long ago opposed a fundamental aspect of the Democratic Platform.

Indeed, don't get fooled again.

[roughsatori]

16. Not all Democrats are pro-choice

but at least they really are Democrats. It is right-wing spin to claim all Democrats are pro-choice, they are not. It shows he may still think it is wrong, but that women should be allowed to make that choice themselves.

ABBCOB

[returnable]

17. I never said...

...all Dems are pro-choice. I know plenty of Dems who aren't, in fact. And, yep, they believe women should be allowed to make that choice for themselves.

I just said Kucinich has a history of voting against that choice. I can't dismiss his past voting record as easily as some, I guess.

And I'm still ABB :)

[Flying_Pig]

18. You know, I *do* have a problem with this.....

I've been a committed and active progressive Democrat for over 35 years. It's in my bones, not so much the party, but the principals attached to the "better" part of it. Never once in all these years did I ever vacillate or waver, or even think about voting for a Republican.

So I guess what I am concerned about, is Clark's true foundational political beliefs, and how much he truly believes in them, and push come to shove, would he revert back to his Republican roots? He appears to have changed somewhat, when his friend and neighbor Bill Clinton was elected, but to me, this seems a rather shallow set of principals from which to draw.


I am going to have to decide whether Clark's conversion is genuine, and deep, or shallo0w and transitional. It's risky to even make that judgement, because one never knows what is going on in some other person's mind. It is much easier to judge a track-record than to discern the extent of conversions. Right now, for me, there is only one candidate who appears to be "walking-the-talk" in the amounts necessary to win my vote, ...and it's not Clark.

[burr]

20. Don't have a clue how he voted in 88 and 92...

But I do know that Clark was a "White House fellow" for President Ford in the OMB during 1975 and 1976. That should tell you something! :eyes:

[CoffeePlease1947]

41. Well, humm but wasn't he ordered to do so because he was in the army?

Bye golly! He should have just committed treason and defected from duty.
All the Democrats in the military should just hang in their arms too and refuse service.

Mike

[David__77]

21. not a big deal...

Doesn't matter to me, not at all. It matters where he's at now. In fact, being a former Republican makes a parellel with former Democrat Reagan. Hmm... Could be have "Clark Republicans." I lean toward Dean presently, but if Clark can convince me, we'll see.

[goodhue]

22. voting history

Okay, so Clark has said he voted for Clinton in 92 and 96. But I'm still wondering if he voted for Ford over Carter and/or Bush Sr. over Dukakis. For that matter, has he stated that he voted for Gore in 2000?! Seems he only recently decided he was a democrat. Anyone?

1972 - Nixon
1976 - ????
1980 - Reagan
1984 - Reagan
1988 - ????
1992 - Clinton
1996 - Clinton
2000 - ????

[burr]

23. I think it is safe to assume he voted for Ford in 1976....

again based on the facts already stated...he was a Republican at this time, a Ford White House fellow, and a top member of that adminstration's OMB.

I can't picture a key Ford adminstration official voting for Carter in 1976! :shrug:

[kang]

24. A fellowship doesn't mean you adhere to that party's

ideas. It's a program to get military officers real experience in the White House so that they will hopefully be better generals later on. Unless you've heard otherwise.

[burr]

26. I know...

it's an effective method for an adminstration to build political alliances with the Pentagon. It is also a way for those in the Pentagon to find the right political allies within our "civilian government".

[loyalsister]

35. Why the focus on the old votes

I want to know about 2000 and 2002! Those would be the most revealing.

[davidinalameda]

25. when did Dean become a Democrat

I know that he used to be a Republican as well

[burr]

27. In the same period Clark went Republican...

during the Vietnam-Watergate era. Dean played an active role in both of Carter's campaigns, when Clark was still a Nixon-Ford Republican..who was just discovering Ronald Reagan!

[jiacinto]

29. So too did the vast majority of the country in those years?

Isn't it possible that people change their minds?

[burr]

30. It is usually good when voters change their minds...

but we need leaders who have shown the way and kept the faith, not those who just go with the flow.

[lams712]

31. NO REPUBLICAN-LITES ALLOWED!!!!!!

I've been saying ever since this Pro-Clark bandwagon got rolling that this guy is just basically a pro-choie Republican. YOU MODERATES THAT SUPPORT HIM HAVE LOT'S OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!!!!!

[jiacinto]

32. You probably have a problem with the whole field

except maybe for Sharpton, Kuchinich, and CMB, right?

[lams712]

36. Yeah, I kinda do.....

I will definitely say NO to LIEberman, Clark, Graham, or Gephardt.

[jiacinto]

37. Which basically means that you only support the

unelectable candidates who are unacceptable to the vast majority of voters.

[lams712]

39. No offense dude, but.....

I'm sick and tired of this BULLS#!+ about "electability". The Democratic Party used to really mean something back in the day. And I believe that meaning is NOT outside the "mainstream".

As the TIME Magazine a couple of months ago said (the one with FDR on the cover), one of the things the Democrats need to do is "KILL the Consultants", you know, the people who over-analyze polling data and do electoral vote counting two years before an election, and think they know what "the vast majority of voters want".

All I know is that I want more FDRs, Paul Wellstones, and Dennis Kuciniches in my party and less Bill Clintons, Wesley Clarks, and other REPUBLICAN-LITE DLC/centrists. If centrist ideas are SO FRESH & MAINSTREAM, they could easily be transferred to the Republican Party. HEY MODERATES: STOP RUNNING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY INTO THE GROUND!!!! The Republicans DON'T care about being moderate, they govern from the right and make no qualms about it. I guarantee that if a moderate is nominated in 2004, he will LOSE, because he will spend his time pandering to constituencies that won't vote for him anyay and ignore the people that would vote for him.

I'm sorry I wrote a little manifesto, but I've been away from DU for a few months and am just getting back to the swing of things.

[genius]

33. Some of the most liberal Democrats are former Republicans

who woke up. A great many of the former Republicans decided their party was evil and switched as a matter of conscience.

I've always been a liberal Democrat. I am glad that Republicans are waking up and joining us.

[neverforget]

34. Everyone makes mistakes. From what I've heard, he sounds like

a moderate Democrat which is a Billion times better than what we have now. As a matter of fact, any of the 10 nominees would be better than the Evil One in the White House.

[carpetbagger]

38. Reagan voted for FDR and Truman.

I wouldn't call him a republican in democrat's clothing.

Personally, I think it's all the better to hammer over the GOP's head that many people thought of them as the party of fiscal and military responsibility. Now I guess they're the party of Whistle-***, Whistle Dixie, and The Whistling Sound of America's Tires Being Slashed By The Boy Who Cried Wolf (R-TX)

[CoffeePlease1947]

42. Everybody voted for Nixon in 72 and Reagan in 84

Except Minnisota and DC.

[corgigrrl]

45. saying everyone voted for Nixon and Reagan in 72 and 84

is like saying Bush won in 2000.

do you have ANY idea how much rabid anti-Nixon fervor existed in this country in 1972? I know many who are STILL fueled by it.

Electoral college results do not equal everybody, and boy did 2000 prove that one.

[genius]

46. The electoral college results made it look as if more people voted

for them than did. States that Nixon and Reagan carried were often close but they got all the electoral votes from those states. Remember all the bumper stickers that read, "Don't blame me. I voted for McGovern." There was also a lot of vote rigging going on and no one noticed. There were more criminal indictments among members of the Reagan administration than among any administration in the history of this country.

That being said, some of the strongest anti-Republicans are former Republicans. Some of the strongest anti-Dean people are people who worked on his campaign. People wake up and we need to see where they stand on the issues.