Clinton WH Alumni: WTF?

by Matt Stoller, Sat May 13, 2006 at 02:11:46 PM EST

Ok, so Donna Brazile and Mike McCurry are working for the telcos in the net neutrality fight, Donna Shalala is screwing workers at her new perch at the University of Miami, David Brooks is praising Hillary Clinton's centrism as she holds fundraisers with Rupert Murdoch, Paul Begala is calling organizers nose-pickers, George Stephanopoulos is making millions in a boring establishment show at ABC News, and I've heard rumors that Joe Lockhart is sending around corporate-funded memos to the media saying that Democrats shouldn't tackle the Medicare RX fiasco.

What's going on here?




Tags: Donna Brazile, Mike McCurry, Paul Begala, George Stephanapoulos, Donna Shalala (all tags)

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Re: Clinton WH Alumni: WTF? (none / 0)


They are perfectly positioned to be corporate America's most-favored lobbyist-whores, should the Congress and WH change hands in 2006/2008.
by Ottnott on Sat May 13, 2006 at 02:24:40 PM EST

What's going on here? (3.00 / 3)

I think their 1994 loss scarred them. They went into office in 1993 with high ideals and then felt betrayed and abandoned by the people they were trying to help. So after 1994 they became cynical and bitter Republicans at heart who look only at the political bottom line -- and their own bank accounts.


With Democrats Lieberman goes for the jugular. With Republicans he goes for the lips.
by Sitkah on Sat May 13, 2006 at 02:30:18 PM EST

Re: What's going on here? (3.00 / 4)

That's a really compelling point.  There is some deep anger at work here, some bitterness and resentment towards idealism and honest discourse.  I think part of it might be that they think we are late to the party.  Where were you when I was getting flayed in the White House, they are probably asking?  And they aren't wrong about that necessarily, though it is more complicated than that.


by Matt Stoller on Sat May 13, 2006 at 02:41:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What's going on here? (3.00 / 1)

Well since most of us were in our early 30s as per the blog survey (not I, I wasn't even in Jr. High!) I'd say just getting interested in politics or still alseep. Well we're interested and awake now.


by MNPundit on Sat May 13, 2006 at 05:15:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What's going on here? (3.00 / 1)

Damn, this is spot-on--and they're all still so young! We'll be forced to deal with them for the next 25-30 years or longer!

Of course, you can't blame them for becoming so cynical, craven and opportunistic so quickly. They obviously learned from the master himself.

So who's feeling whose pain these days?


by kovie on Sat May 13, 2006 at 03:06:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

4 Stages of Washington Careers (3.00 / 1)

Great quote, I forget who said it.

The 4 stages of Washington careers:
1 Idealism
2 Pragmatism
3 Ambition
4 Corruption


by bernardpliers on Sat May 13, 2006 at 02:52:28 PM EST

Re: Clinton WH Alumni: WTF? (none / 0)

http://www.danablankenhorn.com/2006/05/s teady_state_an.html

It's pretty simple. The old anti-thesis is being challenged. It must be, and it must be overthrown, if we're to build a new thesis, a new majority that can last for a generation.

Based on open source politics.


by Dana Blankenhorn on Sat May 13, 2006 at 02:53:28 PM EST

Re: Clinton WH Alumni: WTF? (none / 0)

What's going on here? 3 + 3 words can answer that:

Democrats (who) Love Corporate (money & power)


by kovie on Sat May 13, 2006 at 03:02:47 PM EST

Re: Clinton WH Alumni: WTF? (none / 0)

Business as usual?


Can It Happen Here?
by janinsanfran on Sat May 13, 2006 at 03:08:07 PM EST

Where are they supposed to be working? (none / 0)

Their profession is political hack. So that's the field in which they're employed.

If they were surgeons, architects, engineers - well, perhaps, with a bit of retraining, they might have been able to go back to their former professions.

But these guys are hacks. So they do hackery.

What were they supposed to have done post-Clinton? Gone into monasteries?


by skeptic06 on Sat May 13, 2006 at 03:35:53 PM EST

Re: Where are they supposed to be working? (none / 0)

Seppuku would have been nice.


by Geogriffith on Sat May 13, 2006 at 04:38:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

They could've become like Gore (none / 0)

You know, speaking truth to power, that sort of thing.


by PsiFighter37 on Sat May 13, 2006 at 04:46:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: They could've become like Gore (none / 0)

But they are doing. Their clients' version of the truth.

And not only is that vastly more financially rewarding: they know that, speaking on their own account, power would not have given a flying fuck for what they told it!

It's a sensible general question: what do hacks - or pols - do after leaving office? The cleanest is probably to go into some branch of academe. But then - aren't a lot of those jobs merely high-tone cover for much more lucrative hackery?


by skeptic06 on Sat May 13, 2006 at 05:00:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Emmanuel (none / 0)

Which administration gave Rahm his start again...


Witty comment goes here...
by michael in chicago on Sat May 13, 2006 at 05:11:28 PM EST

Re: Clinton WH Alumni: WTF? (none / 0)

There are 2 political parties in America. One is completely owned by the corporate sector, and the corporate boys always hold an option on the other one if the knuckle-draggers in the GOP start to scare the crap out the citizenry.  


by thelonius on Sat May 13, 2006 at 05:13:52 PM EST

Re: Clinton WH Alumni: WTF? (none / 0)

that's right - primary challenges to these guys are so important even if it gets the left progressives in the party into hot water for dividing up the Dems when they stand on the threshold of taking things back. I don't think Dean is a liberal nor Gore nor Feingold nor Lamont, but I do think - if only by having reasons to be disenchanted with the DLC and DLC fellow travellers - they are the only real opening we have to challenge multinationals option to reopen their 1992 to 2000 lease on the Democratic Party.


by memstrong1 on Sat May 13, 2006 at 11:17:48 PM EST

This is why... (none / 0)

  ...we need to stand behind Howard Dean, even when he occasionally says and does things we might not like.

  He's the netroots presence in the Democratic Party. If he's gone, the Hillary faction takes over. The Democratic Party becomes a clone of the Republicans, and America is over.

  It's funny how Al Gore, who has the MOST reason to be bitter and cynical about the political process, is one of the Clinton alumni who DOES understand what needs to be done.

 


by Master Jack on Sun May 14, 2006 at 10:29:10 AM EST


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