https://www.conservapedia.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Est300Conservapedia - User contributions [en]2026-09-24T00:35:02ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.35.14https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Bill_Clinton&diff=883422Bill Clinton2011-06-27T17:25:13Z<p>Est300: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Officeholder<br />
|name=Bill Clinton<br />
|image=billclinton.jpg<br />
|party=Democratic<br />
|spouse=[[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]<br />
|religion=[[Baptist]]<br />
|offices=<br />
{{Officeholder/president<br />
|country=the United States<br />
|number=42nd<br />
|terms=January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001<br />
|vp=[[Al Gore]]<br />
|preceded=[[George H. W. Bush]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[George W. Bush]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/governor<br />
|number=40th and 42nd<br />
|state=Arkansas<br />
|terms=January 9, 1979 – January 19, 1981; January 11, 1983 – December 12, 1992<br />
|preceded=[[Joe Purcell]] (first term)<br/>[[Frank D. White]] (second term)<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Frank D. White]] (first term)<br/>[[Jim Guy Tucker]] (second term)<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/attorneygeneral<br />
|jurisdiction=Arkansas<br />
|number=50th<br />
|governor=David Pryor<br />
|deputy=n<br />
|terms=January 3, 1977 – January 9, 1979<br />
|preceded=[[Jim Guy Tucker]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Steve Clark]]<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
'''Bill Clinton''' (formally '''William Jefferson Clinton'''; born William Jefferson Blythe III) (1946—) a Democrat, was president of the United States, elected in 1992 and reelected in 1996. Previously he had served as governor of Arkansas. His administration was characterized by sustained prosperity, a budget surplus, free trade internationally, military interventions in southeastern Europe, reform of the [[New Deal]] welfare system, and an impeachment. While Clinton takes economic credit, most of the success in his era can be traced to Republican majorities in Congress that crafted welfare reforms and a budget surplus. The House of Representatives would impeach Clinton for [[obstruction of justice]] and [[perjury]], while the Senate would fail to convict, and he served out his term. Clinton was later found in contempt by a federal judge for lying under oath and he subsequently was disbarred for ethical violations. Clinton, a policy wonk, was (with Ronald Reagan) one of the two best campaigners in recent decades. Although a mediocre speaker Clinton became known as "the Great Campaigner." His discursive style is personal and intimate, yet, thanks to television, was vicariously enjoyed by large audiences. Like Ronald Reagan. Clinton used his rhetorical skills to achieve political success; he survived despite legislative defeats, repeated scandal (he was notorious as a womanizer) and an actual impeachment.<ref> Whittington (1997)</ref> <br />
<br />
After leaving the White House, he became a very well-paid speaker. His wife, [[Hillary Clinton]], was elected to the Senate in 2000 from New York, reelected in 2006, and in 2007 was the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 before losing and becoming Secretary of State. Clinton became the major fundraiser and campaigner for his wife, and tried but failed to use his special appeal to the African American vote to neutralize her main opponent, [[Barack Obama]]. Obama named Hillary Clinton [[Secretary of State]] and thus far Bill Clinton has kept a low profile.<br />
<br />
== Early Life ==<br />
Clinton was born in Hope,<ref> [[Mike Huckabee]] was born in Hope in 1955, but did not know Clinton.</ref> Arkansas, a month after his father William Jefferson Blythe III, a salesman, was killed in an auto accident. He was raised by his maternal grandparents until age 4, when his mother Virginia Kelly (1923-1994), a nurse, married Roger Clinton (1909-1967), a car dealer. Roger was an alcoholic and violent; the marriage was tempestuous, including a divorce and a remarriage in 1962. A life-long Southern Baptist, Clinton graduated from the Hot Springs public high school in 1964. He attended Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where he became active in Democratic politics and won prestigious Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University in England. He was a bit player in the anti-Vietnam war movement, and managed to stall the draft until he received a high lottery number, an evasion that became controversial in his first presidential campaign. He attended Yale Law School (JD 1973). A hail fellow well met, Clinton developed a vast network of friends. He met [[Hillary Clinton]] at Yale; they married in 1975 and had one daughter, Chelsea in 1980.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Early Political Career ==<br />
After returning to Arkansas as a law professor at the university, Clinton was elected state Attorney General in 1976. In 1978, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country at age 32 . Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.<br />
<br />
===Civil Rights record===<br />
<br />
In December 1989 a three-judge district federal court held Bill Clinton's state-wide legislative reapportionment plan violated Section 2 of the [[Voting Rights Act|Voting Rights Act of 1965]], 42 U.S.C. 1973. 1990 the [[Supreme Court]] of the United States found in the case of ''[[Clinton vs Jeffers]]'' <ref>Findings of the Supreme Court of the United States in [http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1990/sg900402.txt Clinton vs Jeffers] No. 90-394 (1990) on appeal 730 F. Supp. 196, 198-201 (ED Ark. 1989) (three-judge court), aff'd, No. 89-2008 (Jan. 7, 1991).</ref> the former Arkansas Governor and [[Democratic]] president had violated the Voting Rights Act. The Justices findings were,<br />
<br />
{{Cquote|Bill Clinton does not dispute here -- that "violations of the [[Fourteenth amendment|fourteenth]] or [[fifteenth amendment]] justifying equitable relief have occurred in Arkansas."<br />
<br />
In May 1990, the district court turned to those claims, holding that "the State of Arkansas has committed a number of constitutional violations of the voting rights of black citizens." J.S. App. A5. In particular, the court determined that the "State has systematically and deliberately enacted new majority-vote requirements for municipal offices, in an effort to frustrate black political success in elections traditionally requiring only a plurality to win." In 1990...Devotion to majority rule for local offices lay dormant as long as the plurality system produced white office-holders. But whenever black candidates used this system successfully -- and victory by a plurality has been virtually their only chance of success in at-large elections in majority-white cities – the response was swift and certain. Laws were passed in an attempt to close off this avenue of black political victory.}}<br />
<br />
The court therefore concluded that<br />
<br />
{{Cquote|This series of laws represents a systematic and deliberate attempt to reduce black political opportunity. Such an attempt is plainly unconstitutional. It replaces a system in which blacks could and did succeed, with one in which they almost certainly cannot. The inference of [[bigotry|racial motivation]] is inescapable.}}<br />
<br />
<br />
===Early Scandals===<br />
Clinton was involved in several scandals while Governor of Arkansas. He converted governmental resources for personal use by having Arkansas state policemen arrange and stand guard during his extramarital rendezvous with women.<ref>Thomas C. Reeves, ''[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n14_v10/ai_14988880 Why Troopergate matters to voters]'', ''Insight on the News,'' April 4, 1994.</ref><br />
<br />
His close personal business partnerships with James and Susan McDougall in a failed Savings and Loan business venture led to investigation of the [[Whitewater]] affair. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but prosecutors never charged either Clintons with a crime.<br />
<br />
==Democratic Leadership Council==<br />
The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) formed in early 1985 to formulate a moderate Democratic agenda. With [[Al From]] as executive director and Georgia Senator [[Sam Nunn]] as chairman, DLC comprised mostly Southern Democratic congressmen. They sought to rebuild the party's image after a series of defeats by Reagan and Bush. They wanted to assure voters that the moderate-conservative wing of the party was alive and well, and that its policy initiatives fit with mainstream American values. After the 1988 defeat, From asked Clinton in March 1990 to become the first DLC Chair from outside Washington. He and Clinton recruited state and local officials from around the country for the DLC, trying out some of the policy initiatives developed by the affiliated think tank the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). Proposals that found their way into Clinton's 1992 platform included:<br />
* Apprenticeship programs for non-college-bound skilled workers <br />
* A program of national service for college students (with student loan forgiveness)<br />
* A ROTC-style program to train new police officers in colleges<br />
* An enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor <br />
* Government-subsidized individual savings accounts for Social Security.<br />
<br />
The two DLC manifestos and Clinton's 1991 "New Covenant" speech accounted for more than 60% of the promises in the 1992 Democratic platform. <ref> Borrelli, 432-35</ref> Clinton campaigned as a "New Democrat," with an appeal to southerners and moderates that included demands for welfare reform and support for the death penalty.<br />
===Election of 1992===<br />
After the surge of support for the war policy of President [[George H.W. Bush]] pushed his popularity to the 90% level, most prominent Democrats decided to wait out the 1992 election. Clinton, though little known outside Arkansas, proved the best campaigner in a weak field and won he Democratic nomination. Unexpectedly, billionaire [[Ross Perot]] entered the race (and briefly led the polls). Both Bush and Perot proved poor campaigners, as Clinton and his running mate [[Al Gore]] promised a more responsive government. Republicans tried to use the character issue, questioning his failure to serve in the [[Vietnam War]], repeating rumors of extramarital affairs, and stories of marijuana use in college days. But Bush was handicapped by a bad economy, and was wounded badly by breaking a promise to not raise taxes. Clinton hammered away at the economy--"It's the economy, stupid!" explained his campaign manager. Clinton and Gore ran as "new Democrats", promising to cut middle class taxes, reduce domestic spending, end welfare and support capital punishment. Clinton won the electoral college decisively, and outpolled Bush 43% to 37%, with 19% for Perot.<br />
<br />
Clinton thus won easily, and entered Washington with a Democratic Congress and a vague agenda.<br />
<br />
Clinton, the first President born after [[World War II]], represented the "baby-boom" generation.<br />
<br />
==Presidency (1993-2001)==<br />
<br />
===Don't ask don't tell ===<br />
:''Main article'' : [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]<br />
Upon being elected President, Bill Clinton's first act was to propose and win legislation to enforce the [[Department of Defense]]'s "Don't Ask Don't Tell" rule, which has been described by some as a major discriminatory policy legitimizing and promoting [[homophobia]] and [[bigot]]ry, causing untold personel and emotional anguish for thousands of America's service personal.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y</ref><ref>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y</ref> The Law, enacted by a [[Democratic party]] controlled [[House of Representatives]] and [[Senate]], was found [[unconstitutional]] after a suit brought by [[Log Cabin Republicans]], a homosexual rights and advocacy organization.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39089475/ns/us_news-life/</ref><br />
<br />
=== Taxes===<br />
[[Image:ClintonPresident.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Bill Clinton's Presidential cabinet]] Clinton's first priority while coming into office was the economy. In an attempt to lower [[interest rates]] Clinton sent Congress a deficit reduction plan in early 1993. However, Clinton's problem was that about half of government money goes to entitlement programs such as [[social security]] and [[medicare]]. Refusing to cut domestic spending, he increased taxes on gasoline, heating oil, and natural gas, breaking his campaign pledge not to raise tax rates. On Aug. 10, 1993, the largest tax increase in history was signed into law, raising taxes by almost $280 billion over five years.<ref>J.D. Foster, Ph.D. [http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/03/tax-cuts-not-the-clinton-tax-hike-produced-the-1990s-boom#_ftn1 Tax Cuts, Not the Clinton Tax Hike, Produced the 1990s Boom], ''The Heritage Foundation'', March 4, 2008.</ref> Instead of middle-class tax relief, President Clinton chose to include in his $241 billion tax plan higher federal gasoline taxes, tax hikes on Social Security recipients, and steep income tax hikes on small business owners.<ref> ''The President's Forgotten Middle Class,'' Joint Economic Committee, Majority Staff, 3/22/96.</ref> Conservatives blocked some proposals, such a new $71 billion [[BTU energy tax]] that would have cost the typical family nearly $500 per year.<br />
<br />
====Tax increases on Social Security benefits====<br />
In 1993 President Clinton sought to increase taxes on [[Social Security]] benefits of the elderly and disabled.<ref>http://www.house.gov/house/Contract/seniorsd.txt</ref> The final version of the bill passed by the [[Democrat]]ically controlled Congress increased taxes on beneficiaries from the first 50% to 85%<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20040408115747/www.ssa.gov/OACT/HOP/hopi.htm</ref> of benefits (or "annuity payments" as they were originally called). [[Vice President]] [[Al Gore]] cast the deciding tie-breaker vote in the Senate to make the tax increase law. The Clinton-Gore tax increase on Social Security benefits imposed a 70% [[income tax]] rate on a retired couple making as little as $22,000 per year.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=vLg4iJR0J9kC&pg=PA16593&lpg=PA16593&dq=Vice+President+Gore+cast+the+tie-breaking+vote%2Bsocial+security&source=bl&ots=-ImIDX6fHa&sig=ttWVUNAIVsLQoEg1ZhCntHB_02Y&hl=en&ei=dobVTMr9HoOglAe0iuX9CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Vice%20President%20Gore%20cast%20the%20tie-breaking%20vote%2Bsocial%20security&f=false Congressional Record, Comments by Rep. Christopher Cox,] July 27, 2000.</ref> <br />
<br />
=== Health Care takeover ===<br />
see [[Clinton health care plan of 1993]]<br />
<br />
In 1993, Clinton called for a national medical care system that would incorporate the 15% of the population that was entitled to emergency care but lacked broader insurance. Clinton decided on a plan using regional insurance purchasing agencies along with modest tax subsidies to combine universal coverage with cost efficiency. He and his advisors believed the plan would be acceptable to big business and the larger insurance companies, but the plan was opposed by a well-financed campaign. The plan however, put a burden on small businesses, which feared they could not afford it. The insurance industry and doctor organizations also opposed it. Republicans argued that it was too costly and relied too heavily on government. Congressional Democrats were divided on the issue. Faced with public opposition, the Clinton plan failed without even having a vote in Congress.<br />
<br />
Skocpol (1996) suggests the major mistake may have been in emphasizing the cost-reducing aspect of the plan, not realizing that Americans were willing to pay for a government program that would provide generous benefits to them. The fear that Clinton's proposals would lead to the sort of health care rationing prevalent in Canada and other countries further troubled the voters. Starr (1997) notes that Clinton sought to achieve liberal ends of universal coverage through the conservative means of managed competition among private health plans, with a backup cap on the rate of growth in average insurance premiums. This approach had a political as well as policy rationale. It was meant to be the basis of an alliance that could include conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans and thereby achieve the majorities necessary for congressional passage. But what we saw as compromise, they did not -- especially as the very locus of the political center shifted to the right during the debate. Health care reform that seemed "inevitable" to many serious observers at the start became unthinkable by the end. Polls showed strong initial support, but he never secured passage in either house of Congress and Republican victory in the 1994 elections doomed his plans.<br />
<br />
=== 1994 Republican Revolution ===<br />
Clinton's popularity had slipped by 1994 and the GOP, under [[Newt Gingrich]] launched a national midterm campaign based on a Republican "Contract with America." They proposed lower taxes, welfare reform, tougher anti-crime laws, term limits for Congress, revised rules in Congress and a balanced budget amendment. <br />
<br />
In the elections of 1994, the Democrats lost 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and 8 seats in the Senate (followed by two defections after the election), giving the Republicans a majority in both houses of Congress for the first time since 1954. The Republicans also had a net gain of 12 governors' seats in that election. <br />
<br />
Analysts have suggested many causes for the drastic change in political sentiment in the country between 1992 and 1994; among the causes suggested were voter disgust at Congressional scandals mainly implicating Democrats, voter distrust of Clinton after the presentation and defeat of the Clinton health care reform proposal--dubbed "Hillarycare"; the nationalization of the election by Gingrich's "Contract with America", and more skilled framing of issues by the Republicans in 1994.<br />
<br />
In their first 100 days the House did pass the Contract with America, however, the GOP Senate failed to go along and Clinton's vetoes defeated the Contract.<br />
<br />
=== Government Shutdown ===<br />
<br />
In 1995 President Clinton and Congressional Republicans fought a bitter battle over the new federal [[budget]]. Clinton vetoed the Republican budget bill, claiming that it cut social programs. Speaker Gingrich believed that Clinton would back down and approve the budget. If not the entire government would shut down because of lack of funds. Clinton allowed just that, and by doing so gained political capital by successfully blaming that shut down on Republicans. Soon afterword, Clinton and the Congress reached an agreement to a balanced budget.<br />
<br />
==1996 Reelection Campaign==<br />
[[File:ECON1994.jpg|thumb|390px]]<br />
<br />
After the Republicans took control of Congress by the time of the 1996 reelection campaign the economy had improved. [[Unemployment]] and inflation was low, American wages increased, crime rates fell, and the number of people on welfare declined. The [[Republican Party]] nominated Senate Majority Leader [[Robert Dole]]. Ross Perot ran again, this time on the Reform Party, but his day was past. Clinton was reelected in a landslide with 49% of the popular vote, to 41% for Dole, and 8% for Perot. His personal victory had limited coattails, with Republicans retaining a clear majority in the Senate and a narrow majority in the House. It also marked the first time since 1926 and 1928 that the Republican Party carried the House in two consecutive elections.<ref>http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/17342942.html?dids=17342942:17342942&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+11%2C+1996&author=Don+Fedr&pub=Boston+Herald&desc=A+night+to+cheer+for+conservatives&pqatl=google</ref><br />
<br />
==Clinton voter Coalition==<br />
===Public Opinion: Clinton's popularity===<br />
Needham (2005) argues the "permanent campaign" is said to have reached its apogee in the incumbent communications strategies of Clinton and British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]]. However, their assiduous courting of public opinion while in office has been used to explain both the high approval ratings of these leaders and their unpopularity for long periods of their incumbency. This apparent paradox suggests that the permanent campaign model is too blunt an instrument to usefully describe or evaluate incumbent communications. Its assumption of continuity between election campaigning and office-holding fails to explain how the strategic terrain changes once a challenger takes office. The concepts of branding and relationship marketing can be used to highlight the difference between gaining support in the one-off transaction of an election and retaining voter loyalty in a post-"purchase" setting. The success of Blair and Clinton in establishing a relationship with voters from within office can be assessed using six attributes of successful brands: simplicity, uniqueness, reassurance, aspiration, values, and credibility. As incumbents, facing challenges in shifting strategic and institutional environments, Blair and Clinton developed messages that were simple and appealed to voter aspirations. Voters remained skeptical about the extent to which these leaders embodied values and delivered on their promises.<br />
<br />
Suspicions often arose during Clinton's tenure about the timing of [[cruise missile]] attacks to manipulate public sympathy at crucial points when his approval ratings sagged. On several occasions <ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NzhjODk1ODg4M2NiODU4Yzc3YWE1OTA1MDNmYWQ5M2Y= The Facts About Clinton and Terrorism], Byron York, ''National Review Online'', September 11, 2006. </ref> generally when the approval ratings dipped to 47%, surprise cruise missile attacks<ref>[http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1998/12/21/wwwh8d21.html Airstrikes Against Iraq: 'What Happens Now?'], U.S. Information Agency ''Daily Digest'', December 21, 1998.</ref> were launched which resulted in a 10 point gain in the public opinion polls. Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'' remarked,<br />
{{Cquote|Consider, for instance, the relative lack of scrutiny accorded the August 20 cruise missile attacks on Afghanistan and [[Sudan]] … immediately after the bombing, polls showed that close to half of all Americans thought the missile strikes were meant to divert attention from the president's sex life… the Sudanese bombing suggests something else as well: If and when the public's and the media's attention shifts from the president's sex life to wider-ranging inquiries about how he makes deadly serious policy decisions…"<ref>[http://www.reason.com/news/show/30827.html Bombs Away - Troubling questions about the U.S. attack on Sudan], ''Reason'', December 1998.</ref>}}<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Voter demographics ====<br />
[[File:Clinton1.jpg|alt=Bill Clinton|thumb|right|330px|1994 cartoon by Tom Toles shows Clinton was all things to all people]]<br />
{| class=wikitable<br />
! colspan="8" |The Presidential Vote in Social Groups (percentages)<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3" | ''% of<br />1996<br />total<br />vote''<br />
|<br />
| colspan="6" |''% of 3-party vote''<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| colspan="3" |''1992''<br />
| colspan="3" |''1996''<br />
|-<br />
! ''Social group''<br />
! ''Clinton''<br />
! ''Bush''<br />
! ''Perot''<br />
! ''Clinton''<br />
! ''Dole''<br />
! ''Perot''<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| Total vote<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 49<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Party and ideology'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 2<br />
| Liberal Republicans<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| Moderate Republicans<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 63<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 72<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| Conservative Republicans<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 82<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 88<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 4<br />
| Liberal Independents<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 58<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| Moderate Independents<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
| Conservative Independents<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 60<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| Liberal Democrats<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 85<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 89<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 4<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| Moderate Democrats<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 76<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 84<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
| Conservative Democrats<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 61<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 69<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Gender and marital status'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| Married men<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 42<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| Married women<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| Unmarried men<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 29<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 22<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 49<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 12<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| Unmarried women<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 31<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 62<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Race'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 83<br />
| White<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| Black<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 83<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 84<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 12<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 4<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| Hispanic<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 61<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 25<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 14<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 72<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 1<br />
| Asian<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 31<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 55<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Religion'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| White Protestant<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 47<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 29<br />
| Catholic<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 37<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 3<br />
| Jewish<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 80<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 78<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 3<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| Born Again, religious right<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 61<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 65<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Age'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| 18–29 years old<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 22<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| 30–44 years old<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| 45–59 years old<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 24<br />
| 60 and older<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 12<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Education'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
| Not a high school graduate<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 59<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 24<br />
| High school graduate<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 51<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 27<br />
| Some college education<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 37<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| College graduate<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| Post graduate education<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 14<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 52<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Family income'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
| Under $15,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 58<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 59<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| $15,000–$29,999<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 45<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 27<br />
| $30,000–$49,999<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| Over $50,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
| Over $75,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 51<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
| Over $100,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | —<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | —<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | —<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Region'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| East<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 47<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 55<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| Midwest<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 42<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 37<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| South<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| West<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Community size'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| Population over 500,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 58<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 68<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 25<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| Population 50,000 to 500,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| Suburbs<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 47<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 42<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| Rural areas, towns<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 45<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|}<br />
'''Source:''' Voter News Service exit poll, reported in ''The New York Times'', November 10, 1996, p. 28.<br />
<br />
==Second term==<br />
With the [[Cold War]] over, the economy proved highly prosperous, and after the [[Republicans]] won control of Congress the budget was not only balanced but a surplus was produced for the first time in memory. The reasons include reduction in defense spending after the Cold War (from 5% of GDP to 3%), a revenue burst from the [[dot-com bubble]] (the short-lived overexpansion of high tech), restraints on spending imposed by [[Newt Gingrich]] and the GOP Congress, and the fruition of Reagan era tax cuts for business research and development in the consumer electronics (computer and cell phone) industry.<br />
=== Impeachment ===<br />
<br />
On August 17, 1998, after relentless media attention, leaks, and news of White House intern [[Monica Lewinsky]]'s upcoming testimony regarding her extramarital affair with the President, Clinton made history by becoming the first U.S. president to testify in front of a grand jury in an investigation of his own possibly criminal conduct. In an address to the nation, he admitted to having misled the public and a Federal Court over keys elements of testimony. [[Kenneth Starr]], a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case, was instructed to pursue the matter. <br />
[[File:ClintonTIME9801.jpg|thumb|290px]]<br />
In the second term Clinton was accused of perjury when he lied under oath during the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. In the end Clinton was impeached in the House and was tried in the Senate for two counts: "perjury" and "obstruction of justice".<ref>The House turned down two other counts: "abuse of power" as well as another count of "perjury" in connection with the Paula Jones case.</ref> Although a majority of 55 Senators voted to convict, a minority of 45 Senators gained his acquittal, a two thirds majority being necessary to remove him from office. Speaker Gingrich, who had promised Republicans that impeachment would be a success, had failed badly and was forced to resign and left Congress. The Republican next in line resigned, admitting he too had committed adultery. <br />
<br />
[[David Gergen]], former White House Communications Director for both Presidents Reagan and Clinton, summarized the hurt of the President's misconduct:<br />
{{Cquote|The deep and searing violation took place when he not only lied to the country, but co-opted his friends and lied to them....when you have gone over the line, you won't bring others into it...You don't foul the nest."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/quinn110298.htm In Washington, That Letdown Feeling], By Sally Quinn, ''The Washington Post'', November 2, 1998, Page E01</ref>}}<br />
<br />
Clinton lost his law license in Arkansas because he had committed perjury before a Federal judge.<br />
<br />
It was during this scandal that Clinton famously stated: "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is".<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_2525000/2525339.stm</ref><br />
[[File:Dow10000.JPG|thumb|290px|Performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since Clinton asked to privatize Social Security; Clinton made his proposal at or near the top of the investment cycle when stocks were overvalued, prior to the crash.]]<br />
<br />
=== Proposal to privatize Social Security ===<br />
<br />
In 1999 President Clinton proposed investing the Social Security Trust Fund in what some might consider "risky" assets in the [[stock market]] and [[bond]]s. The stock market then was in the late stages of a bull market cycle with stock prices and indexes overvalued. Clinton told a joint meeting fo the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate,<br />
{{Cquote|'''I propose that we commit 60 percent of the budget surplus for the next 15 years to Social Security, investing a small portion in the [[private sector]], just as any private or State Government pension would do.'''<ref>[http://www.c-span.org/Transcripts/SOTU-1999.aspx President Bill Clinotn's 1999 State of the Union Address,] January 19, 1999. Retrieved from C-Span.org 19 August 2010.</ref>}}<br />
<br />
=== Foreign Policy ===<br />
<br />
Critics of Clinton argued that he lacked a knowledge of [[world]] affairs. In his 1992 speech at the Democrat National Convention, he devoted one minute to foreign policy issues in an oration that lasted an hour. <ref>The Presidents by David Maraniss, Pg. 626</ref> Clinton entered office after the U.S. won the [[Cold War]], and the U.S. was the only superpower. There were no major foreign crisis during his presidency. His foreign policy was based on five principles: 1) strong alliances with Europe and Asia, 2) positive relations with former adversaries, 3) a global perspective on local conflicts, 4) the adaptation of national security priorities to incorporate technological advances, and 5) effective economic integration.<ref>Samuel R. Berger, "A Foreign Policy for the Global Age," ''Foreign Affairs'' 2000 79(6): 22-39. 0015-7120 </ref> <br />
<br />
Butfoy (2006) argues that in the 1990s the "revolution in military affairs" (RMA), which produced "smart" weapons like cruise missiles, came of age. This apparently transformed how America viewed the relationship between force and international relations. It looked as though technology was framing foreign policy. In particular, smart weapons enabled Clinton to combine risk minimization with an expanded security agenda. However, we should be wary of ascribing technological determinism to the conflicts of the 1990s dominated by Washington's flexing of its strategic superiority, such as its bombing of Belgrade. As shown by comparison with US strategy after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Washington's stance in the 1990s was shaped by linkages between technology and specific political circumstances. As these circumstances changed, so did the RMA's place in US efforts to shape world order.<br />
<br />
====Human Rights====<br />
Supporters of human rights faulted Clinton’s ideological transition from [[Wilsonianism| Wilsonian idealism]] to [[Realist|realism]], especially regarding China and Bosnia. They gave high marks for his efforts at pushing peace negotiations in Haiti and the Middle East, the use of economic sanctions against North Korea, India, and Pakistan, and his efforts to get a chemical weapons convention. However, they give low marks in terms of human rights for inaction on the genocide in Rwanda and the Russian repression of secessionist Chechnya.<br />
<br />
====NATO and Eastern Europe====<br />
Much attention was devoted to Eastern Europe. <br />
<br />
Clinton actively promoted the expansion of NATO to the east, over the objections of Russia. Russia wanted to maintain some degree of control over its former satellites, and they wanted true independence. The NATO expansion was a political decision. An expanded NATO gave full play to political functions aimed at merging East European nations into NATO and bringing about their transformation into Western-style political and economic systems. NATO members will continue to work toward containing Russia if it fails to integrate itself into the West and returns to its traditional expansionist practices. The Russian transformation and NATO's adjustment influenced each other. <br />
=====Bosnia=====<br />
With the breakup of [[Yugoslavia]] civil wars erupted leading to genocide. With NATO support--but without UN approval--Clinton sent in the US Air Force to launch air strikes on Serbs in Bosnia and later deployed twenty thousand troops. The goal was to protect Muslim Bosnians from genocidal attacks from the Serbs. The policy eventually worked in Bosnia but later had to be extended to nearby Kosovo. Clinton briefly consulted Congress, but promised the troops would soon leave. They remained for years.<br />
=====Kosovo=====<br />
There was no internationally significant [[human rights]] crisis in Kosovo immediately prior to the NATO bombardment that justified its intervention on behalf of the ethnic-[[Albania]]n population. The problems of warfare that existed in Kosovo were largely a result of Clinton's support for the [[Kosovo Liberation Army]] (KLA), a narco-[[terrorist]] organization<ref>http://nobsblog.blogspot.com/2002/05/whos-kla.html</ref> linked to [[al Qaeda]], with the intent of causing a crisis that justified intervention. The intervention was not humanitarian. NATO failed to produce evidence of massacres approaching anywhere near its claims. The intervention was illegal, destructive, and based on fraudulent claims.<ref>http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=1666</ref><br />
<br />
====Ireland====<br />
But for the efforts of President Clinton and his administration, and his special envoy Senator George Mitchell, the [[Good Friday Agreement]] (1998) reached between the British government, Irish republicans, and Ulster unionists would be impossible and the troubles would still be going on. <br />
<br />
====North Korea====<br />
<br />
From 1985 to 1992, N. Korea "bought time" for its nuclear weapons program by entering into a series of international diplomatic agreements under which it promised to "deweaponize" its reactors and halt further production of plutonium. By Clinton's second, however, N. Korea had violated the terms of most of the non-proliferation agreements and withdrew from the rest. <br />
<br />
Clinton forged an agreement with Kim Il-sung that the North would temporarily halt its signed on Oct. 21, 1994 known as the "Agreed Framework."<ref>http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aankorea.htm</ref><br />
<br />
In addition to the oil supplied under the 1994 Agreed Framework, North Korea continued to the United States and other countries for free, unconditional food aid while eschewing any real reform of its [[Stalin]]ist agricultural system. <ref>http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/crs/91-141.htm</ref><br />
<br />
By 2000, the United States contribution of food and other forms of humanitarian aid to North Korea had amounted to over $61 million.<br />
<br />
====Middle East====<br />
There was little progress in the Middle East, where US support for Israel angered the Arabs. While Clinton made some accomplishments, including the 1993 Oslo Accords, the death of Israel’s prime minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]] in 1995 slowed the peace process. The election of Ehud Barak as prime minister in May 1999 appeared to give the president his last chance to achieve a foreign policy success. A meeting at Camp David between Palestinian leader [[Yasser Arafat]] and Barak in December 2000 produced a plan to create a Palestinian state in about 95% of the West Bank and Gaza. The plan was not accepted by the public on either side. President Clinton's hesitant political style was partially responsible for the lack of a lasting peace settlement.<br />
<br />
====Japan====<br />
Relations with Japan, the main American ally in Asia, started off poorly. Yet by 2000, both sides realized how important friendship was, and this led to a redefinition and strengthening of the US-Japanese alliance. Although some changes have occurred in the asymmetry of power in the post-Cold War alliance with the relationship becoming less unequal, US interests still dominate, for the weakness of the Japanese economy limited its self confidence.<br />
<br />
====China====<br />
Clinton started off with heavy criticism of the lack of human rights in China. The main issue was Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status for China, favored by China and American business and farm interests but strongly opposed by religious and human rights groups. Clinton's policy, which began with a 1993 executive order to make MFN status conditional on Chinese reforms, changed as the importance of a trade relationship with China forced the issue to be separated from the government's human rights policies. <br />
<br />
He adjusted his China policy in 1996 and advocated dialogue and engagement; this led to improved relations. But Washington continued to criticize China on the issues of Hong Kong, human rights, trade, arms sales, Taiwan, and questionable political donations to US election campaigns. President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States regained the momentum and led to a level of cooperation between the two countries not seen in years. The major factors affecting the relationship include: the enduring impact of the 1989 Tiananmen episode when the Communist Party crushed a democratic movement with the army; the negative coverage of China by American media, American psychological insecurity caused by the rise of China, and US domestic politics which has a love-hate relationship with China (loving to buy cheap Chinese products while watching competing American factories shut down.)<br />
<br />
====India====<br />
Relations with India were expected to improve following the end of the Cold War. They did not do so as both sides mishandled relations. The contradictory policies of the Clinton administration that simultaneously pressured India to liberalize its economy while criticizing New Delhi on human rights and nuclear issues undermined the very officials who strove to improve ties. In the face of criticism from Washington and opposition at home, Indian diplomats lost their enthusiasm for rapprochement. The controversy that surrounded the passage of the Brown Amendment, which restored aid to Pakistan in 1995 despite Islamabad's violation of the 1985 Pressler Amendment, is a case study of the delicate nature of the Indo-American relationship. In resurrecting Cold War rhetoric, Indian parliamentarians and American congressmen demonstrated their unwillingness to establish a new relationship. However the [[George W. Bush]] administration reversed policy and developed close, friendly ties to India.<br />
====Canada====<br />
Relations with Canada went smoothly. Thanks to the precedent set by the [[Brian Mulroney]] government and the administration of [[George H.W. Bush]] in the resolution of issues such as the acid rain problem and the Pacific salmon dispute. A friendly relationship between the Canadian prime minister [[Jean Chrétien]] and Clinton helped, as did the strong economic growth enjoyed by both countries. In addition, there were multilateral and bilateral institutions in place, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, to resolve some major disagreements. However, the relationship faces a number of challenges in the future. While concerns about ballistic missile attacks and threats of international terrorism are priorities for Americans, Canadians do not share those concerns but view the importation of American culture into their country with trepidation, and there are no institutional structures in place to resolve disagreements on these particular issues. <br />
====Mexico and NAFTA====<br />
Clinton, with GOP help, passed a free trade agreement over the objection of most Democrats and labor unions. The implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) generated political disagreements and stress in Mexico, involving issues of economics, labor unions, environmentalism, and international power. Mexico's financial crisis of 1993-95, which led to peso devaluation and new dislocations in that country, and disputes between Clinton and the Congress also exacerbated NAFTA's implementation. Nonetheless, the positive consequences of NAFTA included increases in Mexican imports to the United States and shifts in the trade balance in Mexico's favor. <br />
<br />
<br />
====Iraq====<br />
Clinton tried to contain Iraq, and used military attacks to make the point. Clinton launched a small cruise missile attack against Iraq in 1993 as a response to a suspected terrorist assassination attempt made on former President George H. W. Bush in Kuwait. In 1998, Clinton threatened military action when Iraq denied full access to UN weapons inspectors. <br />
<br />
====Africa====<br />
In Africa, Clinton expressed the exasperation of he American public after decades of single-party rule involving massive misuse and pillage of the continent's resources by local dictators. Clinton called for an end to protected European economic and commercial zones and for open competition on terms that would gradually eliminate African dependency. The Americans, in an effort to promote both democracy and prosperity, urged the African political class to create regimes in their states responsible to the people, to accept participation by opposition parties, and to install rigorous accounting and management procedures. Congress and public opinion supported the new initiatives, which involved much less public assistance to Africa and a great deal more private investment and mutually profitable trade. Essentially, American policy challenged African leaders to undertake reforms that would make them artisans of their own futures.<br />
<br />
==== Al-Qaeda terrorism ====<br />
The Arab terrorist group [[al-Qaeda]] conducted a World Trade Center bombing in 1993, simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] in 1998, and the attack on the [[USS Cole]] in 2000. Clinton bombed al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan in response, but meanwhile 19 terrorists were plotting an even more ghastly attack on America which took place on September 11, 2001, eight months after Clinton left office.<br />
<br />
===Terrorist pardons===<br />
<br />
On August 11, 1999, President Clinton offered clemency to members of the [[Armed Forces of National Liberation]] (FALN) [[terrorist]] group. <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070703053819/http://rpc.senate.gov/_files/92199CoddlingTerrorists.pdf U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee] testimony available at http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/wl91599.htm, ''The Tampa Tribune'', S.J.Res. 33 (passed 95-2).</ref> On January 24, 1975 the FALN bombed Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan killing four people. Over a six-year period, the group claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings that took six lives and injured some 130 people.<ref>[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/sep4.htm Clinton Pardons Terror], ''New York Post'', August 13, 1999. retrieve from http://www.latinamericanstudies.org September 14, 2007.</ref> Deputy Attorney General [[Eric Holder]] was credited with with an "unconscionable" effort to circumvent the standard pardon process, not consulting with the [[Department of justice]]'s pardon attorney and keeping deliberations hidden from the district U.S. attorney and investigative agencies. [[Weather Underground]] [[terrorists]] [[Linda Evans]] and Susan Rosenberg were also pardoned.<ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YmM1OGM4OGRiNTI5NTIzOTFkMDAwMTJiNGFlYWFiZGI= ''Confirming Fears''], Editorial, National Review Online, November 19, 2008.</ref><br />
<br />
===Legacy===<br />
Of the $1.6 million Clinton earned in salary<ref>http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/wjclinton.html</ref> as President for 8 years, Clinton agreed to pay $850,000,<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/jones111498.htm</ref> or more than 53% in a legal settlement with [[Paula Jones]] to satisfy claims for damages to her reputation.<br />
<br />
Every President since [[William Howard Taft]] in 1910 has served as Honorary President of the [[Boy Scouts of America]] during his term in office. In 2000 it was reported the Boy Scouts national office revoked the title afforded to Bill Clinton after thousands of complaints. Numerous Eagle Scouts returned their certificates of achievement bearing Clinton's signature and requested a replacement without it.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=13204 Eagle Scouts drop Clinton signature], ''WorldNetCaily.com, August 24, 2000.</ref><br />
<br />
== Post-Presidency ==<br />
Clinton has spent much of time since leaving office working for charitable causes such as support and fund-raising for the victims of AIDS and the Asian tsunami. In the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he teamed with former president [[George H.W. Bush]] to raise money for relief efforts.<br />
<br />
Bill Clinton's wife, [[Hillary_Rodham_Clinton|Hillary Clinton]], was elected Senator to New York in 2000. She was reelected in 2006. She made a failed bid for the [[2008_Presidential_Election#Declared_Democratic_Party_Candidates|Democratic presidential nomination in 2008]]. <br />
<br />
Clinton has been criticized by both liberals and conservatives for his actions in his wife's presidential campaign. ''Time'' called him "his wife's attack dog". <ref>http://media.www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2008/01/28/OpEd/Editorial.On.The.Campaign.Trail.Bill.Clinton.Should.Keep.His.Mouth.Shut-3171498.shtml</ref> Although he had signed up most black leaders to support Hillary, the great majority of Black voters went for Obama. Clinton was accused of racism by implying that many voters chose [[Obama]] for reasons of race, rather than policy, saying that he succeeding in some regions for the same reason [[Jesse Jackson]] did.<br />
<br />
After Obama refused to give Hillary the Vice Presidential nomination, both Clintons loyally campaigned for Obama. Obama easily defeated Senator [[John McCain]], and named Hillary Secretary of State. Bill Clinton has maintained a low profile in 2009.<br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
<br />
===Basic reading===<br />
* Berman, William C. ''From the Center to the Edge: The Politics and Policies of the Clinton Presidency'' (2001) 160pp, useful summary and interpretation <br />
* Campbell, Colin, and Bert A. Rockman, eds. ''The Clinton Legacy'' 348 pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=58143940 online edition]<br />
* Clinton, Bill. ''My Life''. (2004). ISBN 0-375-41457-6. [http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Bill-Clinton/dp/140003003X/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464316&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Felsenthal, Carol. ''Clinton in Exile: A President Out of the White House'' (2008) 386 pages<br />
* Gillon, Steve. '' The pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the rivalry that defined a generation'' (2008) 342 pages, by a leading historian; [http://books.google.com/books?id=d-U2IzI2r5YC&pg=PA78&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search] <br />
* Hamilton, Nigel. ''Bill Clinton: Mastering the Presidency'' (2007) covers 1993-96, 766pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ky8fzAmUIvAC&pg=PA203&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Harris, John F. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'' (2005) ISBN 0-375-50847-3, the best coverage of the presidency [http://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Bill-Clinton-White-House/dp/0375760849/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464409&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Hyland, William G. ''Clinton's World: Remaking American Foreign Policy'' (1999) ISBN 0-275-96396-9 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14147621 online edition]<br />
* Klein, Joe. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'' (2003) by leading journalist [http://www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,490843,00.html online excerpt and search]; [http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Misunderstood-Presidency-Bill-Clinton/dp/0767914120/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464449&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Levy, Peter. ''Encyclopedia of the Clinton Presidency'' (2002), 400pp; 230 well-balanced articles<br />
* Maraniss, David, ''First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton'' (1996) ISBN 0-684-81890-6. Biography to 1991. [http://www.amazon.com/First-His-Class-Biography-Clinton/dp/0684818906/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464484&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Posner, Richard A. ''An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton'' (1999) ISBN 0-674-00080-3 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77420690 online edition]<br />
* Schantz, Harvey L. ''Politics in an Era of Divided Government: Elections and Governance in the Second Clinton Administration'' (2001) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102246366 online edition]<br />
* Schier, Steven E. ''The Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton's Legacy in U.S. Politics'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Postmodern-Presidency-Clintons-Politics-Political/dp/082294135X/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
<br />
===Biographical and Presidential===<br />
* Barber, Benjamin. '' The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House'' (2008) 336 pages [http://books.google.com/books?id=zwywJroh6PoC&pg=PA11&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search] <br />
* Berman, William C. ''From the Center to the Edge: The Politics and Policies of the Clinton Presidency'' (2001) 160pp, useful summary and interpretation <br />
* Campbell, Colin, and Bert A. Rockman, eds. ''The Clinton Legacy'' 348 pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=58143940 online edition]<br />
* Congressional Quarterly. ''Congress and the Nation 1993-1997: A Review of Government and Politics: 103rd and 104th Congresses'' (1998); ''Congress and the Nation 1997-2001: A Review of Government and Politics: 105th and 106th Congresses'' (2002). Highly detailed nonpartisan coverage (1200 pp each) of all political issues, including presidency<br />
* Gillon, Steve. '' The pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the rivalry that defined a generation'' (2008) 342 pages, by a leading historian; [http://books.google.com/books?id=d-U2IzI2r5YC&pg=PA78&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Hamilton, Nigel. ''Bill Clinton: Mastering the Presidency'' (2007) covers 1993-96, 766pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ky8fzAmUIvAC&pg=PA203&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]* Harris, John F. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'' (2005) ISBN 0-375-50847-3, the best coverage of the presidency [http://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Bill-Clinton-White-House/dp/0375760849/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464409&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Klein, Joe. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'' (2003) by leading journalist [http://www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,490843,00.html online excerpt and search]; [http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Misunderstood-Presidency-Bill-Clinton/dp/0767914120/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464449&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Levy, Peter. ''Encyclopedia of the Clinton Presidency'' (2002), 400pp; 230 well-balanced articles<br />
* Schantz, Harvey L. ''Politics in an Era of Divided Government: Elections and Governance in the Second Clinton Administration'' (2001) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102246366 online edition]<br />
* Schier, Steven E. ''The Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton's Legacy in U.S. Politics'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Postmodern-Presidency-Clintons-Politics-Political/dp/082294135X/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
===Clinton to 1992===<br />
* Abbott, Philip. "A 'Long and Winding Road': Bill Clinton and the 1960s," Rhetoric & Public Affairs 9.1 (2006) 1-20 in Project Muse<br />
* Borrelli, Stephen A. "Finding the Third Way: Bill Clinton, the DLC, and the Democratic Platform of 1992," ''Journal of Policy History'' Vol. 13#4 (2001), pp. 429-462 in Project Muse<br />
* Goldman, Peter L. et al, ''Quest for the Presidency, 1992'' (1994) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=11169230 online edition]<br />
* Maraniss, David, ''First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton'' (1996) ISBN 0-684-81890-6. Biography to 1991. [http://www.amazon.com/First-His-Class-Biography-Clinton/dp/0684818906/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464484&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
===Foreign Policy===<br />
* Butfoy, Andrew. "The Rise and Fall of Missile Diplomacy? President Clinton and the 'Revolution in Military Affairs' in Retrospect." ''Australian Journal of Politics and History'' 2006 52(1): 98-114. Issn: 0004-9522 Fulltext: in Ebsco [http://www.questia.com/read/5014679475 online complete editon]<br />
* Cohen, Warren I. ''America's Failing Empire: U.S. Foreign Relations since the Cold War.'' 2005. 204 pp. <br />
* Davis; John. "The Evolution of American Grand Strategy and the War on Terrorism: Clinton and Bush Perspectives" ''White House Studies'', Vol. 3, 2003<br />
* Hendrickson, Ryan C. ''The Clinton Wars: The Constitution, Congress, and War Powers'' (2002)<br />
* Hyland, William G. ''Clinton's World: Remaking American Foreign Policy'' (1999) ISBN 0-275-96396-9 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14147621 online edition]<br />
* Jewett, Aubrey W. and Marc D. Turetzky. "Stability and Change in President Clinton's Foreign Policy Beliefs, 1993-96" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 28, 1998 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001392338 online edition]<br />
* Livingston, C. Don, Kenneth A. Wink; "The Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House of Representatives: Presidential Leadership or Presidential Luck?" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 27, 1997 [http://www.questia.com/read/5000429192 online edition]<br />
* Maclean, George A. ''Clinton's Foreign Policy in Russia: From Deterrence and Isolation to Democratization and Engagement'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Clintons-Foreign-Policy-Russia-Democratization/dp/0754649016/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search] <br />
<br />
===Domestic Policy===<br />
* Edwards; George C. "Bill Clinton and His Crisis of Governance" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly,'' Vol. 28, 1998 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001393468 in Questia]<br />
* Fisher; Patrick. "Clinton's Greatest Legislative Achievement? the Success of the 1993 Budget Reconciliation Bill" ''White House Studies'', Vol. 1, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5002437663 in Questia]<br />
* Greenspan, Alan. ''The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World'' (2007), memoir by head of Federal Reserve [http://www.amazon.com/Age-Turbulence-Adventures-New-World/dp/0143114166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260097183&sr=1-1xcerpt and text search] <br />
* Harris, John F. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House''. (2005) covers the major policy issues [http://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Bill-Clinton-White-House/dp/0375760849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260097075&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Lanoue, David J. and Craig F. Emmert; "Voting in the Glare of the Spotlight: Representatives' Votes on the Impeachment of President Clinton" ''Polity'', Vol. 32, 1999<br />
* Needham, Catherine. "Brand Leaders: Clinton, Blair and the Limitations of the Permanent Campaign." ''Political Studies'' 2005 53(2): 343-361. Issn: 0032-3217 Fulltext: in Ebsco <br />
* Nie; Martin A. "'It's the Environment, Stupid!': Clinton and the Environment" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 27, 1997 [http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001516576 online edition]<br />
* Patterson, James T. ''Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Restless-Giant-United-Watergate-History/dp/019512216X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195117012&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Poveda; Tony G. "Clinton, Crime, and the Justice Department" ''Social Justice'', Vol. 21, 1994 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000301618 online edition]<br />
* Renshon; Stanley A. ''The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership'' Westview Press, 1995<br />
* Schantz, Harvey L. ''Politics in an Era of Divided Government: Elections and Governance in the Second Clinton Administration'' (2001) ISBN 0-8153-3583-0<br />
* Stiglitz, Joseph E. ''The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decade'' (2004) economic history; [http://www.amazon.com/Roaring-Nineties-History-Worlds-Prosperous/dp/0393326187/ref=sr_1_6/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wattenberg; Martin P. "The Democrats' Decline in the House during the Clinton Presidency: An Analysis of Partisan Swings" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 29, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001303783 online edition]<br />
<br />
===Polls, campaign, images, character, scandals===<br />
* Blaney, Joseph R. and William L. Benoit. ''The Clinton Scandals and the Politics of Image Restoration,'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Scandals-Politics-Restoration-Political-Communication/dp/0275971066/ref=sr_1_4/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194471793&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101159621 online edition]<br />
* Borrelli, Stephen A. "Finding the Third Way: Bill Clinton, the DLC, and the Democratic Platform of 1992," ''Journal of Policy History'' Vol. 13, #4 (2001), pp. 429-462 in [[Project Muse]]<br />
* Cohen; Jeffrey E. "The Polls: Change and Stability in Public Assessments of Personal Traits, Bill Clinton, 1993-99" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 31, 2001<br />
* Cronin, Thomas E. and Michael A. Genovese; "President Clinton and Character Questions" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' Vol. 28, 1998<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. ''The 1992 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective,'' (1994) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=104563698 online edition]<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. ''The 1996 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective,'' (1998) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=26288597 online edition]<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. and Rachel L. Holloway, eds. ''The Clinton Presidency: Images, Issues, and Communication Strategies, 1996 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24374540 online edition]<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. and Rachel L. Holloway, eds. ''Images, Scandal, and Communication Strategies of the Clinton Presidency'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Scandal-Communication-Strategies-Presidency-Presidential/dp/0275971767/ref=sr_1_4/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glad; Betty. "Evaluating Presidential Character" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 28, 1998 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001393536 online edition]<br />
* Maurer; Paul J. "Media Feeding Frenzies: Press Behavior during Two Clinton Scandals" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly,'' Vol. 29, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001239881 online edition]<br />
* O'Connor; Brendon. "Policies, Principles, and Polls: Bill Clinton's Third Way Welfare Politics 1992-1996" ''The Australian Journal of Politics and History'', Vol. 48, 2002<br />
* Posner, Richard A. ''An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton'' (1999) ISBN 0-674-00080-3 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77420690 online edition]<br />
* Renshon, Stanley A. "The Polls: The Public's Response to the Clinton Scandals, Part 1: Inconsistent Theories, Contradictory Evidence" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 32, 2002 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000773179 online edition]<br />
* Renshon; Stanley A. '' The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9961027 online edition]<br />
* Starr, Kenneth. ''The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair'' (1998) ISBN 1-891620-24-X<br />
* Whittington, Keith E. "The Rhetorical Presidency, Presidential Authority and President Clinton," ''Perspectives on Political Science,'' Vol. 26, 1997 <br />
* Waldman, Michael. ''POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency'' (2000) ISBN 0-7432-0020-9<br />
* Wattier; Mark J. "The Clinton Factor: The Effects of Clinton's Personal Image in 2000 Presidential Primaries and in the General Election" ''White House Studies'', Vol. 4, 2004<br />
* Weisberg, Herbert F., and Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier. ''Reelection 1996: How Americans Voted,'' 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=62235822 online edition]<br />
<br />
===Health reform===<br />
* Blendon, R. J., M. Brodie, and J. Benson. "What Happened to Americans' Support of the Clinton Plan?" ''Health Affairs'' 1995. 14(2):7-23. [http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/14/2/7?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=brodie&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=10&resourcetype=HWCIT online edition], analysis of poll data<br />
* Fox, Daniel M. "A Lost Cause: Bill Clinton's Campaign for National Health Insurance, and: The Road to Nowhere: The Genesis of President Clinton's Plan for Health Security," ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' vol. 73, # 2, Summer 1999, pp. 367-369 in [[Project Muse]]<br />
* Laham, Nicholas, ''A Lost Cause: Bill Clinton's Campaign for National Health Insurance'' (1996) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/a-lost-cause-bill-clintons-campaign-for-national-health-insurance-by-nicholas-laham.jsp online edition]<br />
* Rushefsky, Mark E. and Kant Patel. ''Politics, Power & Policy Making: The Case of Health Care Reform in the 1990s'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Power-Policy-Making-Health/dp/1563249561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260096806&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Skocpol, Theda. ''Boomerang: Clinton's Health Security Effort and the Turn Against Government in U.S. Politics,'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/Boomerang-Health-Reform-Against-Government/dp/039331572X/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194472221&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==Primary sources==<br />
* [http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/ERP/ Council of Economic Advisors, ''Economic Report of the President'' (annual 1947- )], complete series online; important analysis of current trends and policies, plus statistical tables<br />
*Clinton, William jfeerson. ''Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton: from Hope to Harlem'' ed. by Janis F. Kearney (2006) 402 pages; [http://books.google.com/books?id=EVdrKWADFnsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2006&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Starr, Kenneth. ''The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair'' (1998) ISBN 1-891620-24-X [http://books.google.com/books?id=NxWTTbiij0wC&dq=inauthor:Starr+inauthor:Kenneth&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
===Memoirs===<br />
* Clinton, Bill. ''My Life''. (2004). ISBN 0-375-41457-6. [http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Bill-Clinton/dp/140003003X/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464316&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Blumenthal, Sidney. ''The Clinton Wars''. (2003). ISBN 0-374-12502-3 [http://www.amazon.com/Clinton-Wars-Sidney-Blumenthal/dp/0374125023/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194472136&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Greenspan, Alan. ''The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World'' (2007), memoir by head of Federal Reserve<br />
* Stephanopoulos, George. ''All Too Human: A Political Education'' (1998) ISBN 0-316-92919-0 [http://www.amazon.com/All-too-Human-George-Stephanopoulos/dp/0316930164/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194472067&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
{{USPresidents}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Bill}}<br />
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]<br />
[[Category:Arkansas Governors]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]<br />
[[Category:Corruption]]<br />
[[Category:Liberals]]<br />
[[Category:Reagan Era]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Party]]</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Franklin_D._Roosevelt&diff=883419Franklin D. Roosevelt2011-06-27T17:20:43Z<p>Est300: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Officeholder<br />
|name=Franklin D. Roosevelt<br />
|image=509px-FDR in 1933.jpg<br />
|party=[[Democratic]]<br />
|spouse=[[Eleanor Roosevelt]]<br />
|religion=[[Episcopalian]]<br />
|offices=<br />
{{Officeholder/president<br />
|country=the United States<br />
|number=32nd<br />
|terms=March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945<br />
|vp=John N. Garner (1933–1941)<br/>Henry A. Wallace (1941–1945)<br/>Harry S. Truman (1945)<br />
|preceded=[[Herbert Hoover]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Harry S. Truman]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/governor<br />
|number=44th<br />
|state=New York<br />
|terms=January 1, 1929 – December 31, 1932<br />
|preceded=Alfred E. Smith<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=Herbert H. Lehman<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
'''Franklin Delano Roosevelt''' was the 32nd [[President of the United States of America]] from 1933-45. He presided over the majority of the [[Great Depression]], which did not end until the attack on [[Pearl Harbor]]<ref>[http://www.fasttrackteaching.com/Unemployment_300g15.gif Unemployment Graph during the Great Depression]</ref>, and led the United States in [[World War II]] against the [[Axis Powers]]; he built the '''[[New Deal Coalition]]''' of voters and interest groups which dominated American politics into the 1960s.<br />
<br />
He is still the great hero to liberals but castigated by conservatives for shifting the nation to the left, growing the federal government, imposing regulations on business, following a no-growth economic policy, catering to labor unions, and building a permanent [[New Deal Coalition]]. On the other hand, conservatives admire his strong military leadership that led the Allies to victory in record time in World War II. <br />
<br />
His [[New Deal]] was a very large, complex interlocking set of programs designed to produce '''relief''' (especially government jobs for the unemployed)<ref>[http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/commentary/130/entry/ Works Progress Administration (WPA): One Failure to End the Great Depression]</ref>, '''recovery''' (of the economy), and '''reform''' (by which he meant regulation of Wall Street, banks and transportation), as well as Reelection (in 1936, 1940 and 1944) and Realignment of the [[Fifth Party System]]. Conservatives strongly opposed many, but not all, of the New Deal programs. Conservatives abolished most of the relief programs when unemployment practically ended during World War II. Most of the regulations on business were ended about 1975-85, except for the regulation of Wall Street by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]], which still exists. The major surviving program is [[Social Security]], which Congress passed in 1935.<br />
<br />
Conservatives at the time denounced his bids for presidential power, including building a national political machine through the [[WPA]] (it lasted from 1935 to 1943), attempting to take control of the Supreme Court by adding new liberal judges (an attempt which failed, 1937), and trying to purge the Democratic party of conservative congressman (an attempt which failed in 1938). The failures of those attempts can be attributed to the [[Conservative Coalition]] which emerged in Congress in 1937 as a coalition of most Northern republicans and most Southern Democrats.<ref>There were very few Southern Republicans in office.</ref>.<br />
<br />
After 1938 FDR turned his attention to [[World War II]]. He was a strong supporter of [[China|Nationalist China]] under General [[Chiang Kai-shek]] against Japan; most conservatives agreed on that point. FDR also was a strong supporter of military aid to Britain. Conservatives split on that, with the "isolationists" (like [[Robert Taft]]) opposed, and "interventionists" (like [[Henry Stimson]]) in favor. Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war in December, 1941; all conservatives then strongly supported the war effort. They generally approved FDR's military leadership, although they were highly critical of his close cooperation with [[Stalin]] and the Soviet Union. <br />
<br />
FDR was the first and only President to be elected four times, breaking the traditional two-term-limit precedent established by [[George Washington]].<ref> Tradition was restored by the 22nd Amendment in 1947.</ref> <br />
<br />
Roosevelt's health failed rapidly in 1944-45, even as he ran for reelection. He died On April 12, 1945. Despite polio which permanently crippled him starting in the early 1920s, he exuded a sense of confidence and hope for the future that made for a charismatic personality. <br />
<br />
Scholars generally agree that relief efforts actually helped to prolong the [[Great Depression]]. It was only later that World War II brought a return to near full employment for every sector of the economy. <br />
<br />
==Early Life==<br />
Franklin was born to two old families, both based in upstate New York: the Dutch Roosevelts, and the Yankee Delanos. His father James Roosevelt (1828-1900), a wealthy railroad executive, was never close to Franklin and died when he was in college. Franklin was the only son of Sara Roosevelt (1854-1941), who exerted tight control over the family money, and tight psychological control over Franklin, until the day she died in 1941. The Delanos made their money in trading with China (originally, in selling opium); Sara was a world traveler who raised her son with the aid of tutors until he went to [[Groton]] at age 14; by that time Franklin had been to Europe many times and spoke fluent French and German. He was a gentleman at Harvard College, where he edited the student newspaper. He graduated from Columbia Law School, and was a successful lawyer before entering politics in 1910, and again while out of politics in the mid-1920s.<br />
<br />
==Eleanor Roosevelt==<br />
see [[Eleanor Roosevelt]]<br />
<br />
Eleanor Roosevelt, a fifth cousin, became engaged to FDR in 1903; they were married on March 17, 1905 in New York; her uncle President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] gave the bride away. She and Franklin lived with his mother Sara, who controlled financed and controlled the raising of her grandchildren. By the 1920s Eleanor was living apart in a separate cabin on the Roosevelt estate at Hyde Park. <br />
<br />
Six children followed in rapid succession, with all but one surviving infancy: Anna Eleanor, James, Franklin (died 1909), Elliott, a second Franklin Delano, and John Aspinwall.<br />
<br />
FDR was elected as a Democrat to the New York State Senate in 1910, but the family remained in New York City. In 1913 the family moved to Washington where Franklin was the powerful and popular Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I.<br />
<br />
Very shy at first, Eleanor kept a low profile during World War I. She became more accustomed to the limelight when Franklin was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920, and when he was elected governor of New York in 1928 and 1930. After he contracted polio she became much more active, serving as his spokesperson at many meetings around the state and advocated for womens issues inside the Democratic party.<br />
<br />
The Roosevelt marriage collapsed in 1918 when Eleanor discovered Franklin had a lover.<ref> Lucy Mercer (later Lucy Rutherfurd) was only the first of several known FDR lovers; Lucy was with FDR when he died. Joseph Persico, ''Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life'' (2008) </ref> Divorce was politically impossible, love was absent. The solution was independence. Since the public knew nothing about the affairs (and historians did not learn until after Eleanor's death), the couple kept up appearances. Eleanor increasingly built her own career, all the while supporting the more liberal and leftist personalities and ideas that were in the air.<br />
<br />
==1920s==<br />
In 1920 Roosevelt was the Democratic nominee for Vice President. He lost in the Harding landslide, but the fact that he won the nomination demonstrates that Democrats looked upon him as their new hero. In 1921 FDR became ill with [[poliomyelitis]], Eleanor became his helpmate through his serious health problems. The polio left FDR without the use of his legs, confined to a wheelchair for the most part. However, he did not allow this disability to end his political career; indeed it made him psychologically stronger and more determined to bring hope to people faced with poor odds in life. <br />
<br />
In 1928 Franklin Roosevelt was elected governor of [[New York]], despite a narrow victory in the state by Republican presidential candidate [[Herbert Hoover]]. FDR was reelected governor in a landslide in 1930. As governor of the leading financial state he did nothing to prevent the Wall Street Crash of 1929 or solve the emerging financial depression, but he did begin a relief program that followed the Hoover Administration guidelines.<br />
<br />
== Election of 1932 ==<br />
:''Main article : [[United States presidential election, 1932]]''<br />
With the economy continuing a downward spiral despite Hoover's efforts, a Democratic victory seemed certain. Roosevelt needed two-thirds of the delegates too get the nomination. He easily beat out [[Al Smith]], his former close ally. FDR won the nomination with the aid of powerful publisher [[William Randolph Hearst]] (still a liberal at the time), and the Texas delegation led by House Speaker [[John Nance Garner]]. Garner was given the vice presidency. Smith in 1932, Hearst in 1934, and Garner in 1937 all broke with FDR, becoming bitter enemies.<br />
<br />
The election was a rout, with Democrats winning sweeping majorities in Congress and control of state governments in all parts of the country. Hoover tried to coordinate national policy with FDR during the long interregnum between the November election and the March 4 inauguration, but Roosevelt refused to cooperate.<br />
<br />
== First Term ==<br />
[[File:Newdealstamp.png|thumb|280px|1998 US stamp celebrates alphabet agencies of New Deal]]<br />
<br />
<br />
===New Deal===<br />
:''For Main Article see '''[[New Deal]].'''''<br />
<br />
FDR is most famous for his [[New Deal]], a set of programs designed to produce recovery from the Depression, reform so it would never happen again, and relief for the tens of millions suffering severe hardships. <br />
<br />
FDR's favorite program--and the nation's favorite as well, was the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]], begun in springc 1933. The CCC sent several hundred thousand young men at a time -- 2.5 million in all by 1943 -- to newly formed work camps for 6-month stints. There were no uniforms or military drills. It was strongly approved at the time by conservatives and liberals alike, including most religious and business leaders as a way to save the boys who were perpectually unemployed and drifting into gangs. The CCC was ended in 1943 when the need had vanished.<br />
<br />
In 1934-35 the '''Second new Deal''' showed Roosevelt moving left. Key innovations included the Wagner Act (1935) that created the [[National Labor Relations Board]] and allowed [[Labor unions]] to rapidly expand. The [[WPA]] was a federalized relief program, in which 2+ million unemployed workers were hired by the federal government to work on projects sponsored by local government. Most important of all was the Social Security program, passed over intense Republican opposition.<br />
<br />
==Second Term==<br />
Roosevelt successfully built up the "[[New Deal Coalition]]", a powerful coalition of voters and interest groups. Key components included big city machines and labor unions. Key voter groups included traditional Democrats, white Southerners, Catholics, Jews, and liberals, as well as many blacks. This united voter base allowed Democrats to be elected to Congress and the presidency for much of the next 30 years.<br />
<br />
===Court packing scheme===<br />
<br />
After a sweeping landslide reelection in 1936--losing only Maine and Vermont--Roosevelt stunned the nation, and his party, by calling for legislation to enlarge the Supreme Court by five new members. [[Tommy Corcoran]]<ref><small>After World War II Corcoran employed Soviet agent [[Duncan Lee]] in his Washington law firm, Corcoran and Youngman. FBI Silvermaster file biographical details on [[Duncan C. Lee]], [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s allegations concerning him, his contacts with [[Donald Wheeler]] and [[Mary Price]], [http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster092.pdf Vol. 92, pgs. 20 - 21] pdf, January 26, 1947. On June 6 1945, 6 persons, including U.S. government officials [[Andrew Roth]] and [[John Stewart Service]], were arrested on [[conspiracy]] and [[espionage]] charges related to possession of roughly 1000 stolen classified Government documents in the offices of ''[[Amerasia]]'' magazine. ''Amerasia'', edited by [[Philip J. Jaffe]], had published classified materials verbatim from the United States wartime intelligence service, the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS). ''Amerasia's'' chief financial benefactor was [[Frederick V. Field]]. [[Joseph Milton Bernstein]], a [[GRU]] contact between Soviet agents in the OSS and the [[Board of Economic Warfare]], was also an employee. Others connected with the ''Amerasia'' scandal were [[T.A. Bisson]] and [[Owen Lattimore]]. Corcoran worked with the [[Truman administration]] to cover up the scandal.</small></ref> was given the task by Roosevelt to persuade Congress to pass the proposed legislation. [[I. F. Stone]] of the ''New York Post'', who was later to work for the Soviet [[KGB]], wrote speeches for Corcoran to promote this issue. A firestorm of opposition erupted, led by his own vice president [[John Nance Garner]]. Roosevelt was defeated by an alliance of Republicans and conservative Democrats, who formed a [[Conservative Coalition]] that managed to block nearly all liberal legislation. (Only a minimum wage law got through.) Angry with the conservative wing of his own party, Roosevelt tried to destroy it. In 1938, he actively campaigned against five incumbent conservative Democratic senators; all five senators won re-election. <br />
<br />
Under FDR, the Democratic Party became identified closely with modern liberalism, which included the promotion of social welfare, unions and regulation of the economy. Civil rights were not on the party agenda at this time.<br />
<br />
===Double dip recession===<br />
<br />
When FDR was inaugurated for his second term [[national income]], [[payroll]]s, and industrial production<ref>League of Nations Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, June, 1936. Percentage change 1929 to March 1936, United States -21.8%, rank number 13.</ref> were still 20 per cent below the 1929 figure and construction was still only about one third what it had been in 1929 when the nation had a booming economy due to massive speculation that would ultimately lead to the stock market crash. By June, 1937 the Treasury boasted relief payments were less than in the same period the preceding year. But this was not so. The Treasury made a practice of cooking the books and producing phony numbers. It merely shifted relief payments to other accounts. They were, in fact, larger than the year before. Stock prices declined and by September the reality could be no longer hidden. By the end of October the market crashed. The budget was running a [[deficit]] at the time $300,000,000 a month. <br />
<br />
FDR told [[DNC]] Chairman James Farley he would have "to go in for pump priming or relief," but as Farley explained FDR complained he could not spend on local projects because the states and cities did not want any more buildings and institutions which they would have to support in perpetuity. They were having trouble enough paying the bills of those already built. Roosevelt revealed to Farley that many [[WPA]] projects approved by the government were abandoned because the states and cities could not raise the money to support them. In the 1938 Congressional elections Harry Hopkins was spending as fast as he could without any regard to utility to meet the immediate political necessities of an election but couldn't go on indefinitely. And the whole problem was complicated by pressure from within his own party to balance the budget.<br />
[[Image:Flatgrowth.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Real Output and Growth remained stagnant throughout the New Deal largely due to government involvement. The Depression came back with a vengeance in 1937-1938.<ref>''New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis, ''Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, Journal of Political Economy, volume 112 (2004), pages 779–816.</ref>]]<br />
New capital made available for investment amounted to $348,000,000 in 1935. This was less than 1/10th of the amount available in 1929. By contrast, the British economy had nearly recovered to its 1929 levels by 1935, and the amount available for investment was almost twice as much as the United States.<br />
<br />
{| style="background:white; color:blue" border="1" class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year<br />
! United States <ref>Standard Statistics Co., ''New Honey for Operating and Producing.''</ref><br />
! Great Britain <ref>Midland Bank, London, ''New Issues for British Companies,'' converted from £ to $ at $4.8665.</ref><br />
|-<br />
| 1927<br />
| $3,201,000,000<br />
| $710,509,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1928<br />
| 3,062,000,000<br />
| 983,033,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1929<br />
| 3,668,000,000<br />
| 759,174,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1930<br />
| 3,039,000,000<br />
| 394,186,500<br />
|-<br />
| 1931<br />
| 1,006,000,000<br />
| 155,728,000 <br />
|-<br />
| 1932<br />
| 321,000,000<br />
| 248,191,500<br />
|-<br />
| 1933<br />
| 177,000,000<br />
| 296,856,500<br />
|-<br />
| 1934<br />
| 356,000,000<br />
| 350,388,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1935<br />
| 348,000,000<br />
| 666,710,500<br />
|-<br />
<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
The country now reached a greater crisis than in 1933. The [[National debt]], which was $22 billion when Roosevelt took office and largely a heritage of [[World War I]], now was $37 billion. Taxes had been more than doubled by Roosevelt. <br />
<br />
By April 1938 [[unemployment]] reached several thousand more than when Roosevelt was elected in 1932. This was now Roosevelt’s Double Dip Depression. Voices began to speak up suggesting after all Hoover may have known what he was doing, but here, nine years after the Depression began the fundamental condition of the country was no further advanced than it was at the end of Hoover's three year struggle with it.<br />
<br />
The Second Term was a failure, for FDR had overreached and his efforts to fight the conservatives in the business community, the GOP and his own party (in the South) produced a backlash against excessive presidential control. With war braking out in Europe in 1939, FDR turned to foreign affairs.<br />
<br />
== Third Term ==<br />
Early in 1939 FDR made up his mind to seek a third election in the [[United States presidential election, 1940|presidential election of 1940]]. FDR realized the political difficulties involved in a third nomination so he concocted a "draft Roosevelt" movement. He kept other candidates dangling in hope, including Democratic National Committee Chairman [[James Farley]], whom FDR rejected because he was [[Roman Catholic]], and Secretary of State Cordell Hull. <br />
<br />
Administrative Assistants to Roosevelt included [[James Forrestal]], [[Lauchlin Currie]] and [[David K. Niles]]. Their function was to get information and to condense and summarize it for Roosevelt's use. FDR soon moved Forrestal to the Navy department, where he took over the responsibilities of the incompetent secretary. <br />
<br />
Public opinion on entering the war became polarized in very complicated ways. Conservatives divided into pro-war ("interventionist") and anti-war ("isolationist") blocs, as did liberals. Republicans split and Democrats split. FDR was the leader of the interventionist liberal Democrats, but he was opposed by old allies like [[John L. Lewis]] and [[Joe Kennedy]], and supported by old foes like [[Henry Stimson]].<br />
<br />
In general the dispute was entirely focused on Europe. Virtually every group was hostile to Japan and supported a strong pro-[[Nationalist China]] policy, which FDR pushed vigorously. Tokyo was threatened: end its invasion of China or FDR would--and did at the urging of [[KGB]] agent [[Harry Dexter White]] working as an Undersecretary of the Treasury--cut off Japan's oil supplies. Japan responded to an ultimatum--written by Harry White--with a decision for war. Once Pearl Harbor was attacked (Dec. 7, 1941), all the prior divisions vanished overnight, and all groups supported the war effort. Later stories to the effect that FDR knew about the Pearl Harbor attack in advance were all false fabrications.<br />
<br />
see [[American Homefront, World War II]]<br />
<br />
===Relationship with Stalin===<br />
[[Image:Josephstalin.jpg|thumb|325px|right|Roosevelt in 1941 formed an alliance of convenience with Stalin to defeat Hitler.]] <br />
<br />
In August 1939 [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact|Stalin made an alliance with Hitler]] under which both jointly waged aggressive war against Poland; the two divided Poland between them, as Germany turned toward France and Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland. With Roosevelt strongly supporting France and Britain, the Communist Party USA at Moscow's direction began attacking Roosevelt in the wildest terms and did so for the next twenty-two months. In the 1940 election, pro-Moscow elements in the CIO forced [[John L. Lewis]] to turn against Roosevelt and support the liberal Republican [[Wendell Willkie]]. Roosevelt meanwhile moved right, and brought into top jobs the GOP vice presidential nominee from 1936, Frank Knox (a conservative who became Secretary of the Navy) and conservative Republican lawyer [[Henry Stimson]], who took over the War Department. Rejecting advice from its communist organizers, 90% of CIO members voted for Roosevelt, who was easily elected to a third term.<br />
<br />
Roosevelt was determined to help Britain and at one point after Pearl Harbor [[Winston Churchill]] even moved into the White House to coordinate war strategy. Isolationists, led by the [[America First]] Committee and Senator [[Burton K. Wheeler]] tried to block the moves toward war. <br />
<br />
Roosevelt in February 1940 sharply attacked the Soviet Union:<br />
{{Cquote|In the early days of Communism, I recognized that many leaders in Russia were bringing education and better health and, above all, better opportunity to millions ... I disliked the regimentation ...I abhorred the indiscriminate killings of thousands of innocent victims ....<br />
I heartily deprecated the banishment of religion - though I knew that some day Russia would return to religion for the simple reason that four or five thousand years of recorded history have proven that mankind has always believed in God in spite of many abortive attempts to exile God.<br />
<br />
The Soviet Union, as everybody who has the courage to face the fact knows, is run by a dictatorship as absolute as any other dictatorship in the world. It has allied itself with another dictatorship [Germany], and it has invaded a neighbor [Finland] so infinitesimally small that it could do no conceivable possible harm to the Soviet Union, a neighbor which seeks only to live at peace as a democracy, and a liberal, forward-looking democracy at that.<ref>Quoted in Robert E. Sherwood, ''Roosevelt and Hopkins: An Intimate History'', (1948), [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&photo=/PDFsml_AD/Roosevelt_and_Hopkins-An_Intimate_History-Robert_E_Sherwood-1948-1034pgs-GOV-POL.sml.pdf&id=252&PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 p. 138] pdf.</ref>}}<br />
===World War II===<br />
In June 1941 Germany invaded Russia, and Communists on Moscow's instructions immediately switched from anti-FDR isolationism to support for FDR and demands the US enter the war. The conservative isolationists were convinced that FDR was conniving to somehow trick the American people and enter the war. Public opinion steadily moved to support FDR's aggressive policies against Japan and Germany.<br />
[[File:Warplan.jpg|thumb|400px|Wheeler leaks top secret US war plan three days before Pearl Harbor]]<br />
<br />
In early December 1941 a military officer gave Senator Burton Wheeler, an isolationist liberal Democrat, a copy of the top secret American war plan for fighting Germany. Wheeler gave it to the ''Chicago Tribune'', which published the secrets in a desperate effort to weaken the American military so much that Roosevelt would avoid war. Pearl Harbor came a few days later and Wheeler and the isolationists went quiet.<br />
<br />
The policy makers in Washington--including those at the newly constructed Pentagon--wanted to focus on defeating Germany. Public opinion (and the Navy) insisted on defeating Japan first. Given the military situation, there was little in 1942-43 the U.S. could do to open a ground front in Europe except send military supplies to Britain and Russia, which was done. The war in 1942-43 of necessity focused on Japan, and it was a very hard-fought war primarily with naval aviation. The great American victory at the [[Battle of Midway]] ended the Japanese blitzkrieg and evened out the forces. Japan was unprepared for a long war, and already by early 1942 the U.S. had far more warships and warplanes under construction than Japan did. Before the material edge became decisive, American forces defeated the Japanese at the [[Battle of Guadalcanal]]. By 1943 the "island hopping" campaign under Admiral [[Chester Nimitz]] in the central Pacific, and under General [[Douglas MacArthur]] in the Southwest Pacific was inexorably pushing American forces toward the Japanese home islands, with the goal of invading them and capturing Tokyo.<br />
<br />
American and British troops invaded North Africa in 1942, and Sicily and Italy in 1943. In retrospect these were not major strategic goals, but they did provide the Army with the combat experience needed to prepare for the real invasion of France in June 1944. By then the German Luftwaffe had been destroyed by the U.S. Air Force, and the vast advantage in war material made the German military position hopeless. With the huge Russian armies pressing in from the east, and the smaller but more powerful Allied armies coming in from the west, the Nazi war machine was crushed in 1944-45.<br />
<br />
FDR worked very closely with his military advisors, and followed their strategic advice. His stated policy was fostering diplomatic relations with Britain, the Soviet Union, and the Chinese Nationalists. Stalin publicly disbanded the [[Comintern]] in 1943 in return for [[lend-lease]] aid of food and munitions.<ref><br />
[http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/fi/vol08/no08/stalin.htm ''Has Stalin Revived the Comintern?,''] from ''Fourth International'', September-October 1947, Vol.8 No.8, pp.231-233. Transcribed, edited & formatted by Ted Crawford & David Walters in 2008 for Encyclopedia of Trotskyism Online. Retrieved from marxist.org April 3 2010.</ref> A message from Moscow to all [[KGB]] stations relating to this event is one of the most important messages<ref>[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00008.cfm Venona 142(a) Moscow to Canberra 12 September 1943].<small> Text reads: "change in circumstances - and in particular the dissolution of the [[Comintern]] - necessitates a change in the method used by the workers of our residencies to keep in touch with the leaders of the local [[Communist_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America#Secret_apparatus|Communist]] organizations on intelligence matters. <br/><br />
2. Our workers, by continuing to meet the leader of the Communists, are exposing themselves to danger and are giving cause [''orgs of''] local authorities to suspect that the Comintern is still in existence. <br><br />
3. We propose: <br/><br />
a. That personal contact with leaders of the local Communist organizations should cease and that Communist material should not be accepted for forwarding to the Comintern. <br/><br />
b. That meetings of our workers may take place only with special reliable undercover [ZAKONSPIRIROVANNYJ] contacts of the Communist [D% organizations], who are not suspected by the [''orgs of''] local authorities, exclusively about specific aspects of our intelligence work (acquiring [1 group unidentified] contacts, leads [NAVODKI], rechecking of those who are being cultivated, etc.). For each meeting it is necessary to obtain our consent. <br/><br />
<br />
<br />
Representative of the Soviet Union.<br><br />
<br />
No. 4084 <br><br />
Lt. Gen. [[P.M. Fitin]]. <br><br />
<br />
<br />
Notes: [a] This message is known to have been sent also to NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, and OTTAWA.</small></ref> in the entire corpus of [[VENONA]] translations. This message clearly discloses the KGB's connection to the Comintern and to the national Communist parties. <ref>''Counterintelligence Reader'', National Counterintelligence Center, United States, [http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/ci2/2ch4_a.htm Vol. 2, Ch. 4], n.d.</ref><br />
<br />
===China===<br />
[[John P. Davies]] was assigned to Gen. [[Joseph Stilwell]] as Stilwell's adviser in China. Hopkins made a note at the time: "The President indicated his strong dissatisfaction with the way the whole show was running in China. He stated that Stillwell obviously hated the Chinese and that his cablegrams are sarcastic about the Chinese and this feeling is undoubtedly known to the Generalissimo."<ref>Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 739.</ref>Roosevelt and Hopkins biographer Robert Sherwood wrote that Gen. [[George C. Marshall]] told Hopkins his only serious disagreement with<br />
Hopkins was on the issue of Stilwell. Sherwood adds that "he was unquestionably a serious nuisance to Roosevelt and there were many times when he was on the verge of recalling him."<ref> Roosevelt and Hopkin, Sherwood, pg. 740.</ref><br />
<br />
===Tax revolt in the Democratic party===<br />
<br />
In February 1944 Congress rejected Roosevelt's demand for a $10,500,000,000 tax increase and cut it to $2,300,000,000. Roosevelt vetoed it saying this was a "bill not for relief of the needy but of the greedy." Senator [[Alben Barkley]], Democratic leader, rose on the floor of the Senate to say the veto was "a calculated and deliberate assault upon the legislative integrity of every member of Congress." The entire Senate united in a roar of applause. Barkley declared that after seven years of carrying the [[New Deal]] banner for Roosevelt, he would resign his post as Democratic majority leader and he called on the Congress to preserve its self respect and override the veto. The Senate overrode it 72 to 14 and the House 299 to 95. <br />
[[Image:Fbisilvermasterfilevol15p4.JPG|right|250px|thumb|[[CPUSA]] defector [[Louis Budenz]] testified he could name 400 individuals involved in the [[CPUSA#Secret_apparatus|Communist conspiracy]]; <ref>[http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft296nb15t&chunk.id=d0e6193&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e4718&brand=eschol FBI Headquarters File 100-63, Louis Francis Budenz, Internal Security—C, Serial 122.]</ref> others testified there may have been over 1000.<ref>Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations ([http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/McCarthy_Transcripts.htm McCarthy Hearings 1953-54]).</ref> The [[Silvermaster group]] infiltrated 27 high level KGB operatives into government jobs in the Roosevelt administration<ref><small>So thorough was [[KGB]] penetration of the Roosevelt Administration, that when [[Army Signals Intelligence]] cryptographer [[Meredith Gardner]] extracted the names of [[Hans Bethe]], [[Niels Bohr]], [[Enrico Fermi]], [[Harold Urey]], [[Edward Teller]] and 11 other scientists working on the [[Manhattan Project]] from a December 2, 1944 KGB encypherment, [http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00014.cfm Venona 1699 New York to Moscow, December 2, 1944]. KGB agent [[William Weisband]] watched him do it. ''VENONA: Soviet Espionage and the American Response, 1939-1957'', Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., (Washington, D.C.: [[National Security Agency]], Central Intelligence Agency, 1996) [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/venona-soviet-espionage-and-the-american-response-1939-1957/preface.htm]; The ''Baltimore Sun'' (Laura Sullivan, "SPY'S ROLE LINKED TO US FAILURE ON KOREA," 6/29/00) reported that a report newly declassified by the US National Security Agency (NSA) shows that William Weisband alerted the Soviets to extensive US eavesdropping in 1948, resulting in a complete blackout of information from the communist bloc for more than two years. This crippled the NSA's intelligence gathering efforts in the late 1940s and begins to explain why the US was caught unprepared for the [[DPRK]]'s 1950 invasion of the [[ROK]]. NSA historian David A. Hatch, who authored the report, said, "This report answers several significant questions. Up until now, there has been a great lack of knowledge surrounding some of these events ... and this should help sharpen [the public's] understanding." [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news service for June 29, 2000.] [http://www.nautilus.org/archives/napsnet/dr/0006/JUN29.html#item8] </small></ref><ref><small>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060820054409/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/review/2000/summer/re2-su0.htm ''The Venona Progeny''], Hayen B. Peake, Naval War College Review, Summer 2000, Vol. LIII, No. 3. "[[Venona]] makes absolutely clear that they had active agents in the U.S. State Department, Treasury Department, Justice Department, Senate committee staffs, the military services, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the [[Manhattan Project]], and the [[White House]], as well as wartime agencies. No modern government was more thoroughly penetrated." [[Hayden B. Peake]] is the curator of [[Central Intelligence Agency]]’s (CIA) Historical Intelligence Collection. [http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/P_folder/peake.html]</small></ref> that were still employed in the US government well after World War II ended.<ref>[http://education-research.org/PDFs/Silvermaster015.pdf FBI Silvermaster file Vol. 15, pg. 4 pdf.]</ref><br />
]]<br />
<br />
== Fourth Term ==<br />
<br />
Roosevelt had his closest election in 1944, with a subdued contest that was decided by turnout of FDR allies in the cities and labor unions, and increasingly among soldiers. [[Strom Thurmond]] also supported FDR's decision to seek a fourth term, and referred to Roosevelt as having been the world’s greatest leader. <ref>[http://www.kevinbaker.info/c_wtm.html What Trent Meant], Kevin Baker.</ref><br />
<br />
===Yalta conference===<br />
<br />
At the [[Yalta conference]] in February 1945, victory was in sight in Europe. A [[reparations]] commission was set up to help repay Russia from German assets. Everyone realized that the conquest of eastern Europe by the Red Army guaranteed Soviet dominance, but efforts were made to get promises of fair elections; the promises were made, but the elections were never held. Roosevelt, despite his failing health, seemed to think that he and Stalin would personally iron out any difficulties after the war ended. FDR persuaded Stalin to promise to enter the war against Japan 90 days after Germany surrendered; Stalin did so.<br />
<br />
==Failure of "competitive administration" ==<br />
Roosevelt used a "competitive administration" strategy to maximize presidential power at the cost of confusion, delay and inefficiency. He made sure in each policy area that several top officials had overlapping jurisdictions. They would feud and have to bring the problem to FDR, who wanted to make every final decision. For example, in the case of the [[PWA]] relief program, the competition over the size of expenditure, the selection of the administrator, and the appointment of staff at the state level, led to delays and to the ultimate weakness of PWA as a recovery instrument. [[Harold L. Ickes]] headed the PWA (as well as the Interior Department), and FDR set it up so that Ickes had to continuously fight other top administrators like [[Lewis Douglas]] (the budget director), [[Henry A. Wallace]] (Secretary of Agriculture) and [[Harry Hopkins]] (head of rival relief efforts). The rivalries were just as fierce for other top administrators, many of whom resigned in frustration and (like [[Hugh Johnson]] and [[Raymond Moley]]) even became enemies of Roosevelt.<ref> [[Dean Acheson]] and [[Lewis Douglas]] also resigned in anger but kept quiet, allowing FDR to bring them back during the war. The vocal ones were entered on an enemy's list and permanently barred from serving the nation.</ref><br />
<br />
Roosevelt kept up his divisive strategy during the war, causing enormous confusion and contradictions in economic mobilization. It got so bad that FDR had to publicly humiliate Vice President Wallace and relieve him of all responsibilities. The Navy found a solution, as Admiral [[Ernest King]] deliberately kept FDR in the dark. Even when his fleet was threatened by the Japanese at Midway in May 1942, and King urgently needed the help of the British Navy, he decided not to ask because the request for help would have to go through Roosevelt and King refused to allow the White House to learn what dire peril the nation faced. Lucky for King--very lucky--he won a terrific victory at Midway.<br />
<br />
== Reflections on Christianity ==<br />
<br />
FDR said this about the Bible in an address on October 6, 1935: <br />
<br />
:"We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the [[Bible]] has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic."<br />
<br />
:"Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity."<ref>Quoted in DeMar, ''The Untold Story'', p. 60 and Gabrial Sivan, ''The Bible and Civilization'' (New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co., 1973), p. 178.</ref><br />
<br />
FDR became famous for delivering "fireside chats" over the new medium of [[radio]], and on March 9, 1937 he declared: <br />
<br />
:"I hope that you have re-read the [[United States Constitution| Constitution]] of the United States in these past few weeks. Like the Bible, it ought to be read again and again."<br />
<br />
While running for his third time in a Brooklyn speech, Roosevelt said,<br />
<br />
:"I am certain that the rank and file of patriotic Republicans do not realize the nature of this threat. They should remember, and we must remember, what the collaborative understanding between Communism and Nazism has done to the processes of democracy abroad...<br />
<br />
:"Those forces hate democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization. They oppose democracy because it is Christian. They oppose Christianity because it preaches democracy. Their objective is to prevent democracy from becoming strong. <ref>''Roosevelt and Hopkins'', Sherwood, 1948, pgs. 193-194 (pgs. 211 - 212 pdf).</ref><br />
<br />
As [[World War II]] broke out in Europe, FDR warned:<br />
<br />
:"Those forces hate Democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization."<br />
<br />
The following year, on May 27, 1941, FDR stated in one of his radio addresses: <br />
<br />
:The Nazis are as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God.<br />
<br />
"In his second inaugural address, FDR pledged to do his utmost by 'seeking Divine guidance.' He took that mission further on January 25, 1941, when he wrote a personal prologue to a special edition of the [[New Testament]], which was distributed to millions of U.S. soldiers. 'As Commander-in-Chief,' Roosevelt wrote, 'I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States.' He believed that all American soldiers should have the opportunity to read the words of [[Christ]] in preparing for battle. Once, when joining those soldiers aboard a warship with Winston Churchill, FDR asked the crew and prime minister to join him in singing the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers.' In his final inaugural address, FDR affirmed, "So we pray to Him for the vision to see our way clearly ... to achievement of His will.' "<ref>God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 176</ref><br />
<br />
When American soldiers were landing on the beaches of Normandy, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer during a radio broadcast. <ref>Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odddayp.html Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer], June 6, 1944.</ref><br />
<br />
==Legacy==<br />
[[Image:Dcrosmor.jpg|right|thumb|330px|Statue of the president at [[The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial]] in Washington D.C.]]<br />
<br />
Roosevelt is an admired but still hotly debated president. Many credit Roosevelt with helping the United States survive the Great Depression and with providing solid leadership during World War II. Others, especially conservatives, assert that he uselessly expanded the welfare state, abused executive powers, and badly botched diplomacy before and during World War II.<br />
<br />
Roosevelt's image appears on the dime.<br />
<br />
===Criticism===<br />
It was essential that he do everything in his power to reestablish confidence in the economic system. What the nation needed was more jobs at machines, in ships, in mines and stores creating and distributing goods that were needed and providing wages and profits with which these goods could be purchased. If there are to be jobs for all they must be jobs producing something - goods and services. He began with a sweeping attack upon business and kept it up until the end of [[World War II]]. When Roosevelt came into power business was regarded as some gigantic criminal conspiracy against the welfare of the nation. <br />
<br />
Business cannot function at full measure unless consumption is held within total output, and savings are produced. Those savings then must regularly flow into new investment. New investment means the flow of economic resources into establishing new industries and the expansion of old ones. It means encouraging construction trades, manufacturing, producing and installing new equipment and tools. It means allowing the creation of new private businesses. Instead FDR carried on ceaseless attacks and denouncements of business, warned people against it, subjected businesses to dozens of absurd, semi revolutionary schemes, coupled with deficit financing which ate up all the savings, inflation, utopian panaceas, constant preaching that profit was evil, investors parasites, and businessmen scoundrels and enemies of the people. <ref>''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 4, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/cgi-bin/framed/2767/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Four___Toward_the_Precip.htm ''Toward the Precipice''], Flynn, 1948.</ref><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[Eleanor Roosevelt]]<br />
*[[Michael Whitney Straight]]<br />
*[[Gertrude Pratt]]<br />
*[[Joseph Lash]]<br />
*[[New Ordeal]]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
see also [[New Deal Bibliography]] for a much more detailed guide<br />
<br />
*Alter, Jonathan. ''The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope'' (2006), popular [http://www.amazon.com/Defining-Moment-FDRs-Hundred-Triumph/dp/B000Q6GY1W/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193881373&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search] <br />
* Beschloss, Michael R. ''The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945'' (2002). [http://www.amazon.com/Conquerors-Roosevelt-Destruction-Hitlers-1941-1945/dp/0743244540/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193881516&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Black, Conrad. ''Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom'' (2003). [http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Delano-Roosevelt-Champion-Freedom/dp/1586482823/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193881865&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search], excellent detailed biography by a conservative writer<br />
*Brands, H.W. ''Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt'' (2008)<br />
* Brinkley, Alan. ''Franklin Delano Roosevelt'' (2009) 128pp<br />
* Burns, James MacGregor. vol 1: ''Roosevelt" The Lion and the Fox'' (1956); [http://www.amazon.com/Roosevelt-1882-1940-James-MacGregor-Burns/dp/0156027623/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193881949&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search vol 1]; vol. 2: ''Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945'' (1970), [http://www.amazon.com/Roosevelt-1940-1945-James-MacGregor-Burns/dp/0156027577/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193881949&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search vol 2]; major interpretive scholarly biography, emphasis on politics; vol 2 is on war years and is [http://www.historyebook.org/ online at ACLS e-books]<br />
* Dallek, Robert. ''Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945'' (2nd ed. 1995) scholarly survey of foreign policy [http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Roosevelt-American-Foreign-1932-1945/dp/0195097327/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193881549&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Freidel, Frank. ''Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny'' (1990), One-volume scholarly biography; covers entire life [http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-D-Roosevelt-Rendezvous-Destiny/dp/094570738X/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193881894&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search 2006 reprint edition]<br />
* Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II'' (1995), joint biography by scholar [http://www.amazon.com/No-Ordinary-Time-Franklin-Roosevelt/dp/B000B86FI2/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193883493&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Graham, Otis L. and Meghan Robinson Wander, eds. ''Franklin D. Roosevelt: His Life and Times.'' (1985). encyclopedia by scholars<br />
* Hamby, Alonzo L. ''For the Survival of Democracy: Franklin Roosevelt and the World Crisis of the 1930s'' (2004) major interpretation by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Survival-Democracy-Franklin-Roosevelt-Crisis/dp/0684843404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240397848&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Jenkins, Roy. ''Franklin Delano Roosevelt'' (2003) short popular bio from British perspective<br />
* Kennedy, David M. ''Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945.'' (1999), wide-ranging survey of national affairs by scholar [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=52284041 online edition]<br />
* Larrabee, Eric. '' Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War''. History of how FDR handled the war [http://www.amazon.com/Commander-Chief-Roosevelt-Lieutenants-Bluejacket/dp/1591144558/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193883793&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Leuchtenberg, William E. Franklin D. ''Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940.'' (1963). Remains the standard scholarly interpretive history of era. [http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-D-Roosevelt-New-Deal/dp/0061330256/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193883672&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Moley, Raymond. ''After Seven Years'' (1939), very important conservative memoir by ex-Brain Truster [http://www.questia.com/library/book/after-seven-years-by-raymond-moley.jsp online edition]<br />
* Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr., ''The Age of Roosevelt'', 3 vols, (1957-1960), the classic narrative history. Strongly supports FDR. <br />
*Smith, Jean Edward. ''FDR'' (2007) 885pp; good recent biography[http://www.amazon.com/FDR-Jean-Edward-Smith/dp/1400061210/ref=pd_ts_b_3?ie=UTF8&s=books excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
====notes====<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<small>{{reflist|2}}</small><br />
{{DEFAULTSORT: Roosevelt, Franklin D.}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/fdr/ FDR cartoon archive], an especially useful source for understanding public opinion<br />
*[http://www.nps.gov/hofr/ Hyde Park NY Home of FDR]<br />
*[http://www.nps.gov/roca/ Campobello Island Summer Home of FDR]<br />
*[http://www.fdr-littlewhitehouse.org/ Warm Springs GA FDR Retreat]<br />
*[http://www.nps.gov/frde/ FDR Memorial Washington DC] <br />
* [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/ The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum]<br />
** [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/audio.html Audio Archive]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data.php Academic Data Related to the Roosevelt Administration]<br />
<br />
===Speeches and quotations: audio and transcripts===<br />
* [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt famous quotes]<br />
* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu The American Presidency Project] at [[University of California at Santa Barbara]]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php Public Papers of the Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php State of the Union Addresses]<br />
*** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=14683 1934], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=14890 1935], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15095 1936], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15336 1937], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15517 1938], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15684 1939], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15856 1940], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16092 1941], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16253 1942], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16386 1943], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16518 1944]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php State of the Union Written Messages]<br />
*** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16595 1945]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/inaugurals.php Inaugural Addresses]<br />
*** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=14473 1933], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15349 1937], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16022 1941], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16607 1945]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/fireside.php Fireside Chats]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/elections.php Presidential Elections]<br />
*** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1932 1932], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1936 1936], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1940 1940], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1944 1944]<br />
** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/medialist.php?presid=32 32 Audio/Video Clips of FDR]<br />
* [http://www.whitehousetapes.org/pages/tapes_fdr.htm Roosevelt's Secret White House Recordings] via [[University of Virginia]]<br />
* [http://www.evtv1.com/index.asp-itemnum-220 FDR - Day of Infamy video clip] (2 min.)<br />
* [http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/showfindingaid.cfm?findaidid=RooseveltFD Audio clips of speeches]<br />
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/froos1.htm First Inaugural Address], via [[Yale University]]<br />
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/froos2.htm Second Inaugural Address], via [[Yale University]]<br />
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/froos3.htm Third Inaugural Address], via [[Yale University]]<br />
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/froos4.htm Fourth Inaugural Address], via [[Yale University]]<br />
* [http://www.hpol.org/fdr/chat/ Court "Packing" Speech March 9, 1937]<br />
* [http://history.acusd.edu/gen/text/us/fdr1940.html University of Virginia graduating class speech ("Stab in the Back" speech) June 10, 1940]<br />
<br />
===Other===<br />
* [http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fdroosevelt Short essays by scholars]<br />
* [http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/fdr/index.html An archive of political cartoons from the FDR years; highly revealing and out of copyright]<br />
* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-767&amp;pid=s-53 Warm Springs and FDR's Polio Treatment]<br />
* [http://www.davidpietrusza.com/FDR-links.html Franklin D. Roosevelt Links]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]<br />
[[Category:New Deal]]<br />
[[Category:World War II]]<br />
[[Category:Great Depression]]<br />
[[Category:Progressive Era]]<br />
[[Category:World War I]]<br />
[[Category:Liberals]]<br />
[[Category:Broke with FDR]]<br />
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Lyndon_B._Johnson&diff=883418Lyndon B. Johnson2011-06-27T17:18:49Z<p>Est300: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Officeholder<br />
|name=Lyndon B. Johnson<br />
|image=Lyndon johnson.jpg<br />
|party=[[Democratic]]<br />
|spouse=[[Lady Bird Johnson]]<br />
|religion=[[Disciple of Christ]]<br />
|offices=<br />
{{Officeholder/president<br />
|country=the United States<br />
|number=36th<br />
|terms=November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969<br />
|vp=[[Hubert Humphrey]]<br />
|preceded=[[John F. Kennedy]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Richard Nixon]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/vice president<br />
|country=the United States<br />
|number=37th<br />
|terms=January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963<br />
|president=[[John F. Kennedy]]<br />
|preceded=[[Richard Nixon]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Hubert Humphrey]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/senator<br />
|state=Texas<br />
|terms=January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1961<br />
|preceded=W. Lee O'Daniel<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[William Blakley]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/representative<br />
|state=Texas<br />
|district=10th<br />
|terms=April 10, 1937 – January 3, 1949<br />
|preceded=[[James P. Buchanan]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Homer Thornberry]]<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
'''Lyndon Baines Johnson''' (1908–1973), often referred to as '''LBJ''', was the 36th [[President of the United States of America]] (1963–1969). After serving in the House and Senate since 1937, Johnson was elected Vice President in 1960, and in November, 1963, he succeeded to the presidency following President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s assassination. Although he had a reputation as a moderate in the 1950s, he seized the leadership of liberalism as president, moved the [[Democratic Party]] to the left, and pushed through Congress the [[Great Society]], comprising liberal legislation including civil rights laws, Medicare (free health care for the elderly), Medicaid (free health care for the poor), aid to education, and a major "War on Poverty". Simultaneously, he escalated the American involvement in the [[Vietnam War]], from 16,000 American soldiers in 1963 to 550,000 in early 1968.<br />
<br />
Johnson won reelection in a landslide in 1964 over conservative leader [[Barry Goldwater]], and in 1965 succeeded in obtaining new liberal legislation. Johnson's popularity steadily declined after 1966 and his reelection bid in 1968 collapsed as a result of turmoil in his Democratic party over Vietnam, race, and widespread crime and rioting. He withdrew from the race to concentrate on peacemaking. Johnson was renowned for his domineering personality and arm twisting of powerful politicians. <br />
<br />
==Early years==<br />
Johnson was maternally descended from a pioneer Baptist clergyman, George Washington Baines, who pastored numerous small rural churches in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Baines was also the president of [[Baylor University]] during the [[American Civil War]]. George Baines was the grandfather of Johnson's mother, Rebekah Baines Johnson. <br />
<br />
Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas, in a small farmhouse in a poor farming area along the Pedernales River. His parents, Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr. and the former Rebekah Baines, had three girls and two boys. The nearby village of Johnson City, Texas, was named after a relative who came from Georgia. In school, Johnson was an awkward, talkative youth and was elected president of his eleventh-grade class.<ref>www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/36_l_johnson/tguide/l_johnson_dk.html</ref> He graduated from Johnson City High School in 1924.<ref>http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/biographys.hom/lbj_bio.asp</ref><br />
<br />
In 1926, Johnson enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers' College (now called Texas State University-San Marcos). He worked his way through school, participated in debate and campus politics, edited the school newspaper, and graduated in 1931. Biographer Robert Caro asserts he was known as "the biggest liar on campus." <ref>Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power. New York: Alfred A Knopf, Inc. 1982. p. xx</ref> The college years refined his remarkable skills of persuasion and political organization. One year Johnson taught mostly Mexican American children at the Welhausen School in Cotulla, Texas. When he returned to San Marcos in 1965, after having signed the [[Higher Education Act]], Johnson looked back:<br />
:"''I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little Welhausen Mexican School, and I remember even yet the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically every one of those children because they were too poor. And I think it was then that I made up my mind that this Nation could never rest while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American''."<ref> see [http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/lbjforkids/edu_whca370-text.shtm "Remarks at Southwest Texas State College Upon Signing the Higher Education Act of 1965"]</ref><br />
<br />
==Early political career==<br />
After graduation, Johnson briefly taught public speaking at Genesee Community College and debate in a Houston high school, then entered politics. Johnson's father had served five terms in the Texas legislature and was a close friend to one of Texas's rising political figures, Congressman [[Sam Rayburn]]. In 1930, Johnson campaigned for Texas state Senator Welly Hopkins in his run for Congress. Hopkins recommended him to Congressman [[Richard M. Kleberg]], who appointed Johnson as Kleberg's legislative secretary. LBJ was elected speaker of the "Little Congress," a group of Congressional aides, where he cultivated Congressmen, newspapermen and lobbyists. Johnson's friends soon included aides to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], as well as fellow Texans such as Vice President [[John Nance Garner]]. He became a surrogate son to Sam Rayburn.<br />
<br />
Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor (already nicknamed "Lady Bird") of Karnack, Texas on November 17, 1934 after she had attended Georgetown University Law School for several months. They had two daughters, Lynda Bird Johnson, born in 1944, and Luci Baines Johnson, born in 1947. Johnson enjoyed giving people and animals his own LBJ initials; his daughters' given names are examples, as was his dog Little Beagle Johnson. <br />
<br />
In 1935, he was appointed head of the Texas [[National Youth Administration]] (NYA), which enabled him to use the government to create educational and job opportunities for young people. He resigned two years later to run for Congress. Johnson was a notoriously tough boss throughout his career, often demanding long workdays and work on weekends; he worked as hard as any of them.<ref> Woods, (2006), p. 131 </ref><br />
<br />
==House years==<br />
Johnson resigned from his NYA job in 1937 to run successfully in a special election for a seat in the [[House of Representatives]] representing [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] and the surrounding Hill Country. He ran on a [[New Deal]] platform and was effectively aided by his wife, Lady Bird Johnson.<br />
<br />
President Roosevelt found Johnson to be a welcome ally and conduit for information, particularly with regards to issues concerning internal politics in Texas (informally dubbed "Operation Texas") and the machinations of Vice President Garner and House Speaker Sam Rayburn. Johnson was immediately appointed to the powerful Naval Affairs Committee. He worked for rural electrification and other improvements for his district. Johnson steered the projects towards contractors which he personally knew, such as the Brown Brothers, Herman and George, who would finance much of Johnson's future career.<ref>Caro, (1982) is full of details.</ref> In 1941, he ran for the U.S. Senate (while not giving up his House seat) in a special election against the sitting governor, radio personality W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel. Johnson was not expected to win against the popular governor, but he ran a strong race and was declared the winner in unofficial returns. He ultimately was defeated by controversial official returns in an election marked by massive fraud on the part of both campaigns.<br />
<br />
In 1948, Johnson ran in another controversial Senate race, this time against former governor Coke Stevenson. After no candidate won a majority of the votes in the election, Johnson defeated Stevenson in a run-off election. After joining the Senate, Johnson established relationships with several senior senators, including [[Richard Russell]]. Johnson was appointed to the powerful [[Armed Services Committee]] in 1950, which brought him into the public spotlight. He became the leader of the [[Democratic Party]] in the Senate in 1953. Johnson sought the Democratic nomination for president prior to the [[United States presidential election, 1960|1960 election]], but accepted the nomination for vice-president following Kennedy's nomination.<br />
<br />
==Presidency==<br />
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into the [[President of the United States of America|Office of the President]] just hours after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The [[Oath of Office]] took place aboard [[Air Force One]] (en route to [[Washington DC]] from [[Dallas]]), was administered by [[Sarah T. Hughes]] (one of the first justices to hear and write the decision for [[Roe v. Wade]] in favor of [[abortion]]). <ref>University of North Texas Libraries, Sarah T. Hughes Collection, http://www.library.unt.edu/archives/historical-manuscripts/historical-manuscripts-exhibits/hughes/</ref> Also, since no Bible could be found aboard Air Force One, Johnson recited the oath with his hand on a [[Roman Catholic]] [[missal]] instead.<ref>New York Times, "After a Time of Tragedy, a Beginning Toward the 'Great Society,'" January 1973. Online at http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/04/12/specials/johnson-tragedy.html</ref><br />
<br />
As President, Johnson greatly expanded the federal government with his [[Great Society]] programs. He played a key role in helping the [[civil rights movement]] win legislative victories, pushing for the adoption of the Civil Rights Act (1964), which outlawed segregation, and the Voting Rights Act (1965), which guaranteed African-Americans' right to vote. He also greatly expanded American involvement in [[Vietnam]] (see [[Vietnam War]]). Although Johnson won the 1964 presidential election in a landslide over Republican [[Barry Goldwater]], his popularity plunged as the death toll from the conflict in Vietnam steadily increased. In early 1968, faced with plummeting poll numbers and mounting public opposition to his foreign policy, Johnson announced that he would neither seek nor accept his party's nomination for the presidency in 1968. It is widely thought that had he run, he would have been trounced in the primaries or in the subsequent general election - eventually won by Republican [[Richard M. Nixon]].<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
===Biographies===<br />
* Caro, Robert A. ''The Years of Lyndon Johnson'' (3 volumes as of 2006): ''The Path to Power'' (1982); ''Means of Ascent'' (1990); ''Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson'' (2002). The most detailed biography, extends to 1960; generally hostile to LBJ; See Dallek and Woods for balanced biographies; [http://www.amazon.com/Path-Power-Years-Lyndon-Johnson/dp/0679729453/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189836030&sr=1-2 vol 1 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]; [http://www.amazon.com/Means-Ascent-Years-Lyndon-Johnson/dp/067973371X/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189836030&sr=1-3 vol 2 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]; [http://www.amazon.com/Master-Senate-Lyndon-Johnson-Vintage/dp/0394720954/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189836030&sr=1-1 vol 3 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]<br />
* Dallek, Robert. ''Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908–1960'' (1991), [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59394514 online edition vol 1]; ''Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961–1973'' (1998) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=65196503 online edition vol 2]; also: '' Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President'' (2004). A 400-page abridged version of his 2 volume scholarly biography, [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=103184871 online edition of short version].<br />
* Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Lyndon Johnson & the American Dream'' (1977). A character study.<br />
* Schulman, Bruce J. ''Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism: A Brief Biography with Documents'' (1995) <br />
* Woods, Randall. ''LBJ: Architect of American Ambition'' (2006). A highly detailed scholarly biography (1000 pages). [http://www.amazon.com/LBJ-Architect-American-Randall-Woods/dp/0684834588/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189835998&sr=1-1 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]<br />
<br />
===Presidential years===<br />
* Altschuler, Bruce E.; ''LBJ and the Polls'' (1990) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=37809550 online edition]<br />
* Andrew, John A. ''Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society'' (1999) 224 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1566631858/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]<br />
* Bernstein, Irving. ''Guns or Butter: The Presidency of Lyndon Johnson'' 1994. <br />
* Bornet, Vaughn Davis. ''The Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson''. 1983<br />
* Branch, Taylor. ''Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63'' (1989) [http://www.amazon.com/Parting-Waters-America-Years-1954-63/dp/0671687425/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208722057&sr=1-31 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Branch, Taylor. ''Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Pillar-Fire-America-Years-1963-65/dp/0684848090/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208722178&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Branch, Taylor. ''At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68'' (2007)<br />
* Divine, Robert A., ed. ''The Johnson Years. Vol. 1: Foreign Policy, the Great Society and the White House.'' 1981; essays by scholars <br />
* Divine, Robert A., ed. ''The Johnson Years. Vol. 2: Vietnam, the Environment, and Science.'' 1987; essays by scholars<br />
* Divine, Robert A., ed. ''The Johnson Years. Vol. 3: LBJ at Home and Abroad''. 1994; essays by scholars [http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Years-Three-Home-Abroad/dp/0700606556/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189836030&sr=1-5 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]<br />
* Firestone, Bernard J., and Robert C. Vogt, eds. ''Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Uses of Power.'' (1988); essays by scholars [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=23324778 online edition]<br />
* Graham, Hugh Davis. ''The Civil Rights Era: Origins and Development of National Policy, 1960-1972'' (1990) <br />
* Gould, Lewis L. ''Lady Bird Johnson and the Environment.'' 1988. <br />
* Lichtenstein, Nelson, ed. ''Political Profiles: The Johnson Years''. 1976. short biographies of 400+ key politicians<br />
* Mann, Robert. ''The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell, and the Struggle for Civil Rights.'' 1996. <br />
* Milkis, Sidney M. and Jerome M. Mileur, eds. ''The Great Society And The High Tide Of Liberalism'' (2005) 490pp of essays by scholars; [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1558494936/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]<br />
* Redford, Emmette S., and Marlan Blissett. ''Organizing the Executive Branch: The Johnson Presidency.'' 1981. <br />
* Shesol, Jeff. ''Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud That Shaped a Decade'' 1997. <br />
* White, Theodore H. ''The Making of the President, 1964'' 1965. [http://www.historyebook.org/ online at ACLS e-books]<br />
* Zarefsky, David. ''President Johnson's War on Poverty'' 1986.<br />
<br />
===Vietnam===<br />
* Barrett, David Marshall. ''Advice and Dissent: An Organizational Analysis of the Evolution of Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam Advisory System, 1965–1968.'' (University of Notre Dame, 1990)<br />
* Berman, Larry. ''Lyndon Johnson's War: The Road to Stalemate in Vietnam'' (1991)<br />
* Brands, H. W. ''The Wages of Globalism: Lyndon Johnson and the Limits of American Power '' (1997)<br />
* Casey, Francis Michael. ''The Vietnam Policy of President Lyndon Baines Johnson in Response to the Theory of the Protracted Conflict as Applied in the Politics of Indochina: A Case Study of Threat Perception and Assessment in the Crisis Management Process of a Pluralistic Society.'' (Claremont Graduate School, 1976)<br />
* Cherwitz, Richard Arnold. ''The Rhetoric of the Gulf of Tonkin: A Study of the Crisis Speaking of President Lyndon B. Johnson.'' (University of Iowa, 1978)<br />
* Goodnight, Lisa Jo. ''The Conservative Voice of a Liberal President: An Analysis of Lyndon B. Johnson's Vietnam Rhetoric.'' (Purdue University, 1993)<br />
* Kaiser, David E. ''American tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson, and the origins of the Vietnam War.'' (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000) ISBN 0-674-00225-3<br />
* Logevall, Fredrik Bengt Johan. ''Fear to Negotiate: Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War, 1963–1965.'' (Yale University, 1993)<br />
* Turner, Kathleen Jane. ''The Effect of Presidential-Press Interaction on Lyndon B. Johnson's Vietnam War Rhetoric.'' (Purdue University, 1978)<br />
* Vandiver, Frank E. ''Shadows of Vietnam: Lyndon Johnson's Wars'' (1997) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=53311933 online edition]<br />
* Woods, Randall B. "The Politics of Idealism: Lyndon Johnson, Civil Rights, and Vietnam," ''Diplomatic History'' (2007) 31 (1), 1–18. [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/J.1467-7709.2007.00599.X online at Blackwell-Synergy]]<br />
<br />
==Primary sources==<br />
* Barrett David M. ed. "Lyndon B. Johnson's Vietnam Papers: A Documentary Collection" (1997). Documents from LBJ Library and other archives.<br />
* Beschloss Michael R. ed. ''Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963–1964'' (1997). Transcribed recordings of LBJ's phone calls.<br />
* Beschloss, Michael R. ed. ''Reaching for Glory: Lyndon Johnson's Secret White House Tapes, 1964-1965'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Reaching-Glory-Lyndon-Johnsons-1964-1965/dp/074322714X/ref=sr_1_7/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189836030&sr=1-7 excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]<br />
* Califano Joseph A., Jr. ''The Triumph & Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson'' (1991). By a cabinet member.<br />
* [http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/ERP/ Council of Economic Advisors, ''Economic Report of the President'' (annual 1947- )], complete series online; important analysis of current trends and policies, plus statistcial tables<br />
* Gallup, George H. ed. ''The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935–1971, volume 3: 1959–1971'' (1972). Summary of poll data.<br />
* Johnson Lyndon B. ''The Vantage Point: Perspectives on the Presidency, 1963–1969'' (1971). LBJ's memoirs.<br />
* ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson'' (10 volumes, GPO, 1965-70). All speeches and official statements.<br />
* Reedy, George ''Lyndon B. Johnson: A Memoir'' (1982), ISBN 0-8362-6610-2. A memoir by the press secretary.<br />
<br />
{{USPresidents}}<br />
{{USVicePresidents}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT: Johnson, Lyndon B.}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Democratic Party]]</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=John_F._Kennedy&diff=883416John F. Kennedy2011-06-27T17:17:51Z<p>Est300: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Officeholder<br />
|name=John F. Kennedy<br />
|image=John_kennedy.jpg<br />
|party=[[Democratic]]<br />
|spouse=[[Jacqueline Kennedy|Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy]]<br />
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]] <br />
|offices=<br />
{{Officeholder/president<br />
|country=the United States<br />
|number=35th<br />
|terms=January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963<br />
|vp=[[Lyndon Johnson]]<br />
|preceded=[[Dwight Eisenhower]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Lyndon Johnson]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/senator<br />
|state=Massachusetts<br />
|terms=January 3, 1953 – December 22, 1960<br />
|preceded=Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=Benjamin A. Smith<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/representative<br />
|state=Massachusetts<br />
|district=11th<br />
|terms=January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1953 <br />
|preceded=James Michael Curley<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
'''John Fitzgerald Kennedy''', often called '''JFK''', (May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963) was the 35<sup>th</sup> [[President of the United States of America]], serving for 1033 days in 1961-63. He was the youngest person elected president and one of the most glamorous and beloved. He did not accomplish a great deal while alive, but after his assassination he became a legendary figure in whom admirers saw the ideals of American mythology incarnated.<br />
<br />
The [[Kennedy Family]] had long been leaders of the Irish Catholic wing of the [[Democratic Party]]; JFK was middle-of-the-road on domestic issues and conservative on foreign policy, sending military forces into Cuba and Vietnam. <br />
<br />
In Congress the [[Conservative Coalition]] blocked nearly all of his domestic programs, so there were few changes in domestic policy, even as the civil rights movement gained strength. <br />
<br />
The Kennedy style called for youth, dynamism, vigor and an intellectual approach to aggressive new policies in foreign affairs. The downside was his inexperience in foreign affairs, standing in stark contrast to the vast experience of the president he replaced, Republican [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. Kennedy's rashness and inexperience caused a national humiliation in 1961 as he sent CIA-trained Cuban exiles into an ill-prepared attack on Castro's Cuba. At the [[Bay of Pigs]], all Kennedy's invaders were killed or captured, and he was forced to ransom them for cash. Kennedy's supporters blamed the fiasco on Eisenhower. Russian boss [[Nikita Khrushchev]], seeing for himself Kennedy's inexperience at a summit conference, threw up the [[Berlin Wall]] as the Soviets escalated the [[Cold War]] regarding the status of Berlin, predicting correctly that Kennedy's response would be weak. Khrushchev went too far in 1962 when he sent nuclear missiles into Cuba aimed at the U.S. For the first time since Pearl harbor -- or indeed since Washington and New Orleans were attacked in the [[War of 1812]]-- the U.S. was vulnerable to a major attack by an enemy power. Kennedy and Khrushchev reached a compromise whereby the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba publicly (giving Kennedy a public relations triumph), while Kennedy secretly removed American missiles from Turkey aimed at the Soviets, and also promised that America would never invade Cuba—a promise still in effect in 2009. Vietnam proved a trap for Kennedy as he sent in 16,000 military advisors to prop up an ineffective regime in South Vietnam. Historians are uncertain whether or how Kennedy would have avoided the failures of [[Lyndon Johnson]] in Vietnam, for Kennedy himself had no definite plans of what to do.<br />
<br />
He was assassinated in November 1963 by a [[Communist]] sympathizer, [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], and became a national icon and martyr. His reputation has since been dimmed by news of his repeated philandering. He is best known for his call to civic virtue:<br />
{{cquote|'''And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.'''|4=John Kennedy's [[John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address|Inaugural Address]]|5=<ref>http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/John_F_Kennedy/5.htm</ref>}}<br />
<br />
==Career==<br />
Educated at private schools and (following numerous relatives) Harvard College, young Kennedy was an indifferent student until the war in Europe focused his attention. Extensive interviews with major British politicians and observers led to an unusually precocious senior thesis that became an influential book Why England Slept (1940). As second son in the powerful [[Kennedy Family]], he was marked for an intellectual career as a writer or journalist, while his older brother Joseph was slated for politics by their hyper-manipulative father, [[Joseph P. Kennedy]]. The brother’s death in combat, combined with JFK’s heroic war record, set the stage for his political debut as a Congressional candidate in 1946.<br />
===Medical===<br />
Kennedy was the sickest president since [[William Henry Harrison]], but he successfully kept his multiple maladies a secret from the press and policy makers. Besides Addison's disease, Kennedy's most serious problem was chronic back pain, which surfaced when he strained an unstable back (probably birth-related) on a motor trip in 1938. He further aggravated it while playing tennis in 1940 and during PT boat service during the war. Surgery in 1944 only worsened the condition; by 1954 Kennedy found the pain so acute that he underwent back surgery once again despite the risk of an Addisonian crisis, which nearly took his life.<ref> Dallek (2003); James N. Giglio, "Why Another Kennedy Book?" ''Reviews in American History,'' Volume 31, Number 4, December 2003, pp. 645-656 in [[Project MUSE]]</ref> <br />
<br />
As a teenager, Kennedy was in and out of the country's best hospitals for chronic colitis, stomach problems, and an undisclosed blood condition, which was at first mistakenly diagnosed as leukemia. Dr. Janet Travell, a specialist in the treatment of muscular disorders, was his primary physician after 1955, but other specialists tried any number of different treatments. As president he took seven powerful prescription drugs daily including hydrocortisone, fludrocortisone acetate, and Meticorten for Addison's disease, a malfunction of the adrenal glands; and T3 for hypothyroidism. In addition he regularly took Equanil for anxiety and tension; for his gastrointestinal problems he took anti-spasmodics Lomotil and Bentyl; for weight gain a daily dose of testosterone; and Chlor-Trimeton for his allergies. White House physicians were alarmed when they learned he was seeing Dr. Max Jacobson, a New York City celebrity physician, who injected him with a concoction of amphetamines, steroids, calcium, placenta, and vitamins, a potentially dangerous combination which pepped him up.<ref> Dallek (2003)</ref><br />
<br />
Historians have not identified a single policy decision that seems to have been affected by his physical condition or medical treatments; they believe he never took any illegal drugs.<ref> Giglio (2003)</ref><br />
<br />
==Politics==<br />
Although the father had abandoned Boston in frustration, JFK’s return to the city restored the family’s traditional power base among the large and powerful Irish-American community in Massachusetts. Strong family connections with the Chicago Irish political community (led by Mayor [[Richard J. Daley]]) augmented his national Catholic base. JFK always had two sets of advisors, an inner circle of Irish politicians who planned his campaigns, and a Protestant-Jewish coterie of intellectuals (mostly from Harvard) who promoted his stature as the intellectual in politics. That image was solidified by the Pulitzer Prize awarded his ''Profiles in Courage'' (1956). JFK possessed powerful assets: an excellent speaker and glib commentator on major issues, a middle-of-the-road political record that offended no one, strong expertise in foreign policy, articulate anti-Communism, unfailing charm and stage presence, a national network of Irish allies, a Catholic base that comprised a fourth of the electorate, and an immense purse that was ready to fund his ambitions, not to mention innumerable relatives who campaigned endlessly on his behalf. <br />
<br />
JFK fought his way into the Senate in 1952 by defeating incumbent Republican [[Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.]], the archetypal Yankee. With the national Democratic party leaderless, JFK largely ignored the old-boy Senate (controlled by his rival [[Lyndon Johnson]]) to display his talents through newspaper and television interviews, magazine articles, and highly publicized speeches to Democratic party gatherings in every part of the country. Aided by his closest advisor, his brother [[Robert Kennedy]], JFK appealed to conservatives by tolerating [[Joe McCarthy]]<ref>JFK's father Joe Kennedy was a major supporter and close personal friend of McCarthy, and Robert worked for a while for McCarthy. McCarthy dated at least one of JFK's sisters.</ref> and instead launching relentless attacks on corrupt labor leaders, especially [[Jimmy Hoffa]] of the [[Teamsters Union]]. <br />
<br />
The Kennedy family represented the conservative wing of the Democratic party, and was known for its anti-Communism and close ties with Republican Senator [[Joe McCarthy]] Many liberal Democrats, led by [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], distrusted JFK primarily because they could never forget the father’s break with Franklin Roosevelt or the family’s support for McCarthy. Yet with the fading away of [[Adlai Stevenson]] (the liberal Democratic candidate in 1952 and 1956), liberals lacked a viable candidate of their own.<br />
<br />
==Nomination==<br />
By 1960 JFK was the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination to face [[Richard M. Nixon]], with the biggest question mark whether his Catholic base of support would be outweighed by anti-Catholicism of the sort that hurt [[Al Smith]] so badly in 1928. Of course prohibition was no longer an issue, and fear of Tammany-like bossism had faded away with the demise of most big city machines. The Kennedy juggernaut defeated rival [[Hubert Humphrey]], a liberal, in the West Virginia primary, a state with so much poverty and so few Catholics that party leaders were convinced they had a winner. Kennedy won over the party’s intellectuals by his effective academic connections, while shaming doubters by a brilliant performance before the Protestant ministers of Houston. There he enunciated the position that he did not speak for the Catholic Church on matters of religion, and it did not speak for him on public affairs. He was able to take that position because there were no high intensity moral issues such as abortion before the public. <br />
<br />
Although JFK’s religiosity consisted of nominal attendance at Sunday Mass, he excited tens of millions of Catholics who saw his election as president as confirmation of their full recognition as true Americans. With 8 of 10 Catholics voting for Kennedy, he ran up majorities in ethnic strongholds like Chicago that provided the narrow margin of victory against Richard Nixon. Apart from a few pockets of antipopery among some Midwestern Lutherans and Southern Baptists, fears of Catholicism largely disappeared from the voting booth after 1960, and Kennedy gets credit for bringing Catholics into the American political mainstream.<br />
<br />
==Foreign policy==<br />
President Kennedy was primarily interested in foreign policy. Weeks after his [[John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address|memorable inaugural address]] sounded the tocsin for vigorous anti-communism, he encountered disaster when his invasion of Cuba failed at the [[Bay of Pigs]] in 1961, and he was forced to ransom thousands of soldiers who were captured by [[Fidel Castro]]'s Communist regime. Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]], sensing weakness, pushed hard on the Berlin issue, and was able to build the Berlin Wall despite Kennedy’s anguished rhetoric, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" ("I am a Berliner!")<br />
===Peace Corps===<br />
He launched the [[Peace Corps]] by executive order in 1961, putting his brother-in-law [[Sargent Shriver]] (b. 1915 ) in charge. It was not designed as a liberal antipoverty program; rather it was designed to be a powerful new weapon in the Cold War arsenal, one that could reach the people directly at the grass roots not merely their national leaders. Kennedy in the 1960 campaign promised to form the agency, saying:<br />
:"I believe that as a counter to the flood of well trained and accomplished tacticians now helping nations with their problems that the Communists are sending out, I believe an American Peace Corps...could be trained to help these people live a life of freedom in agriculture, in handiwork, in roadbuilding, in government and other skills, young Americans who will represent the cause of freedom around the globe."<ref> Quote [http://www.jfklink.com/speeches/jfk/nov60/jfk041160_chicago02.html Nov. 4, 1960, Chicago speech online] see also T. Zane Reeves, ''The Politics of the Peace Corps & Vista'' (1988) p. 20.</ref> <br />
<br />
The Peace Corps has been endorsed by all subsequent presidents; nearly 200,000 Americans have served and it is still in operation, albeit with a modest record of achievement.<br />
<br />
===Ireland===<br />
Kennedy paid a state visit to [[Ireland]] in 1962 - the first state visit of an American President to the country, which had secured independence from Britain forty years earlier. Kennedy visited his ancestral home in County Wexford, and was greeted by huge crowds in the cities of [[Dublin]], [[Limerick]] and [[Cork]]. He told crowds that once he had completed his term as president, he would like to become US Ambassador to Ireland, and live there. Among the many dignitaries at Kennedy's funeral a year later was [[President of Ireland|Irish President]] [[Eamon de Valera]].<br />
<br />
===Cuban Missile Crisis===<br />
see [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]<br />
<br />
Khrushchev and Castro went too far in 1962, secretly setting up medium range missiles in Cuba equipped with nuclear warheads that threatened the southeast as far as Atlanta. In his greatest moment, Kennedy rejected invasion plans but imposed a blockade and demanded the missiles be removed immediately. Khrushchev publicly backed down, but privately got Kennedy to remove American missiles from Turkey, while Castro secured the promise that the United States would never invade his island. The Cuban missile crisis reversed JFK’s image of ineptness in foreign policy, but his quiet, continuous escalation of military involvement in Vietnam set the stage for the whirlwind reaped by his successor.<br />
<br />
==Domestic policy==<br />
As senator, JFK had shown limited interest in domestic affairs apart from labor union corruption. As president he ignored that issue. Working with his high-powered economic advisors he proposed a Keynesian program to stimulate the economy, not by higher spending but by tax cuts. No matter: none of his domestic policy initiatives went anywhere. Congress was effectively controlled a conservative coalition of Republicans and southern Democrats; the alignment remained unchanged after the status-quo midterm elections of 1962. <br />
<br />
Kennedy authorized the de-segregation of federal housing and proposed the civil rights bill, passed after his assassination. He pledged to put a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s, a pledge that was later fulfilled after his death. Likewise he proposed tax cuts, which were approved after his death. <br />
<br />
===Civil rights===<br />
A new issue that Kennedy had not anticipated blazed into view as the civil rights movement in the South, led by Martin Luther King, produced dramatic confrontations with segregationist Democrats, especially Governor George Wallace of Alabama, and Ross Barnett of Mississippi. A month before the 1962 election Kennedy sent federal marshals and Army MP’s to enforce a federal court order that African American student James Meredith be admitted to the University of Mississippi. Violent resistance by townspeople left two civilians dead, hundreds injured, and 166 federals injured. The confrontation in Alabama in 1963 was nonviolent, and boosted Wallace’s visibility as a leader of southern Democrats. JFK ignored the risks to his southern base and spoke out in favor of civil rights legislation, but as in so many instances, no legislation was passed.<br />
<br />
==Legacy==<br />
[[Image:JFK bust.jpg|thumb|Bust of John F. Kennedy by Robert Berks.]]<br />
Kennedy’s assassination in November, 1963, was a stunning shock to all Americans. Pierson (2007) argues that the liberal media turned Kennedy's death into a martyrdom against racism, ignoring Kennedy's weak interest in race and his strong opposition to Communism. Lee Harvey Oswald's Communist ties were downplayed and instead the conservative city of [[Dallas]] was made the guilty party. Incoming president Lyndon Johnson used the martyrdom theme to rally support for his liberal programs, painting them as memorials to Kennedy until Johnson won reelection in 1964 by a landslide over conservative leader [[Barry Goldwater]].<br />
<br />
<br />
The Catholic community took it hard, and immediately elevated JFK to a sort of sainthood status, celebrating the miracle that he had liberated them from second class citizenship. Johnson in 1964 successfully retained the Catholic base JFK had fostered, but that was the last hurrah. By 1966 Catholics started showing their disillusionment with Johnson, who never recovered from the wave after wave of urban riots that followed his civil rights bills, nor from the disillusionment of the intellectuals with his [[Vietnam War]] policy. With the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, and the failure of youngest brother [[Ted Kennedy]] to recover his brothers’ national base, the Kennedy legacy increasingly became the romantic memory of Camelot. Disclosures of JFK’s astonishing sexual involvements, and detailed reports of his multiple grave medical problems fascinated the public but failed to break the myth that if only JFK had lived his second term would be a story of political triumphs that would restore the people’s faith in their government<br />
The assassination was so incomprehensible that hundreds of conspiracy theories sprang up and new ones emerge every year. Over 350 people and organizations have been named as guilty of the assassination. <br />
<br />
Kennedy appointed liberal Arthur Goldberg to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], as well as [[Byron White]]. White's rulings combined both liberal and conservative positions. <br />
<br />
Kennedy's image appears on the American half-dollar coin.<br />
===Was Kennedy a liberal or a conservative?===<br />
Kennedy was basically a conservative, but he had to appeal to a primarily liberal base, so he offered symbols for the liberals while following a conservative course in foreign and domestic policy. After his death Kennedy's legacy was picked up by liberals, and there is a vague notion to the effect that Kennedy was a liberal. He was actually more of a conservative..<ref> The best studies of Kennedy's relations with liberalism are William E. Leuchtenburg, ''In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan'' (2001) pp 63-120 [ excerpt and text search]; Alonzo Hamby, ''Liberalism and Its Challengers: From F.D.R. to Bush'' (1992) [http://www.amazon.com/Liberalism-Its-Challengers-F-D-R-Bush/dp/0195070305/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257264863&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]. Leuchtenburg is a liberal and Hamby is a conservative; both are excellent historians.</ref><br />
<br />
To be a liberal in the days when Kennedy was in politics, 1946-63, meant supporting the programs of the [[New Deal]], following in the footsteps of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and upholding the [[New Deal Coalition]]. Support for labor unions was important; support for civil rights was a minor issue (and one more associated with the Republican Party). Hostility to the Catholic Church was common among liberals. In foreign policy liberals had turned away from Roosevelt's détente with the Soviets and had adopted the [[containment]] policy. Liberals rejected [[rollback]], that is efforts to remove Communists regimes from power. Verbal support for the United Nations was standard rhetoric, although in practice it meant little. The symbolically most important issue of them all for liberals was opposition to [[Joe McCarthy]] and his style of aggressive anti-Communism.<br />
<br />
On most of these points Kennedy was largely on the conservative side. He refused to call himself a liberal, but he had a base in Massachusetts with many strong liberals in academe and labor unions that had to be appeased, so he never attacked liberalism too loudly. He solved the state problem by a close alliance with the Democratic party organizations in the cities, controlled mostly by Irish politicians. JFK's campaign manager and chief confidante was his brother Bobby, a devout Catholic who was in close touch with the Catholic establishment as well as the local machines. JFK thus maintained very close ties to the Catholic establishment; he carefully followed the required public rituals such as Mass on Sunday and no meat on Friday. It was a major achievement by Kennedy in 1960 to resolve the religious issue and bring Catholics into the mainstream of American life and to the top ranks of national leadership.<ref>By contrast, the only Catholic in Eisenhower's cabinet was a plumber who was Secretary of Labor.</ref><br />
<br />
On foreign policy he was a leading anti-Communist hawk; he won in 1960 by attacking Eisenhower's foreign policies as not aggressive enough. When elected he sent forces to invade Cuba and rollback Communism; he increased the military presence in Vietnam by a factor of 16 and unleashed the CIA to undermine Communism in the South; he sent the Navy to a direct confrontation with the Soviets in the Cuban Missile Crisis, forcing the Soviets to withdraw. Liberals have misread these episodes--saying that the Cuban invasion was really Eisenhower's idea; that in Vietnam he might have changed his mind in a second term; and that in Cuba he was liberal because he did not blow the world up.<br />
<br />
On the liberal side, he achieved the creation of the Peace Corps. To combat Communism in Latin America he proposed a liberal program of financial and technical assistance and free-food programs, and indicated he would take a sympathetic view of revolutionary movements that have the legitimate objective of bettering the life of the hemisphere's poor and downtrodden. Kennedy explicitly exempted any such movements dominated by "external"—meaning Communist—forces, thereby shutting the door on renewed diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro's Cuba<br />
<br />
On domestic issues, as president he tried to cut taxes and blocked his liberal advisors who wanted deficit spending in 1961. Civil rights did not interest him and he put it on the back burner. He was no more active than Eisenhower in that regard. On unions, he built up a reputation of strong opposition to union corruption, especially in the Teamsters; he quietly kept on good terms with [[George Meany]], the AFL-CIO leader, while avoiding [[Walter Reuther]], the leader of the liberal wing of the AFL-CIO.<br />
<br />
Kennedy had a pro-business reputation and sponsored policies such as tax cuts and low inflation that conservative businessmen wanted. On taking office he called for a "full-fledged alliance" with business. He did get into a brush-up with the steel industry when the steelmen broke their promise to him to keep prices down; that move made Kennedy more popular among the anti-business liberals, but Kennedy never proposed major legislation that business opposed. He named Douglas Dillon, a leading Republican businessman, as his Secretary of the Treasury. On dealing with unemployment, he never proposed New-Dealish programs but instead had a package that was acceptable to conservative Republicans.<ref> House Republican Minority Leader Charles Halleck said of those proposals: "We find no great quarrel with them, but we do not find them earthshaking." ''Time'' Feb. 10, 1961</ref><br />
<br />
Crime was a signature issue for Kennedy, and on taking office he promised a major crackdown on organized crime, thus appealing to conservatives. On appointing Brother Bobby as Attorney General, he quipped, "I can't see that it's wrong to give him a little legal experience before he goes out to practice law." On the liberal side, Kennedy asked Congress for federal aid for school construction and more money for federally assisted housing. They did not oblige.<br />
<br />
Joe McCarthy was a close friend of the Kennedy family. Joe Kennedy was his biggest financial backer, and often brought the Wisconsin Senator to family outings--and encouraged him to date the Kennedy girls. Bobby Kennedy began his career as an aide to McCarthy. Liberals intensely hated McCarthy and that carried over to the entire Kennedy clan. JFK was not close to McCarthy, but he refused to attack him publicly or to vote for his Senate censure in 1954 when McCarthy's career was collapsing.<br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
<br />
* "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."<br />
<br />
* "The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation’s greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us." Oct 26, 1963<br />
<br />
* "And so, my fellow americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Inaugural address, January 20, 1961<br />
<br />
* "The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity." Speech in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
<br />
*[[Gallery of American Heroes]]<br />
*[[John F. Kennedy, Jr.]]<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy]<br />
*[http://www.jfklibrary.org/ John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum]<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
*Dallek, Robert, ''An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963'' (2003), a standard scholarly biography; strress on medical issues [http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Life-John-Kennedy-Dynasty/dp/0316907928/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]<br />
* O'Brien, Michael. ''John F. Kennedy: A Biography'' (2005), the most detailed scholarly biography [http://www.amazon.com/John-Kennedy-Biography-Michael-OBrien/dp/0312281293/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Parmet, Herbert. ''Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy'' (1980); ''JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy'' (1983), scholarly biography<br />
* Reeves, Thomas C. ''A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy.'' (1991) conservative critique [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7D9143EF931A35755C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all New York Times Book Review]<br />
<br />
===Bibliography===<br />
* Balmer, Randall. ''God in the White House: A History--How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush.'' (2008)<br />
* Bryant, Nick. ''The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Bystander-Kennedy-Struggle-Black-Equality/dp/0465008267/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search] <br />
* Bugliosi, Vincent. ''Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President,'' (2007) 1632 pp. Debunks dozens of conspiracy theories and concludes Oswald acted alone. [http://www.amazon.com/Reclaiming-History-Assassination-President-Kennedy/dp/0393045250/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227416692&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Burner, David. ''John F. Kennedy and a New Generation'' (1988)<br />
* Clarke, Thurston, ''Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America'' ISBN 0805072136 [http://www.amazon.com/Ask-Not-Inauguration-Kennedy-Changed/dp/0805072136/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search]<br />
*Dallek, Robert, ''An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963'' (2003), a standard scholarly biography; strress on medical issues [http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Life-John-Kennedy-Dynasty/dp/0316907928/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Donaldson, Gary A. ''The First Modern Campaign: Kennedy, Nixon, and the Election of 1960'' (2007)<br />
* Freedman, Lawrence. ''Kennedy's Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Kennedys-Wars-Berlin-Cuba-Vietnam/dp/0195152433/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218513&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]; [http://www.questia.com/library/book/kennedys-wars-berlin-cuba-laos-and-vietnam-by-lawrence-freedman.jsp full text online]<br />
* Fursenko, Aleksandr and Timothy Naftali. ''One Hell of a Gamble: Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy, 1958&ndash;1964'' (1997) [http://www.amazon.com/One-Hell-Gamble-Khrushchev-1958-1964/dp/0393317900/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218554&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search] adds information from Russian sources<br />
* Giglio, James. ''The Presidency of John F. Kennedy'' (1991), standard scholarly overview of policies<br />
* Harper, Paul, and Joann P. Krieg eds. ''John F. Kennedy: The Promise Revisited'' (1988), scholarly articles on presidency [http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=15070503 online edition]<br />
* Hersh, Seymour. ''The Dark Side of Camelot'' (1997), highly negative assessment focused on scandals<br />
* Kunz, Diane B. ''The Diplomacy of the Crucial Decade: American Foreign Relations during the 1960s'' (1994)<br />
* Lichtenstein. Nelson, ed. ''Political Profiles: The Kennedy Years'' (1976) 621pp; very good short, analytical biographies of 500 major players<br />
* Leuchtenburg, William E. ''In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Barack Obama'' (2009) excellent analysis of how JFK tried to replicate FDR's appeal without his liberalism [http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-FDR-Harry-Truman-George/dp/0801487374/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257738655&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
* O'Brien, Michael. ''John F. Kennedy: A Biography'' (2005), the most detailed scholarly biography [http://www.amazon.com/John-Kennedy-Biography-Michael-OBrien/dp/0312281293/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Parmet, Herbert. ''Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy'' (1980); ''JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy'' (1983), scholarly biography<br />
* Paterson, Thomas G. ''Kennedy's Quest for Victory: American Foreign Policy, 1961-1963'' (1989) [http://www.amazon.com/Kennedys-Quest-Victory-American-1961-1963/dp/019504584X/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-11 excerpt and text search], Leftists approach disparages anti-Communism<br />
* Piereson, James. ''Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Camelot-Cultural-Revolution-Assassination-Liberalism/dp/1594031886/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227415678&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search], conservative interpetation<br />
* Pietrusza, David ''1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies'' New York: Union Square Press, 2008<br />
* Preble, Christopher A. ''John F. Kennedy and the Missile Gap'' (2004)<br />
* Reeves, Richard. ''President Kennedy: Profile of Power'' (1993), balanced assessment of policies<br />
* Reeves, Thomas. ''A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy'' (1991) detailed assessment of his character flaws by conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Question-Character-Life-John-Kennedy/dp/076151287X/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218173&sr=8-10 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr. ''A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House'' (1965), major memoir by a close advisor [http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Days-Kennedy-White-House/dp/1579124496/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195218430&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr. ''Robert Kennedy And His Times'' (2002)<br />
* Smith, Jean Edward. "Kennedy and Defense: The Formative Years". ''Air University Review'' (March–April 1967) [http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1967/mar-apr/smith.html online]<br />
* Sundquist, James L''Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years'' (1968), excellent analysis of the major political issues of the era.<br />
<br />
===Primary sources===<br />
* [http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/ERP/ Council of Economic Advisors, ''Economic Report of the President'' (annual 1947- )], complete series online; important analysis of current trends and policies, plus statistcial tables<br />
* Sorensen, Theodore. ''Kennedy'' (1966), major memoir by a close advisor<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
{{USPresidents}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John F.}}<br />
[[Category:Democratic Party]]<br />
[[Category:Irish-Americans]]<br />
[[Category:American war heroes]]<br />
[[Category:United States History]]<br />
[[Category:Cold War]]<br />
[[Category:1950s]]<br />
[[Category:1960s]]<br />
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]<br />
[[Category: Kennedy Family]]<br />
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]<br />
[[Category:United States Veterans]]</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Bill_Clinton&diff=883409Bill Clinton2011-06-27T16:57:24Z<p>Est300: /* Middle East */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Officeholder<br />
|name=Bill Clinton<br />
|image=billclinton.jpg<br />
|party=Democrat<br />
|spouse=[[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]<br />
|religion=[[Baptist]]<br />
|offices=<br />
{{Officeholder/president<br />
|country=the United States<br />
|number=42nd<br />
|terms=January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001<br />
|vp=[[Al Gore]]<br />
|preceded=[[George H. W. Bush]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[George W. Bush]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/governor<br />
|number=40th and 42nd<br />
|state=Arkansas<br />
|terms=January 9, 1979 – January 19, 1981; January 11, 1983 – December 12, 1992<br />
|preceded=[[Joe Purcell]] (first term)<br/>[[Frank D. White]] (second term)<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Frank D. White]] (first term)<br/>[[Jim Guy Tucker]] (second term)<br />
}}<br />
{{Officeholder/attorneygeneral<br />
|jurisdiction=Arkansas<br />
|number=50th<br />
|governor=David Pryor<br />
|deputy=n<br />
|terms=January 3, 1977 – January 9, 1979<br />
|preceded=[[Jim Guy Tucker]]<br />
|former=y<br />
|succeeded=[[Steve Clark]]<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
'''Bill Clinton''' (formally '''William Jefferson Clinton'''; born William Jefferson Blythe III) (1946—) a Democrat, was president of the United States, elected in 1992 and reelected in 1996. Previously he had served as governor of Arkansas. His administration was characterized by sustained prosperity, a budget surplus, free trade internationally, military interventions in southeastern Europe, reform of the [[New Deal]] welfare system, and an impeachment. While Clinton takes economic credit, most of the success in his era can be traced to Republican majorities in Congress that crafted welfare reforms and a budget surplus. The House of Representatives would impeach Clinton for [[obstruction of justice]] and [[perjury]], while the Senate would fail to convict, and he served out his term. Clinton was later found in contempt by a federal judge for lying under oath and he subsequently was disbarred for ethical violations. Clinton, a policy wonk, was (with Ronald Reagan) one of the two best campaigners in recent decades. Although a mediocre speaker Clinton became known as "the Great Campaigner." His discursive style is personal and intimate, yet, thanks to television, was vicariously enjoyed by large audiences. Like Ronald Reagan. Clinton used his rhetorical skills to achieve political success; he survived despite legislative defeats, repeated scandal (he was notorious as a womanizer) and an actual impeachment.<ref> Whittington (1997)</ref> <br />
<br />
After leaving the White House, he became a very well-paid speaker. His wife, [[Hillary Clinton]], was elected to the Senate in 2000 from New York, reelected in 2006, and in 2007 was the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 before losing and becoming Secretary of State. Clinton became the major fundraiser and campaigner for his wife, and tried but failed to use his special appeal to the African American vote to neutralize her main opponent, [[Barack Obama]]. Obama named Hillary Clinton [[Secretary of State]] and thus far Bill Clinton has kept a low profile.<br />
<br />
== Early Life ==<br />
Clinton was born in Hope,<ref> [[Mike Huckabee]] was born in Hope in 1955, but did not know Clinton.</ref> Arkansas, a month after his father William Jefferson Blythe III, a salesman, was killed in an auto accident. He was raised by his maternal grandparents until age 4, when his mother Virginia Kelly (1923-1994), a nurse, married Roger Clinton (1909-1967), a car dealer. Roger was an alcoholic and violent; the marriage was tempestuous, including a divorce and a remarriage in 1962. A life-long Southern Baptist, Clinton graduated from the Hot Springs public high school in 1964. He attended Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where he became active in Democratic politics and won prestigious Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University in England. He was a bit player in the anti-Vietnam war movement, and managed to stall the draft until he received a high lottery number, an evasion that became controversial in his first presidential campaign. He attended Yale Law School (JD 1973). A hail fellow well met, Clinton developed a vast network of friends. He met [[Hillary Clinton]] at Yale; they married in 1975 and had one daughter, Chelsea in 1980.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Early Political Career ==<br />
After returning to Arkansas as a law professor at the university, Clinton was elected state Attorney General in 1976. In 1978, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country at age 32 . Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.<br />
<br />
===Civil Rights record===<br />
<br />
In December 1989 a three-judge district federal court held Bill Clinton's state-wide legislative reapportionment plan violated Section 2 of the [[Voting Rights Act|Voting Rights Act of 1965]], 42 U.S.C. 1973. 1990 the [[Supreme Court]] of the United States found in the case of ''[[Clinton vs Jeffers]]'' <ref>Findings of the Supreme Court of the United States in [http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1990/sg900402.txt Clinton vs Jeffers] No. 90-394 (1990) on appeal 730 F. Supp. 196, 198-201 (ED Ark. 1989) (three-judge court), aff'd, No. 89-2008 (Jan. 7, 1991).</ref> the former Arkansas Governor and [[Democratic]] president had violated the Voting Rights Act. The Justices findings were,<br />
<br />
{{Cquote|Bill Clinton does not dispute here -- that "violations of the [[Fourteenth amendment|fourteenth]] or [[fifteenth amendment]] justifying equitable relief have occurred in Arkansas."<br />
<br />
In May 1990, the district court turned to those claims, holding that "the State of Arkansas has committed a number of constitutional violations of the voting rights of black citizens." J.S. App. A5. In particular, the court determined that the "State has systematically and deliberately enacted new majority-vote requirements for municipal offices, in an effort to frustrate black political success in elections traditionally requiring only a plurality to win." In 1990...Devotion to majority rule for local offices lay dormant as long as the plurality system produced white office-holders. But whenever black candidates used this system successfully -- and victory by a plurality has been virtually their only chance of success in at-large elections in majority-white cities – the response was swift and certain. Laws were passed in an attempt to close off this avenue of black political victory.}}<br />
<br />
The court therefore concluded that<br />
<br />
{{Cquote|This series of laws represents a systematic and deliberate attempt to reduce black political opportunity. Such an attempt is plainly unconstitutional. It replaces a system in which blacks could and did succeed, with one in which they almost certainly cannot. The inference of [[bigotry|racial motivation]] is inescapable.}}<br />
<br />
<br />
===Early Scandals===<br />
Clinton was involved in several scandals while Governor of Arkansas. He converted governmental resources for personal use by having Arkansas state policemen arrange and stand guard during his extramarital rendezvous with women.<ref>Thomas C. Reeves, ''[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n14_v10/ai_14988880 Why Troopergate matters to voters]'', ''Insight on the News,'' April 4, 1994.</ref><br />
<br />
His close personal business partnerships with James and Susan McDougall in a failed Savings and Loan business venture led to investigation of the [[Whitewater]] affair. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but prosecutors never charged either Clintons with a crime.<br />
<br />
==Democratic Leadership Council==<br />
The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) formed in early 1985 to formulate a moderate Democratic agenda. With [[Al From]] as executive director and Georgia Senator [[Sam Nunn]] as chairman, DLC comprised mostly Southern Democratic congressmen. They sought to rebuild the party's image after a series of defeats by Reagan and Bush. They wanted to assure voters that the moderate-conservative wing of the party was alive and well, and that its policy initiatives fit with mainstream American values. After the 1988 defeat, From asked Clinton in March 1990 to become the first DLC Chair from outside Washington. He and Clinton recruited state and local officials from around the country for the DLC, trying out some of the policy initiatives developed by the affiliated think tank the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). Proposals that found their way into Clinton's 1992 platform included:<br />
* Apprenticeship programs for non-college-bound skilled workers <br />
* A program of national service for college students (with student loan forgiveness)<br />
* A ROTC-style program to train new police officers in colleges<br />
* An enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor <br />
* Government-subsidized individual savings accounts for Social Security.<br />
<br />
The two DLC manifestos and Clinton's 1991 "New Covenant" speech accounted for more than 60% of the promises in the 1992 Democratic platform. <ref> Borrelli, 432-35</ref> Clinton campaigned as a "New Democrat," with an appeal to southerners and moderates that included demands for welfare reform and support for the death penalty.<br />
===Election of 1992===<br />
After the surge of support for the war policy of President [[George H.W. Bush]] pushed his popularity to the 90% level, most prominent Democrats decided to wait out the 1992 election. Clinton, though little known outside Arkansas, proved the best campaigner in a weak field and won he Democratic nomination. Unexpectedly, billionaire [[Ross Perot]] entered the race (and briefly led the polls). Both Bush and Perot proved poor campaigners, as Clinton and his running mate [[Al Gore]] promised a more responsive government. Republicans tried to use the character issue, questioning his failure to serve in the [[Vietnam War]], repeating rumors of extramarital affairs, and stories of marijuana use in college days. But Bush was handicapped by a bad economy, and was wounded badly by breaking a promise to not raise taxes. Clinton hammered away at the economy--"It's the economy, stupid!" explained his campaign manager. Clinton and Gore ran as "new Democrats", promising to cut middle class taxes, reduce domestic spending, end welfare and support capital punishment. Clinton won the electoral college decisively, and outpolled Bush 43% to 37%, with 19% for Perot.<br />
<br />
Clinton thus won easily, and entered Washington with a Democratic Congress and a vague agenda.<br />
<br />
Clinton, the first President born after [[World War II]], represented the "baby-boom" generation.<br />
<br />
==Presidency (1993-2001)==<br />
<br />
===Don't ask don't tell ===<br />
:''Main article'' : [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]<br />
Upon being elected President, Bill Clinton's first act was to propose and win legislation to enforce the [[Department of Defense]]'s "Don't Ask Don't Tell" rule, which has been described by some as a major discriminatory policy legitimizing and promoting [[homophobia]] and [[bigot]]ry, causing untold personel and emotional anguish for thousands of America's service personal.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y</ref><ref>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y</ref> The Law, enacted by a [[Democratic party]] controlled [[House of Representatives]] and [[Senate]], was found [[unconstitutional]] after a suit brought by [[Log Cabin Republicans]], a homosexual rights and advocacy organization.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39089475/ns/us_news-life/</ref><br />
<br />
=== Taxes===<br />
[[Image:ClintonPresident.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Bill Clinton's Presidential cabinet]] Clinton's first priority while coming into office was the economy. In an attempt to lower [[interest rates]] Clinton sent Congress a deficit reduction plan in early 1993. However, Clinton's problem was that about half of government money goes to entitlement programs such as [[social security]] and [[medicare]]. Refusing to cut domestic spending, he increased taxes on gasoline, heating oil, and natural gas, breaking his campaign pledge not to raise tax rates. On Aug. 10, 1993, the largest tax increase in history was signed into law, raising taxes by almost $280 billion over five years.<ref>J.D. Foster, Ph.D. [http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/03/tax-cuts-not-the-clinton-tax-hike-produced-the-1990s-boom#_ftn1 Tax Cuts, Not the Clinton Tax Hike, Produced the 1990s Boom], ''The Heritage Foundation'', March 4, 2008.</ref> Instead of middle-class tax relief, President Clinton chose to include in his $241 billion tax plan higher federal gasoline taxes, tax hikes on Social Security recipients, and steep income tax hikes on small business owners.<ref> ''The President's Forgotten Middle Class,'' Joint Economic Committee, Majority Staff, 3/22/96.</ref> Conservatives blocked some proposals, such a new $71 billion [[BTU energy tax]] that would have cost the typical family nearly $500 per year.<br />
<br />
====Tax increases on Social Security benefits====<br />
In 1993 President Clinton sought to increase taxes on [[Social Security]] benefits of the elderly and disabled.<ref>http://www.house.gov/house/Contract/seniorsd.txt</ref> The final version of the bill passed by the [[Democrat]]ically controlled Congress increased taxes on beneficiaries from the first 50% to 85%<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20040408115747/www.ssa.gov/OACT/HOP/hopi.htm</ref> of benefits (or "annuity payments" as they were originally called). [[Vice President]] [[Al Gore]] cast the deciding tie-breaker vote in the Senate to make the tax increase law. The Clinton-Gore tax increase on Social Security benefits imposed a 70% [[income tax]] rate on a retired couple making as little as $22,000 per year.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=vLg4iJR0J9kC&pg=PA16593&lpg=PA16593&dq=Vice+President+Gore+cast+the+tie-breaking+vote%2Bsocial+security&source=bl&ots=-ImIDX6fHa&sig=ttWVUNAIVsLQoEg1ZhCntHB_02Y&hl=en&ei=dobVTMr9HoOglAe0iuX9CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Vice%20President%20Gore%20cast%20the%20tie-breaking%20vote%2Bsocial%20security&f=false Congressional Record, Comments by Rep. Christopher Cox,] July 27, 2000.</ref> <br />
<br />
=== Health Care takeover ===<br />
see [[Clinton health care plan of 1993]]<br />
<br />
In 1993, Clinton called for a national medical care system that would incorporate the 15% of the population that was entitled to emergency care but lacked broader insurance. Clinton decided on a plan using regional insurance purchasing agencies along with modest tax subsidies to combine universal coverage with cost efficiency. He and his advisors believed the plan would be acceptable to big business and the larger insurance companies, but the plan was opposed by a well-financed campaign. The plan however, put a burden on small businesses, which feared they could not afford it. The insurance industry and doctor organizations also opposed it. Republicans argued that it was too costly and relied too heavily on government. Congressional Democrats were divided on the issue. Faced with public opposition, the Clinton plan failed without even having a vote in Congress.<br />
<br />
Skocpol (1996) suggests the major mistake may have been in emphasizing the cost-reducing aspect of the plan, not realizing that Americans were willing to pay for a government program that would provide generous benefits to them. The fear that Clinton's proposals would lead to the sort of health care rationing prevalent in Canada and other countries further troubled the voters. Starr (1997) notes that Clinton sought to achieve liberal ends of universal coverage through the conservative means of managed competition among private health plans, with a backup cap on the rate of growth in average insurance premiums. This approach had a political as well as policy rationale. It was meant to be the basis of an alliance that could include conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans and thereby achieve the majorities necessary for congressional passage. But what we saw as compromise, they did not -- especially as the very locus of the political center shifted to the right during the debate. Health care reform that seemed "inevitable" to many serious observers at the start became unthinkable by the end. Polls showed strong initial support, but he never secured passage in either house of Congress and Republican victory in the 1994 elections doomed his plans.<br />
<br />
=== 1994 Republican Revolution ===<br />
Clinton's popularity had slipped by 1994 and the GOP, under [[Newt Gingrich]] launched a national midterm campaign based on a Republican "Contract with America." They proposed lower taxes, welfare reform, tougher anti-crime laws, term limits for Congress, revised rules in Congress and a balanced budget amendment. <br />
<br />
In the elections of 1994, the Democrats lost 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and 8 seats in the Senate (followed by two defections after the election), giving the Republicans a majority in both houses of Congress for the first time since 1954. The Republicans also had a net gain of 12 governors' seats in that election. <br />
<br />
Analysts have suggested many causes for the drastic change in political sentiment in the country between 1992 and 1994; among the causes suggested were voter disgust at Congressional scandals mainly implicating Democrats, voter distrust of Clinton after the presentation and defeat of the Clinton health care reform proposal--dubbed "Hillarycare"; the nationalization of the election by Gingrich's "Contract with America", and more skilled framing of issues by the Republicans in 1994.<br />
<br />
In their first 100 days the House did pass the Contract with America, however, the GOP Senate failed to go along and Clinton's vetoes defeated the Contract.<br />
<br />
=== Government Shutdown ===<br />
<br />
In 1995 President Clinton and Congressional Republicans fought a bitter battle over the new federal [[budget]]. Clinton vetoed the Republican budget bill, claiming that it cut social programs. Speaker Gingrich believed that Clinton would back down and approve the budget. If not the entire government would shut down because of lack of funds. Clinton allowed just that, and by doing so gained political capital by successfully blaming that shut down on Republicans. Soon afterword, Clinton and the Congress reached an agreement to a balanced budget.<br />
<br />
==1996 Reelection Campaign==<br />
[[File:ECON1994.jpg|thumb|390px]]<br />
<br />
After the Republicans took control of Congress by the time of the 1996 reelection campaign the economy had improved. [[Unemployment]] and inflation was low, American wages increased, crime rates fell, and the number of people on welfare declined. The [[Republican Party]] nominated Senate Majority Leader [[Robert Dole]]. Ross Perot ran again, this time on the Reform Party, but his day was past. Clinton was reelected in a landslide with 49% of the popular vote, to 41% for Dole, and 8% for Perot. His personal victory had limited coattails, with Republicans retaining a clear majority in the Senate and a narrow majority in the House. It also marked the first time since 1926 and 1928 that the Republican Party carried the House in two consecutive elections.<ref>http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/17342942.html?dids=17342942:17342942&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+11%2C+1996&author=Don+Fedr&pub=Boston+Herald&desc=A+night+to+cheer+for+conservatives&pqatl=google</ref><br />
<br />
==Clinton voter Coalition==<br />
===Public Opinion: Clinton's popularity===<br />
Needham (2005) argues the "permanent campaign" is said to have reached its apogee in the incumbent communications strategies of Clinton and British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]]. However, their assiduous courting of public opinion while in office has been used to explain both the high approval ratings of these leaders and their unpopularity for long periods of their incumbency. This apparent paradox suggests that the permanent campaign model is too blunt an instrument to usefully describe or evaluate incumbent communications. Its assumption of continuity between election campaigning and office-holding fails to explain how the strategic terrain changes once a challenger takes office. The concepts of branding and relationship marketing can be used to highlight the difference between gaining support in the one-off transaction of an election and retaining voter loyalty in a post-"purchase" setting. The success of Blair and Clinton in establishing a relationship with voters from within office can be assessed using six attributes of successful brands: simplicity, uniqueness, reassurance, aspiration, values, and credibility. As incumbents, facing challenges in shifting strategic and institutional environments, Blair and Clinton developed messages that were simple and appealed to voter aspirations. Voters remained skeptical about the extent to which these leaders embodied values and delivered on their promises.<br />
<br />
Suspicions often arose during Clinton's tenure about the timing of [[cruise missile]] attacks to manipulate public sympathy at crucial points when his approval ratings sagged. On several occasions <ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NzhjODk1ODg4M2NiODU4Yzc3YWE1OTA1MDNmYWQ5M2Y= The Facts About Clinton and Terrorism], Byron York, ''National Review Online'', September 11, 2006. </ref> generally when the approval ratings dipped to 47%, surprise cruise missile attacks<ref>[http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1998/12/21/wwwh8d21.html Airstrikes Against Iraq: 'What Happens Now?'], U.S. Information Agency ''Daily Digest'', December 21, 1998.</ref> were launched which resulted in a 10 point gain in the public opinion polls. Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'' remarked,<br />
{{Cquote|Consider, for instance, the relative lack of scrutiny accorded the August 20 cruise missile attacks on Afghanistan and [[Sudan]] … immediately after the bombing, polls showed that close to half of all Americans thought the missile strikes were meant to divert attention from the president's sex life… the Sudanese bombing suggests something else as well: If and when the public's and the media's attention shifts from the president's sex life to wider-ranging inquiries about how he makes deadly serious policy decisions…"<ref>[http://www.reason.com/news/show/30827.html Bombs Away - Troubling questions about the U.S. attack on Sudan], ''Reason'', December 1998.</ref>}}<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Voter demographics ====<br />
[[File:Clinton1.jpg|alt=Bill Clinton|thumb|right|330px|1994 cartoon by Tom Toles shows Clinton was all things to all people]]<br />
{| class=wikitable<br />
! colspan="8" |The Presidential Vote in Social Groups (percentages)<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3" | ''% of<br />1996<br />total<br />vote''<br />
|<br />
| colspan="6" |''% of 3-party vote''<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| colspan="3" |''1992''<br />
| colspan="3" |''1996''<br />
|-<br />
! ''Social group''<br />
! ''Clinton''<br />
! ''Bush''<br />
! ''Perot''<br />
! ''Clinton''<br />
! ''Dole''<br />
! ''Perot''<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| Total vote<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 49<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Party and ideology'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 2<br />
| Liberal Republicans<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| Moderate Republicans<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 63<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 72<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| Conservative Republicans<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 82<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 88<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 4<br />
| Liberal Independents<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 58<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| Moderate Independents<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
| Conservative Independents<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 60<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| Liberal Democrats<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 85<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 89<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 4<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| Moderate Democrats<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 76<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 84<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
| Conservative Democrats<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 61<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 69<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Gender and marital status'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| Married men<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 42<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| Married women<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| Unmarried men<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 29<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 22<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 49<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 12<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| Unmarried women<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 31<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 62<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Race'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 83<br />
| White<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| Black<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 83<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 84<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 12<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 4<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
| Hispanic<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 61<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 25<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 14<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 72<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 1<br />
| Asian<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 31<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 55<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Religion'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| White Protestant<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 47<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 29<br />
| Catholic<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 37<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 3<br />
| Jewish<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 80<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 78<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 3<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| Born Again, religious right<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 61<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 15<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 65<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Age'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| 18–29 years old<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 22<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| 30–44 years old<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| 45–59 years old<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 24<br />
| 60 and older<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 12<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Education'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
| Not a high school graduate<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 59<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 24<br />
| High school graduate<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 51<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 27<br />
| Some college education<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 37<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| College graduate<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| Post graduate education<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 14<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 52<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 5<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Family income'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
| Under $15,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 58<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 19<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 59<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 11<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| $15,000–$29,999<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 45<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 53<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 27<br />
| $30,000–$49,999<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| Over $50,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 17<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
| Over $75,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 36<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 51<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
| Over $100,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | —<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | —<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | —<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 38<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 54<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Region'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| East<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 47<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 35<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 18<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 55<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 9<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 26<br />
| Midwest<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 42<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 37<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| South<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 46<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 7<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| West<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 43<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 34<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 23<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 48<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| '''Community size'''<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
| Population over 500,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 58<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 28<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 13<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 68<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 25<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 6<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| Population 50,000 to 500,000<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 33<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 16<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 50<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| Suburbs<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 41<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 21<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 47<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 42<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 8<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 30<br />
| Rural areas, towns<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 39<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 40<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 20<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 45<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 44<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | 10<br />
|}<br />
'''Source:''' Voter News Service exit poll, reported in ''The New York Times'', November 10, 1996, p. 28.<br />
<br />
==Second term==<br />
With the [[Cold War]] over, the economy proved highly prosperous, and after the [[Republicans]] won control of Congress the budget was not only balanced but a surplus was produced for the first time in memory. The reasons include reduction in defense spending after the Cold War (from 5% of GDP to 3%), a revenue burst from the [[dot-com bubble]] (the short-lived overexpansion of high tech), restraints on spending imposed by [[Newt Gingrich]] and the GOP Congress, and the fruition of Reagan era tax cuts for business research and development in the consumer electronics (computer and cell phone) industry.<br />
=== Impeachment ===<br />
<br />
On August 17, 1998, after relentless media attention, leaks, and news of White House intern [[Monica Lewinsky]]'s upcoming testimony regarding her extramarital affair with the President, Clinton made history by becoming the first U.S. president to testify in front of a grand jury in an investigation of his own possibly criminal conduct. In an address to the nation, he admitted to having misled the public and a Federal Court over keys elements of testimony. [[Kenneth Starr]], a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case, was instructed to pursue the matter. <br />
[[File:ClintonTIME9801.jpg|thumb|290px]]<br />
In the second term Clinton was accused of perjury when he lied under oath during the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. In the end Clinton was impeached in the House and was tried in the Senate for two counts: "perjury" and "obstruction of justice".<ref>The House turned down two other counts: "abuse of power" as well as another count of "perjury" in connection with the Paula Jones case.</ref> Although a majority of 55 Senators voted to convict, a minority of 45 Senators gained his acquittal, a two thirds majority being necessary to remove him from office. Speaker Gingrich, who had promised Republicans that impeachment would be a success, had failed badly and was forced to resign and left Congress. The Republican next in line resigned, admitting he too had committed adultery. <br />
<br />
[[David Gergen]], former White House Communications Director for both Presidents Reagan and Clinton, summarized the hurt of the President's misconduct:<br />
{{Cquote|The deep and searing violation took place when he not only lied to the country, but co-opted his friends and lied to them....when you have gone over the line, you won't bring others into it...You don't foul the nest."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/quinn110298.htm In Washington, That Letdown Feeling], By Sally Quinn, ''The Washington Post'', November 2, 1998, Page E01</ref>}}<br />
<br />
Clinton lost his law license in Arkansas because he had committed perjury before a Federal judge.<br />
<br />
It was during this scandal that Clinton famously stated: "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is".<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_2525000/2525339.stm</ref><br />
[[File:Dow10000.JPG|thumb|290px|Performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since Clinton asked to privatize Social Security; Clinton made his proposal at or near the top of the investment cycle when stocks were overvalued, prior to the crash.]]<br />
<br />
=== Proposal to privatize Social Security ===<br />
<br />
In 1999 President Clinton proposed investing the Social Security Trust Fund in what some might consider "risky" assets in the [[stock market]] and [[bond]]s. The stock market then was in the late stages of a bull market cycle with stock prices and indexes overvalued. Clinton told a joint meeting fo the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate,<br />
{{Cquote|'''I propose that we commit 60 percent of the budget surplus for the next 15 years to Social Security, investing a small portion in the [[private sector]], just as any private or State Government pension would do.'''<ref>[http://www.c-span.org/Transcripts/SOTU-1999.aspx President Bill Clinotn's 1999 State of the Union Address,] January 19, 1999. Retrieved from C-Span.org 19 August 2010.</ref>}}<br />
<br />
=== Foreign Policy ===<br />
<br />
Critics of Clinton argued that he lacked a knowledge of [[world]] affairs. In his 1992 speech at the Democrat National Convention, he devoted one minute to foreign policy issues in an oration that lasted an hour. <ref>The Presidents by David Maraniss, Pg. 626</ref> Clinton entered office after the U.S. won the [[Cold War]], and the U.S. was the only superpower. There were no major foreign crisis during his presidency. His foreign policy was based on five principles: 1) strong alliances with Europe and Asia, 2) positive relations with former adversaries, 3) a global perspective on local conflicts, 4) the adaptation of national security priorities to incorporate technological advances, and 5) effective economic integration.<ref>Samuel R. Berger, "A Foreign Policy for the Global Age," ''Foreign Affairs'' 2000 79(6): 22-39. 0015-7120 </ref> <br />
<br />
Butfoy (2006) argues that in the 1990s the "revolution in military affairs" (RMA), which produced "smart" weapons like cruise missiles, came of age. This apparently transformed how America viewed the relationship between force and international relations. It looked as though technology was framing foreign policy. In particular, smart weapons enabled Clinton to combine risk minimization with an expanded security agenda. However, we should be wary of ascribing technological determinism to the conflicts of the 1990s dominated by Washington's flexing of its strategic superiority, such as its bombing of Belgrade. As shown by comparison with US strategy after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Washington's stance in the 1990s was shaped by linkages between technology and specific political circumstances. As these circumstances changed, so did the RMA's place in US efforts to shape world order.<br />
<br />
====Human Rights====<br />
Supporters of human rights faulted Clinton’s ideological transition from [[Wilsonianism| Wilsonian idealism]] to [[Realist|realism]], especially regarding China and Bosnia. They gave high marks for his efforts at pushing peace negotiations in Haiti and the Middle East, the use of economic sanctions against North Korea, India, and Pakistan, and his efforts to get a chemical weapons convention. However, they give low marks in terms of human rights for inaction on the genocide in Rwanda and the Russian repression of secessionist Chechnya.<br />
<br />
====NATO and Eastern Europe====<br />
Much attention was devoted to Eastern Europe. <br />
<br />
Clinton actively promoted the expansion of NATO to the east, over the objections of Russia. Russia wanted to maintain some degree of control over its former satellites, and they wanted true independence. The NATO expansion was a political decision. An expanded NATO gave full play to political functions aimed at merging East European nations into NATO and bringing about their transformation into Western-style political and economic systems. NATO members will continue to work toward containing Russia if it fails to integrate itself into the West and returns to its traditional expansionist practices. The Russian transformation and NATO's adjustment influenced each other. <br />
=====Bosnia=====<br />
With the breakup of [[Yugoslavia]] civil wars erupted leading to genocide. With NATO support--but without UN approval--Clinton sent in the US Air Force to launch air strikes on Serbs in Bosnia and later deployed twenty thousand troops. The goal was to protect Muslim Bosnians from genocidal attacks from the Serbs. The policy eventually worked in Bosnia but later had to be extended to nearby Kosovo. Clinton briefly consulted Congress, but promised the troops would soon leave. They remained for years.<br />
=====Kosovo=====<br />
There was no internationally significant [[human rights]] crisis in Kosovo immediately prior to the NATO bombardment that justified its intervention on behalf of the ethnic-[[Albania]]n population. The problems of warfare that existed in Kosovo were largely a result of Clinton's support for the [[Kosovo Liberation Army]] (KLA), a narco-[[terrorist]] organization<ref>http://nobsblog.blogspot.com/2002/05/whos-kla.html</ref> linked to [[al Qaeda]], with the intent of causing a crisis that justified intervention. The intervention was not humanitarian. NATO failed to produce evidence of massacres approaching anywhere near its claims. The intervention was illegal, destructive, and based on fraudulent claims.<ref>http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=1666</ref><br />
<br />
====Ireland====<br />
But for the efforts of President Clinton and his administration, and his special envoy Senator George Mitchell, the [[Good Friday Agreement]] (1998) reached between the British government, Irish republicans, and Ulster unionists would be impossible and the troubles would still be going on. <br />
<br />
====North Korea====<br />
<br />
From 1985 to 1992, N. Korea "bought time" for its nuclear weapons program by entering into a series of international diplomatic agreements under which it promised to "deweaponize" its reactors and halt further production of plutonium. By Clinton's second, however, N. Korea had violated the terms of most of the non-proliferation agreements and withdrew from the rest. <br />
<br />
Clinton forged an agreement with Kim Il-sung that the North would temporarily halt its signed on Oct. 21, 1994 known as the "Agreed Framework."<ref>http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aankorea.htm</ref><br />
<br />
In addition to the oil supplied under the 1994 Agreed Framework, North Korea continued to the United States and other countries for free, unconditional food aid while eschewing any real reform of its [[Stalin]]ist agricultural system. <ref>http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/crs/91-141.htm</ref><br />
<br />
By 2000, the United States contribution of food and other forms of humanitarian aid to North Korea had amounted to over $61 million.<br />
<br />
====Middle East====<br />
There was little progress in the Middle East, where US support for Israel angered the Arabs. While Clinton made some accomplishments, including the 1993 Oslo Accords, the death of Israel’s prime minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]] in 1995 slowed the peace process. The election of Ehud Barak as prime minister in May 1999 appeared to give the president his last chance to achieve a foreign policy success. A meeting at Camp David between Palestinian leader [[Yasser Arafat]] and Barak in December 2000 produced a plan to create a Palestinian state in about 95% of the West Bank and Gaza. The plan was not accepted by the public on either side. President Clinton's hesitant political style was partially responsible for the lack of a lasting peace settlement.<br />
<br />
====Japan====<br />
Relations with Japan, the main American ally in Asia, started off poorly. Yet by 2000, both sides realized how important friendship was, and this led to a redefinition and strengthening of the US-Japanese alliance. Although some changes have occurred in the asymmetry of power in the post-Cold War alliance with the relationship becoming less unequal, US interests still dominate, for the weakness of the Japanese economy limited its self confidence.<br />
<br />
====China====<br />
Clinton started off with heavy criticism of the lack of human rights in China. The main issue was Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status for China, favored by China and American business and farm interests but strongly opposed by religious and human rights groups. Clinton's policy, which began with a 1993 executive order to make MFN status conditional on Chinese reforms, changed as the importance of a trade relationship with China forced the issue to be separated from the government's human rights policies. <br />
<br />
He adjusted his China policy in 1996 and advocated dialogue and engagement; this led to improved relations. But Washington continued to criticize China on the issues of Hong Kong, human rights, trade, arms sales, Taiwan, and questionable political donations to US election campaigns. President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States regained the momentum and led to a level of cooperation between the two countries not seen in years. The major factors affecting the relationship include: the enduring impact of the 1989 Tiananmen episode when the Communist Party crushed a democratic movement with the army; the negative coverage of China by American media, American psychological insecurity caused by the rise of China, and US domestic politics which has a love-hate relationship with China (loving to buy cheap Chinese products while watching competing American factories shut down.)<br />
<br />
====India====<br />
Relations with India were expected to improve following the end of the Cold War. They did not do so as both sides mishandled relations. The contradictory policies of the Clinton administration that simultaneously pressured India to liberalize its economy while criticizing New Delhi on human rights and nuclear issues undermined the very officials who strove to improve ties. In the face of criticism from Washington and opposition at home, Indian diplomats lost their enthusiasm for rapprochement. The controversy that surrounded the passage of the Brown Amendment, which restored aid to Pakistan in 1995 despite Islamabad's violation of the 1985 Pressler Amendment, is a case study of the delicate nature of the Indo-American relationship. In resurrecting Cold War rhetoric, Indian parliamentarians and American congressmen demonstrated their unwillingness to establish a new relationship. However the [[George W. Bush]] administration reversed policy and developed close, friendly ties to India.<br />
====Canada====<br />
Relations with Canada went smoothly. Thanks to the precedent set by the [[Brian Mulroney]] government and the administration of [[George H.W. Bush]] in the resolution of issues such as the acid rain problem and the Pacific salmon dispute. A friendly relationship between the Canadian prime minister [[Jean Chrétien]] and Clinton helped, as did the strong economic growth enjoyed by both countries. In addition, there were multilateral and bilateral institutions in place, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, to resolve some major disagreements. However, the relationship faces a number of challenges in the future. While concerns about ballistic missile attacks and threats of international terrorism are priorities for Americans, Canadians do not share those concerns but view the importation of American culture into their country with trepidation, and there are no institutional structures in place to resolve disagreements on these particular issues. <br />
====Mexico and NAFTA====<br />
Clinton, with GOP help, passed a free trade agreement over the objection of most Democrats and labor unions. The implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) generated political disagreements and stress in Mexico, involving issues of economics, labor unions, environmentalism, and international power. Mexico's financial crisis of 1993-95, which led to peso devaluation and new dislocations in that country, and disputes between Clinton and the Congress also exacerbated NAFTA's implementation. Nonetheless, the positive consequences of NAFTA included increases in Mexican imports to the United States and shifts in the trade balance in Mexico's favor. <br />
<br />
<br />
====Iraq====<br />
Clinton tried to contain Iraq, and used military attacks to make the point. Clinton launched a small cruise missile attack against Iraq in 1993 as a response to a suspected terrorist assassination attempt made on former President George H. W. Bush in Kuwait. In 1998, Clinton threatened military action when Iraq denied full access to UN weapons inspectors. <br />
<br />
====Africa====<br />
In Africa, Clinton expressed the exasperation of he American public after decades of single-party rule involving massive misuse and pillage of the continent's resources by local dictators. Clinton called for an end to protected European economic and commercial zones and for open competition on terms that would gradually eliminate African dependency. The Americans, in an effort to promote both democracy and prosperity, urged the African political class to create regimes in their states responsible to the people, to accept participation by opposition parties, and to install rigorous accounting and management procedures. Congress and public opinion supported the new initiatives, which involved much less public assistance to Africa and a great deal more private investment and mutually profitable trade. Essentially, American policy challenged African leaders to undertake reforms that would make them artisans of their own futures.<br />
<br />
==== Al-Qaeda terrorism ====<br />
The Arab terrorist group [[al-Qaeda]] conducted a World Trade Center bombing in 1993, simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] in 1998, and the attack on the [[USS Cole]] in 2000. Clinton bombed al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan in response, but meanwhile 19 terrorists were plotting an even more ghastly attack on America which took place on September 11, 2001, eight months after Clinton left office.<br />
<br />
===Terrorist pardons===<br />
<br />
On August 11, 1999, President Clinton offered clemency to members of the [[Armed Forces of National Liberation]] (FALN) [[terrorist]] group. <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070703053819/http://rpc.senate.gov/_files/92199CoddlingTerrorists.pdf U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee] testimony available at http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/wl91599.htm, ''The Tampa Tribune'', S.J.Res. 33 (passed 95-2).</ref> On January 24, 1975 the FALN bombed Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan killing four people. Over a six-year period, the group claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings that took six lives and injured some 130 people.<ref>[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/sep4.htm Clinton Pardons Terror], ''New York Post'', August 13, 1999. retrieve from http://www.latinamericanstudies.org September 14, 2007.</ref> Deputy Attorney General [[Eric Holder]] was credited with with an "unconscionable" effort to circumvent the standard pardon process, not consulting with the [[Department of justice]]'s pardon attorney and keeping deliberations hidden from the district U.S. attorney and investigative agencies. [[Weather Underground]] [[terrorists]] [[Linda Evans]] and Susan Rosenberg were also pardoned.<ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YmM1OGM4OGRiNTI5NTIzOTFkMDAwMTJiNGFlYWFiZGI= ''Confirming Fears''], Editorial, National Review Online, November 19, 2008.</ref><br />
<br />
===Legacy===<br />
Of the $1.6 million Clinton earned in salary<ref>http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/wjclinton.html</ref> as President for 8 years, Clinton agreed to pay $850,000,<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/jones111498.htm</ref> or more than 53% in a legal settlement with [[Paula Jones]] to satisfy claims for damages to her reputation.<br />
<br />
Every President since [[William Howard Taft]] in 1910 has served as Honorary President of the [[Boy Scouts of America]] during his term in office. In 2000 it was reported the Boy Scouts national office revoked the title afforded to Bill Clinton after thousands of complaints. Numerous Eagle Scouts returned their certificates of achievement bearing Clinton's signature and requested a replacement without it.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=13204 Eagle Scouts drop Clinton signature], ''WorldNetCaily.com, August 24, 2000.</ref><br />
<br />
== Post-Presidency ==<br />
Clinton has spent much of time since leaving office working for charitable causes such as support and fund-raising for the victims of AIDS and the Asian tsunami. In the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he teamed with former president [[George H.W. Bush]] to raise money for relief efforts.<br />
<br />
Bill Clinton's wife, [[Hillary_Rodham_Clinton|Hillary Clinton]], was elected Senator to New York in 2000. She was reelected in 2006. She made a failed bid for the [[2008_Presidential_Election#Declared_Democratic_Party_Candidates|Democratic presidential nomination in 2008]]. <br />
<br />
Clinton has been criticized by both liberals and conservatives for his actions in his wife's presidential campaign. ''Time'' called him "his wife's attack dog". <ref>http://media.www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2008/01/28/OpEd/Editorial.On.The.Campaign.Trail.Bill.Clinton.Should.Keep.His.Mouth.Shut-3171498.shtml</ref> Although he had signed up most black leaders to support Hillary, the great majority of Black voters went for Obama. Clinton was accused of racism by implying that many voters chose [[Obama]] for reasons of race, rather than policy, saying that he succeeding in some regions for the same reason [[Jesse Jackson]] did.<br />
<br />
After Obama refused to give Hillary the Vice Presidential nomination, both Clintons loyally campaigned for Obama. Obama easily defeated Senator [[John McCain]], and named Hillary Secretary of State. Bill Clinton has maintained a low profile in 2009.<br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
<br />
===Basic reading===<br />
* Berman, William C. ''From the Center to the Edge: The Politics and Policies of the Clinton Presidency'' (2001) 160pp, useful summary and interpretation <br />
* Campbell, Colin, and Bert A. Rockman, eds. ''The Clinton Legacy'' 348 pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=58143940 online edition]<br />
* Clinton, Bill. ''My Life''. (2004). ISBN 0-375-41457-6. [http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Bill-Clinton/dp/140003003X/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464316&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Felsenthal, Carol. ''Clinton in Exile: A President Out of the White House'' (2008) 386 pages<br />
* Gillon, Steve. '' The pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the rivalry that defined a generation'' (2008) 342 pages, by a leading historian; [http://books.google.com/books?id=d-U2IzI2r5YC&pg=PA78&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search] <br />
* Hamilton, Nigel. ''Bill Clinton: Mastering the Presidency'' (2007) covers 1993-96, 766pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ky8fzAmUIvAC&pg=PA203&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Harris, John F. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'' (2005) ISBN 0-375-50847-3, the best coverage of the presidency [http://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Bill-Clinton-White-House/dp/0375760849/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464409&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Hyland, William G. ''Clinton's World: Remaking American Foreign Policy'' (1999) ISBN 0-275-96396-9 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14147621 online edition]<br />
* Klein, Joe. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'' (2003) by leading journalist [http://www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,490843,00.html online excerpt and search]; [http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Misunderstood-Presidency-Bill-Clinton/dp/0767914120/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464449&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Levy, Peter. ''Encyclopedia of the Clinton Presidency'' (2002), 400pp; 230 well-balanced articles<br />
* Maraniss, David, ''First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton'' (1996) ISBN 0-684-81890-6. Biography to 1991. [http://www.amazon.com/First-His-Class-Biography-Clinton/dp/0684818906/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464484&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Posner, Richard A. ''An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton'' (1999) ISBN 0-674-00080-3 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77420690 online edition]<br />
* Schantz, Harvey L. ''Politics in an Era of Divided Government: Elections and Governance in the Second Clinton Administration'' (2001) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102246366 online edition]<br />
* Schier, Steven E. ''The Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton's Legacy in U.S. Politics'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Postmodern-Presidency-Clintons-Politics-Political/dp/082294135X/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
<br />
===Biographical and Presidential===<br />
* Barber, Benjamin. '' The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House'' (2008) 336 pages [http://books.google.com/books?id=zwywJroh6PoC&pg=PA11&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search] <br />
* Berman, William C. ''From the Center to the Edge: The Politics and Policies of the Clinton Presidency'' (2001) 160pp, useful summary and interpretation <br />
* Campbell, Colin, and Bert A. Rockman, eds. ''The Clinton Legacy'' 348 pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=58143940 online edition]<br />
* Congressional Quarterly. ''Congress and the Nation 1993-1997: A Review of Government and Politics: 103rd and 104th Congresses'' (1998); ''Congress and the Nation 1997-2001: A Review of Government and Politics: 105th and 106th Congresses'' (2002). Highly detailed nonpartisan coverage (1200 pp each) of all political issues, including presidency<br />
* Gillon, Steve. '' The pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the rivalry that defined a generation'' (2008) 342 pages, by a leading historian; [http://books.google.com/books?id=d-U2IzI2r5YC&pg=PA78&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Hamilton, Nigel. ''Bill Clinton: Mastering the Presidency'' (2007) covers 1993-96, 766pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ky8fzAmUIvAC&pg=PA203&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]* Harris, John F. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House'' (2005) ISBN 0-375-50847-3, the best coverage of the presidency [http://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Bill-Clinton-White-House/dp/0375760849/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464409&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Klein, Joe. ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton'' (2003) by leading journalist [http://www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,490843,00.html online excerpt and search]; [http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Misunderstood-Presidency-Bill-Clinton/dp/0767914120/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464449&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Levy, Peter. ''Encyclopedia of the Clinton Presidency'' (2002), 400pp; 230 well-balanced articles<br />
* Schantz, Harvey L. ''Politics in an Era of Divided Government: Elections and Governance in the Second Clinton Administration'' (2001) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102246366 online edition]<br />
* Schier, Steven E. ''The Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton's Legacy in U.S. Politics'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Postmodern-Presidency-Clintons-Politics-Political/dp/082294135X/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
===Clinton to 1992===<br />
* Abbott, Philip. "A 'Long and Winding Road': Bill Clinton and the 1960s," Rhetoric & Public Affairs 9.1 (2006) 1-20 in Project Muse<br />
* Borrelli, Stephen A. "Finding the Third Way: Bill Clinton, the DLC, and the Democratic Platform of 1992," ''Journal of Policy History'' Vol. 13#4 (2001), pp. 429-462 in Project Muse<br />
* Goldman, Peter L. et al, ''Quest for the Presidency, 1992'' (1994) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=11169230 online edition]<br />
* Maraniss, David, ''First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton'' (1996) ISBN 0-684-81890-6. Biography to 1991. [http://www.amazon.com/First-His-Class-Biography-Clinton/dp/0684818906/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464484&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
===Foreign Policy===<br />
* Butfoy, Andrew. "The Rise and Fall of Missile Diplomacy? President Clinton and the 'Revolution in Military Affairs' in Retrospect." ''Australian Journal of Politics and History'' 2006 52(1): 98-114. Issn: 0004-9522 Fulltext: in Ebsco [http://www.questia.com/read/5014679475 online complete editon]<br />
* Cohen, Warren I. ''America's Failing Empire: U.S. Foreign Relations since the Cold War.'' 2005. 204 pp. <br />
* Davis; John. "The Evolution of American Grand Strategy and the War on Terrorism: Clinton and Bush Perspectives" ''White House Studies'', Vol. 3, 2003<br />
* Hendrickson, Ryan C. ''The Clinton Wars: The Constitution, Congress, and War Powers'' (2002)<br />
* Hyland, William G. ''Clinton's World: Remaking American Foreign Policy'' (1999) ISBN 0-275-96396-9 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14147621 online edition]<br />
* Jewett, Aubrey W. and Marc D. Turetzky. "Stability and Change in President Clinton's Foreign Policy Beliefs, 1993-96" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 28, 1998 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001392338 online edition]<br />
* Livingston, C. Don, Kenneth A. Wink; "The Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House of Representatives: Presidential Leadership or Presidential Luck?" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 27, 1997 [http://www.questia.com/read/5000429192 online edition]<br />
* Maclean, George A. ''Clinton's Foreign Policy in Russia: From Deterrence and Isolation to Democratization and Engagement'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Clintons-Foreign-Policy-Russia-Democratization/dp/0754649016/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search] <br />
<br />
===Domestic Policy===<br />
* Edwards; George C. "Bill Clinton and His Crisis of Governance" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly,'' Vol. 28, 1998 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001393468 in Questia]<br />
* Fisher; Patrick. "Clinton's Greatest Legislative Achievement? the Success of the 1993 Budget Reconciliation Bill" ''White House Studies'', Vol. 1, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5002437663 in Questia]<br />
* Greenspan, Alan. ''The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World'' (2007), memoir by head of Federal Reserve [http://www.amazon.com/Age-Turbulence-Adventures-New-World/dp/0143114166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260097183&sr=1-1xcerpt and text search] <br />
* Harris, John F. ''The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House''. (2005) covers the major policy issues [http://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Bill-Clinton-White-House/dp/0375760849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260097075&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Lanoue, David J. and Craig F. Emmert; "Voting in the Glare of the Spotlight: Representatives' Votes on the Impeachment of President Clinton" ''Polity'', Vol. 32, 1999<br />
* Needham, Catherine. "Brand Leaders: Clinton, Blair and the Limitations of the Permanent Campaign." ''Political Studies'' 2005 53(2): 343-361. Issn: 0032-3217 Fulltext: in Ebsco <br />
* Nie; Martin A. "'It's the Environment, Stupid!': Clinton and the Environment" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 27, 1997 [http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001516576 online edition]<br />
* Patterson, James T. ''Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Restless-Giant-United-Watergate-History/dp/019512216X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195117012&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Poveda; Tony G. "Clinton, Crime, and the Justice Department" ''Social Justice'', Vol. 21, 1994 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000301618 online edition]<br />
* Renshon; Stanley A. ''The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership'' Westview Press, 1995<br />
* Schantz, Harvey L. ''Politics in an Era of Divided Government: Elections and Governance in the Second Clinton Administration'' (2001) ISBN 0-8153-3583-0<br />
* Stiglitz, Joseph E. ''The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decade'' (2004) economic history; [http://www.amazon.com/Roaring-Nineties-History-Worlds-Prosperous/dp/0393326187/ref=sr_1_6/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Wattenberg; Martin P. "The Democrats' Decline in the House during the Clinton Presidency: An Analysis of Partisan Swings" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 29, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001303783 online edition]<br />
<br />
===Polls, campaign, images, character, scandals===<br />
* Blaney, Joseph R. and William L. Benoit. ''The Clinton Scandals and the Politics of Image Restoration,'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Scandals-Politics-Restoration-Political-Communication/dp/0275971066/ref=sr_1_4/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194471793&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101159621 online edition]<br />
* Borrelli, Stephen A. "Finding the Third Way: Bill Clinton, the DLC, and the Democratic Platform of 1992," ''Journal of Policy History'' Vol. 13, #4 (2001), pp. 429-462 in [[Project Muse]]<br />
* Cohen; Jeffrey E. "The Polls: Change and Stability in Public Assessments of Personal Traits, Bill Clinton, 1993-99" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 31, 2001<br />
* Cronin, Thomas E. and Michael A. Genovese; "President Clinton and Character Questions" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' Vol. 28, 1998<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. ''The 1992 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective,'' (1994) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=104563698 online edition]<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. ''The 1996 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective,'' (1998) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=26288597 online edition]<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. and Rachel L. Holloway, eds. ''The Clinton Presidency: Images, Issues, and Communication Strategies, 1996 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24374540 online edition]<br />
* Denton Jr. Robert E. and Rachel L. Holloway, eds. ''Images, Scandal, and Communication Strategies of the Clinton Presidency'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Scandal-Communication-Strategies-Presidency-Presidential/dp/0275971767/ref=sr_1_4/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464518&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Glad; Betty. "Evaluating Presidential Character" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 28, 1998 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001393536 online edition]<br />
* Maurer; Paul J. "Media Feeding Frenzies: Press Behavior during Two Clinton Scandals" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly,'' Vol. 29, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001239881 online edition]<br />
* O'Connor; Brendon. "Policies, Principles, and Polls: Bill Clinton's Third Way Welfare Politics 1992-1996" ''The Australian Journal of Politics and History'', Vol. 48, 2002<br />
* Posner, Richard A. ''An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton'' (1999) ISBN 0-674-00080-3 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77420690 online edition]<br />
* Renshon, Stanley A. "The Polls: The Public's Response to the Clinton Scandals, Part 1: Inconsistent Theories, Contradictory Evidence" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', Vol. 32, 2002 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000773179 online edition]<br />
* Renshon; Stanley A. '' The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9961027 online edition]<br />
* Starr, Kenneth. ''The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair'' (1998) ISBN 1-891620-24-X<br />
* Whittington, Keith E. "The Rhetorical Presidency, Presidential Authority and President Clinton," ''Perspectives on Political Science,'' Vol. 26, 1997 <br />
* Waldman, Michael. ''POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency'' (2000) ISBN 0-7432-0020-9<br />
* Wattier; Mark J. "The Clinton Factor: The Effects of Clinton's Personal Image in 2000 Presidential Primaries and in the General Election" ''White House Studies'', Vol. 4, 2004<br />
* Weisberg, Herbert F., and Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier. ''Reelection 1996: How Americans Voted,'' 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=62235822 online edition]<br />
<br />
===Health reform===<br />
* Blendon, R. J., M. Brodie, and J. Benson. "What Happened to Americans' Support of the Clinton Plan?" ''Health Affairs'' 1995. 14(2):7-23. [http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/14/2/7?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=brodie&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=10&resourcetype=HWCIT online edition], analysis of poll data<br />
* Fox, Daniel M. "A Lost Cause: Bill Clinton's Campaign for National Health Insurance, and: The Road to Nowhere: The Genesis of President Clinton's Plan for Health Security," ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' vol. 73, # 2, Summer 1999, pp. 367-369 in [[Project Muse]]<br />
* Laham, Nicholas, ''A Lost Cause: Bill Clinton's Campaign for National Health Insurance'' (1996) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/a-lost-cause-bill-clintons-campaign-for-national-health-insurance-by-nicholas-laham.jsp online edition]<br />
* Rushefsky, Mark E. and Kant Patel. ''Politics, Power & Policy Making: The Case of Health Care Reform in the 1990s'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Power-Policy-Making-Health/dp/1563249561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260096806&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Skocpol, Theda. ''Boomerang: Clinton's Health Security Effort and the Turn Against Government in U.S. Politics,'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/Boomerang-Health-Reform-Against-Government/dp/039331572X/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194472221&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
==Primary sources==<br />
* [http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/ERP/ Council of Economic Advisors, ''Economic Report of the President'' (annual 1947- )], complete series online; important analysis of current trends and policies, plus statistical tables<br />
*Clinton, William jfeerson. ''Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton: from Hope to Harlem'' ed. by Janis F. Kearney (2006) 402 pages; [http://books.google.com/books?id=EVdrKWADFnsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:clinton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2006&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Starr, Kenneth. ''The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair'' (1998) ISBN 1-891620-24-X [http://books.google.com/books?id=NxWTTbiij0wC&dq=inauthor:Starr+inauthor:Kenneth&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]<br />
===Memoirs===<br />
* Clinton, Bill. ''My Life''. (2004). ISBN 0-375-41457-6. [http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Bill-Clinton/dp/140003003X/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194464316&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Blumenthal, Sidney. ''The Clinton Wars''. (2003). ISBN 0-374-12502-3 [http://www.amazon.com/Clinton-Wars-Sidney-Blumenthal/dp/0374125023/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194472136&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
* Greenspan, Alan. ''The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World'' (2007), memoir by head of Federal Reserve<br />
* Stephanopoulos, George. ''All Too Human: A Political Education'' (1998) ISBN 0-316-92919-0 [http://www.amazon.com/All-too-Human-George-Stephanopoulos/dp/0316930164/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194472067&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
{{USPresidents}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Bill}}<br />
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]<br />
[[Category:Arkansas Governors]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]<br />
[[Category:Corruption]]<br />
[[Category:Liberals]]<br />
[[Category:Reagan Era]]<br />
[[Category:Democratic Party]]</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Fred_Phelps&diff=883408Fred Phelps2011-06-27T16:48:36Z<p>Est300: /* Phelps and Democrat politics */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' is [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization not affiliated with mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, and is a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps is noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has classified the church as a hate group by the radical [[leftist]] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. <ref>[http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/586891.html Counterdemonstrators drive off hate group in Flight 3407 protest] The Buffalo News, February 22, 2009</ref> He is said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], are related to Phelps either by blood or marriage.<br />
<br />
Phelps has openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]] and has made claims these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He has also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps is a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]]. [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#] His views are rejected by the majority of [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut"<ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref>.<br />
<br />
Phelps has led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006. Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is being represented by the [[ACLU]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps has been an active contributor to the [[Democratic Party]] and was enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for President in 1988.<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., also served as a delegate for Gore. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> <br />
<br />
Phelps also supported [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1992 presidential election. Phelps turned on Clinton and Gore almost immediately after the 1993 inauguration due to their tolerance of gay rights. Phelps claims Gore in 1988 was a conservative icon of the Democratic Party that sold out on some critical social issues. Phelps also demonstrated against Clinton and Gore during the 1997 inaugural. <ref> http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC} </ref> <br />
<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681 </ref><br />
<br />
== Phelps' Criticism of Religious Leaders ==<br />
<br />
Phelps runs several websites on the internet which preach against [[homosexuality]] and immoral living. Phelps espouses a skewed version of his own "literal" interpretation of the [[Bible]] and the holy scriptures, and speaks against mainstream religious and Christian leaders who, in his view, distort or twist the literal interpretation of the Bible. Phelps also speaks for greater accountability for religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, and has been vocal in the press and media concerning the abuse of young boys by Catholic priests and church leaders, and practicing homosexuals in the Episcopal Church.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Democratic politics ==<br />
<br />
Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democratic Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. and 1997. <ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps has been a vocal critic of former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and his whole family saying, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys.<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref> It would be misleading, however, to call Phelps a liberal Democrat as he has been fairly anti-political and predicts virtually all politicans are going to hell.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==<br />
<br />
In 1997, upset about [[United States]] sanctions on [[Iraq]], Phelps wrote a letter to [[Saddam Hussein]] that read, in part, ''We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message.'' <ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/wbc_on_america.asp</ref> He requested, and received, permission from Hussein to protest in Iraq. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC}</ref> In 2006 however when Hussein died Phelps said Hussein was in hell for practicing the Muslim faith. <br />
<br />
== Lawsuits and Litigation ==<br />
<br />
*Phelps and his congregation were recently sued by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps and his congregation protested the Iraq War at his son's funeral. The father sued for defamation over Phelps' statement: "Mr. Snyder raised his son for the devil and hell," during the funeral protest and in statements on his website. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against the church; Mr. Snyder won on every count of his complaint, receiving $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.<br />
<br />
*Phelps has also been threatened with prosecution by the Canadian Government for alleged hate speech in Canada for preaching what he has stated are the literal teachings of the Bible against homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559 Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group], 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate', By Jon E. Dougherty, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', October 25, 2000.</ref><br />
*Already picketing daily in Topeka, the Phelpses began to shower faxes on the community, targeting business and political leaders they disagreed with. After Topeka councilwoman Beth Mechler publicly doubted Phelps' claims that wild [[gay sex]] was occurring in Gage Park, Phelps responded with an insulting fax.<br />
<br />
==Criticism of Phelps==<br />
Phelps has been almost universally criticized, often by a great number of individuals, both conservative and liberal. For example, [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to Phelps as "a first class nut". <ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref><br />
<br />
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera said "Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion," <ref>http://www.eleventh-avenue-south.com/archives/2005/08/fred_phelps_a_p.html</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps was also cited during Canadian deliberations<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121806.html</ref> about declaring anti-gay sentiments to be a hate crime.<br />
<br />
Westboro Baptist also is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League.<br />
<br />
== Pickets ==<br />
[[File:1f3.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]<br />
Phelps announced that he and his group would picket the funeral service of actor [[Heath Ledger]].<br />
<br />
In February 2009, Phelps' group announced that they would travel to the [[United Kingdom]] to protest in [[Basingstoke]] against a gay-themed play called [[The Laramie Project]], based on the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]]. <br />
However, the British Foreign Secretary [[Jacqui Smith]] later announced on February 19th that they would be barred from entering the country as the group "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Phelps' group later responded with a message on their website GodHatesFags.com stating:<br />
<br />
"You British Bastards will not have Jesus Christ to rule over you, and think you can issue bans and pass laws to remove God’s word from the landscape. You do greatly err, not knowing the power of God; and, you do that against your own interests. It is a great kindness to have God’s prophets in your land. But, you ungrateful brutes despise knowledge. It is too late for the UK. God Hates You! God’s wrath and destruction is all that’s left for you, thanks to Secretary Smith."<ref>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11226.html</ref><br />
<br />
Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "Lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harrassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals refering too them as "the modern day Saduccees" and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref><br />
<br />
==Obama "Antichrist"==<br />
Fred Phelps believes that [[Barack Obama]] is the Antichrist. According to Phelps we are living in the end of days and Obama will form a Unholy Trinity with the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Satan]].<ref> http://www.beastobama.com/unholytrinity/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
If your aren't aware of why people call Phelps "hateful" this should give you a clue:<br />
<br />
*"Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact. He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear. The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies. Germany was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from World War I. Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power. Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches. Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him. The Congress of doomed america is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses. The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people. They’ll cave like a cheap deak of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants." Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>http://www.beatobama.com</ref> <br />
<br />
*"God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies."<br />
"How many do you suppose of those hundred (sic) and thirty soldiers died (sic) in the Pentagon last Tuesday were fags and dykes? And how many do you suppose were working in that massively composed building structure called those two World Trade Center buildings, Twin Towers? There were five thousand or ten thousand killed and, counting all those passengers in those airplanes, it's very likely that every last single one of them was a fag or dyke or a fag enabler, and that the minute he died, he split hell wide open, and the way to analyze the situation is that the Lord God Almighty, pursuant to His threatenings and warnings, killed him, looked him in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into Hell!... God hates America, and God demonstrated that hatred to some modest degree only last Tuesday -- sent in those bombers, those hellacious 767 Boeing bombers, and it was a glorious sight. What you need to do is see in those flames -- those sickening, twisting, burning, life-destroying flames, brightly shining from every television set around the world! You need to see in those flames a little preview of the flames of Hell that are going to soon engulf you, my friend. Burn your soul forever!" September 14, 2001<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smashed-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty, and you think He's going to let England and America and the rest of this evil world get by with it? God Almighty has not joined fags in holy wedlock. God no longer keeps America safe. America is doomed. We're getting the pants beat off of us, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. God is now America's terrorist, that's who Bush is fighting, that's the terrorist that he best be afraid of. You tweaked His nose, you jackass, you tweaked His nose! God put it in your wicked heart to start that war. That's the message we've got at the funerals of these dead soldiers. God duped you into starting a war, so He could punish you. And any preacher preaching it any other way is a lying hell-bound false prophet. So almost eighteen months now and the siege has got people eating their babies, and their small children, and each other! You're gonna eat your babies! God Himself duped Bush into a no-win war, and He did that by the technique of putting a lying spirit in the mouth of all his trusted advisers, to punish America." Phelps on April 1, 2007<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000764/</ref><br />
<br />
*"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in US history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three." Phelps on April 23, 2007<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Canada is a filthy country run by fags, which has Draconian laws making it a crime to preach the Gospel there. All of these cowardly kissy-poo preachers who telecast their milquetoast sermons into Canada have to edit out every single word critical of fags -- snip, snip, snip -- or the fag officials of Canada will arrest and criminally prosecute the Canadian affiliates, and shut down their stations! There's no freedom of speech in Canada. There's no freedom of religion in Canada. It is against the law to read the Bible in Canada.... Our church has had a lot of bad dealings with those demon-possessed Canadians! A big Canadian flag flies at our church upside-down, the international symbol of distress. We fly it day and night, to educate and warn people about the fagi-nazi regime just to the north of us. Canadians are afraid of their tyrannical fag-run government. You can determine for yourself about Canada, and keep as far away from them as you can." Phelps on July 31, 2008<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message...The same majoritarian sodomite tyranny that now guides the Clinton administration's repressive policies toward Gospel preaching on America's streets, is apparently responsible — at least in part — for the merciless slaughter by starvation of 400 innocent Iraqi babies each day in your country. If our government and laws will allow it, and at the invitation of your government, we would like to send a delegation from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to preach the Gospel on the streets of Baghdad for one week in the near future." Phelps November 30, 1997 letter too Saddam Hussein.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"In our experience, no modern country is more repressive of human rights than the U.S.A. The vaunted First Amendment is nothing but empty words on paper...we will journey to China at our expense, and tell our story of modern American repression of human rights, upon invitation." <br />
Fred Phelps, demanding permission too picket in the People's Republic of China, February 26, 1997.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses." Phelps on March 2003.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030307tony107col2p2.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"You are a Bible pervert, [President George W.] Bush! And I knew it, the minute you hired that fag Scott Evertz to run your White House and told Rumsfeld to hire that fag [Stephen] Herbits, to screen all the applicants for employment to the Pentagon." Phelps on September 14, 2001 <ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref>.<br />
<br />
*“Whatever righteous cause the Jewish victims of the 1930s-40s Nazi Holocaust had, (probably miniscule, compared to the Jewish Holocausts against Middle Passage Blacks, African Americans and Christians -- including the bloody persecution of Westboro Baptist Church by Topeka Jews in the 1990s), has been drowned in sodomite semen. American taxpayers are financing this unholy monument to Jewish mendacity and greed and to filthy fag lust…Homosexuals and Jews dominated Nazi Germany…just as they now dominate this doomed U.S.A…The Jews now wander the earth despised, smitten with moral and spiritual blindness by a divine judicial stroke…And god has smitten Jews with a certain unique madness, whereby they are an astonishment of heart, a proverb, and a byword (the butt of jokes and ridicule) among all peoples whither the Lord has driven and scattered them…Jews, thus perverted, out of all proportion to their numbers energize the militant sodomite agenda…The American Jews are the real Nazis (misusers and abusers of governmental power) who hate God and the rule of law.” WBC news release, December 26, 1996<ref>http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/WBC/WBC-on-Jews.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=3&item=WBC</ref><br />
<br />
== Outside links ==<br />
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Addicted to Hate: the story of Fred Phelps]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOrz5k0jWdU The Most Hated Family In America]<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470# Fred Phelps' Unhinged Video Message to the Cheneys]<br />
*[http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/homophobia.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online], Anti-Defamation League (2001). Retrieved 05/23/07. <br />
*[http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ God Hates Fred Phelps], Retrieved from http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ October 25, 2007.<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8682089528957352638&ei=YB-PSa6HCYbi2gKtgPnCCw&q=fred+phelps+jerry+falwell&hl=en Phelps denouncing] [[Jerry Falwell]] after his death.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Activists]] <br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred}}<br />
{{liberalism}}</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Fred_Phelps&diff=877887Fred Phelps2011-06-10T17:57:40Z<p>Est300: /* Quotes */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' is [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization not affiliated with mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, and is a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps is noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has classified the church as a hate group by the radical [[leftist]] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. <ref>[http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/586891.html Counterdemonstrators drive off hate group in Flight 3407 protest] The Buffalo News, February 22, 2009</ref> He is said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], are related to Phelps either by blood or marriage.<br />
<br />
Phelps has openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]] and has made claims these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He has also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps is a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]]. [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#] His views are rejected by the majority of [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut"<ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref>.<br />
<br />
Phelps has led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006. Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is being represented by the [[ACLU]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps has been an active contributor to the [[Democratic Party]] and was enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for President in 1988.<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., also served as a delegate for Gore. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> <br />
<br />
Phelps also supported [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1992 presidential election. Phelps turned on Clinton and Gore almost immediatley after the 1993 inaguration due too there tolerance of gay rights. Phelps claims Gore in 1988 was a conservative icon of the Democratic Party that sold out on some critical social issues. Phelps also demonstrated against Clinton and Gore during the 1997 inaugural. <ref> http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC} </ref> <br />
<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681 </ref><br />
<br />
== Phelps' Criticism of Religious Leaders ==<br />
<br />
Phelps runs several websites on the Internet which preach against [[homosexuality]] and immoral living. Phelps espouses a skewed version of his own "literal" interpretation of the [[Bible]] and the holy scriptures, and speaks against mainstream religious and Christian leaders who in his view, distort or twist the literal interpretation of the Bible. Phelps also speaks for greater accountability for religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, and has been vocal in the press and media concerning the abuse of young boys by Catholic Priests and Church Leaders, and practicing homosexuals in the Episcopal Church.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Democrat politics ==<br />
<br />
Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democratic Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. and 1997. <ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps has been a vocal critic of former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and his whole family saying, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys.<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref> It would be misleading however too call Phelps a liberal Democrat as he has been fairly anti-political and predicts virtualy all politicans are going too hell.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==<br />
<br />
In 1997, upset about [[United States]] sanctions on [[Iraq]], Phelps wrote a letter to [[Saddam Hussein]] that read, in part, ''We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message.'' <ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/wbc_on_america.asp</ref> He requested, and received, permission from Hussein to protest in Iraq. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC}</ref> In 2006 however when Hussein died Phelps said Hussein was in hell for practicing the Muslim faith. <br />
<br />
== Lawsuits and Litigation ==<br />
<br />
*Phelps and his congregation were recently sued by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps and his congregation protested the Iraq War at his son's funeral. The father sued for defamation over Phelps' statement: "Mr. Snyder raised his son for the devil and hell," during the funeral protest and in statements on his website. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against the church; Mr. Snyder won on every count of his complaint, receiving $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.<br />
<br />
*Phelps has also been threatened with prosecution by the Canadian Government for alleged hate speech in Canada for preaching what he has stated are the literal teachings of the Bible against homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559 Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group], 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate', By Jon E. Dougherty, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', October 25, 2000.</ref><br />
*Already picketing daily in Topeka, the Phelpses began to shower faxes on the community, targeting business and political leaders they disagreed with. After Topeka councilwoman Beth Mechler publicly doubted Phelps' claims that wild [[gay sex]] was occurring in Gage Park, Phelps responded with an insulting fax.<br />
<br />
==Criticism of Phelps==<br />
Phelps has been almost universally criticized, often by a great number of individuals, both conservative and liberal. For example, [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to Phelps as "a first class nut". <ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref><br />
<br />
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera said "Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion," <ref>http://www.eleventh-avenue-south.com/archives/2005/08/fred_phelps_a_p.html</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps was also cited during Canadian deliberations<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121806.html</ref> about declaring anti-gay sentiments to be a hate crime.<br />
<br />
Westboro Baptist also is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League.<br />
<br />
== Pickets ==<br />
[[File:1f3.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]<br />
Phelps announced that he and his group would picket the funeral service of actor [[Heath Ledger]].<br />
<br />
In February 2009, Phelps' group announced that they would travel to the [[United Kingdom]] to protest in [[Basingstoke]] against a gay-themed play called [[The Laramie Project]], based on the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]]. <br />
However, the British Foreign Secretary [[Jacqui Smith]] later announced on February 19th that they would be barred from entering the country as the group "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Phelps' group later responded with a message on their website GodHatesFags.com stating:<br />
<br />
"You British Bastards will not have Jesus Christ to rule over you, and think you can issue bans and pass laws to remove God’s word from the landscape. You do greatly err, not knowing the power of God; and, you do that against your own interests. It is a great kindness to have God’s prophets in your land. But, you ungrateful brutes despise knowledge. It is too late for the UK. God Hates You! God’s wrath and destruction is all that’s left for you, thanks to Secretary Smith."<ref>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11226.html</ref><br />
<br />
Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "Lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harrassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals refering too them as "the modern day Saduccees" and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref><br />
<br />
==Obama "Antichrist"==<br />
Fred Phelps believes that [[Barack Obama]] is the Antichrist. According too Phelps we are living in the end of days and Obama will form a Unholy Trinity with the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Satan]].<ref> http://www.beastobama.com/unholytrinity/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
If your aren't aware of why people call Phelps "hateful" this should give you a clue:<br />
<br />
*"Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact. He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear. The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies. Germany was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from World War I. Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power. Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches. Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him. The Congress of doomed america is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses. The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people. They’ll cave like a cheap deak of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants." Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>http://www.beatobama.com</ref> <br />
<br />
*"God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies."<br />
"How many do you suppose of those hundred (sic) and thirty soldiers died (sic) in the Pentagon last Tuesday were fags and dykes? And how many do you suppose were working in that massively composed building structure called those two World Trade Center buildings, Twin Towers? There were five thousand or ten thousand killed and, counting all those passengers in those airplanes, it's very likely that every last single one of them was a fag or dyke or a fag enabler, and that the minute he died, he split hell wide open, and the way to analyze the situation is that the Lord God Almighty, pursuant to His threatenings and warnings, killed him, looked him in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into Hell!... God hates America, and God demonstrated that hatred to some modest degree only last Tuesday -- sent in those bombers, those hellacious 767 Boeing bombers, and it was a glorious sight. What you need to do is see in those flames -- those sickening, twisting, burning, life-destroying flames, brightly shining from every television set around the world! You need to see in those flames a little preview of the flames of Hell that are going to soon engulf you, my friend. Burn your soul forever!" September 14, 2001<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smashed-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty, and you think He's going to let England and America and the rest of this evil world get by with it? God Almighty has not joined fags in holy wedlock. God no longer keeps America safe. America is doomed. We're getting the pants beat off of us, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. God is now America's terrorist, that's who Bush is fighting, that's the terrorist that he best be afraid of. You tweaked His nose, you jackass, you tweaked His nose! God put it in your wicked heart to start that war. That's the message we've got at the funerals of these dead soldiers. God duped you into starting a war, so He could punish you. And any preacher preaching it any other way is a lying hell-bound false prophet. So almost eighteen months now and the siege has got people eating their babies, and their small children, and each other! You're gonna eat your babies! God Himself duped Bush into a no-win war, and He did that by the technique of putting a lying spirit in the mouth of all his trusted advisers, to punish America." Phelps on April 1, 2007<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000764/</ref><br />
<br />
*"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in US history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three." Phelps on April 23, 2007<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Canada is a filthy country run by fags, which has Draconian laws making it a crime to preach the Gospel there. All of these cowardly kissy-poo preachers who telecast their milquetoast sermons into Canada have to edit out every single word critical of fags -- snip, snip, snip -- or the fag officials of Canada will arrest and criminally prosecute the Canadian affiliates, and shut down their stations! There's no freedom of speech in Canada. There's no freedom of religion in Canada. It is against the law to read the Bible in Canada.... Our church has had a lot of bad dealings with those demon-possessed Canadians! A big Canadian flag flies at our church upside-down, the international symbol of distress. We fly it day and night, to educate and warn people about the fagi-nazi regime just to the north of us. Canadians are afraid of their tyrannical fag-run government. You can determine for yourself about Canada, and keep as far away from them as you can." Phelps on July 31, 2008<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message...The same majoritarian sodomite tyranny that now guides the Clinton administration's repressive policies toward Gospel preaching on America's streets, is apparently responsible — at least in part — for the merciless slaughter by starvation of 400 innocent Iraqi babies each day in your country. If our government and laws will allow it, and at the invitation of your government, we would like to send a delegation from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to preach the Gospel on the streets of Baghdad for one week in the near future." Phelps November 30, 1997 letter too Saddam Hussein.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"In our experience, no modern country is more repressive of human rights than the U.S.A. The vaunted First Amendment is nothing but empty words on paper...we will journey to China at our expense, and tell our story of modern American repression of human rights, upon invitation." <br />
Fred Phelps, demanding permission too picket in the People's Republic of China, February 26, 1997.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses." Phelps on March 2003.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030307tony107col2p2.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"You are a Bible pervert, [President George W.] Bush! And I knew it, the minute you hired that fag Scott Evertz to run your White House and told Rumsfeld to hire that fag [Stephen] Herbits, to screen all the applicants for employment to the Pentagon." Phelps on September 14, 2001 <ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref>.<br />
<br />
*“Whatever righteous cause the Jewish victims of the 1930s-40s Nazi Holocaust had, (probably miniscule, compared to the Jewish Holocausts against Middle Passage Blacks, African Americans and Christians -- including the bloody persecution of Westboro Baptist Church by Topeka Jews in the 1990s), has been drowned in sodomite semen. American taxpayers are financing this unholy monument to Jewish mendacity and greed and to filthy fag lust…Homosexuals and Jews dominated Nazi Germany…just as they now dominate this doomed U.S.A…The Jews now wander the earth despised, smitten with moral and spiritual blindness by a divine judicial stroke…And god has smitten Jews with a certain unique madness, whereby they are an astonishment of heart, a proverb, and a byword (the butt of jokes and ridicule) among all peoples whither the Lord has driven and scattered them…Jews, thus perverted, out of all proportion to their numbers energize the militant sodomite agenda…The American Jews are the real Nazis (misusers and abusers of governmental power) who hate God and the rule of law.” WBC news release, December 26, 1996<ref>http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/WBC/WBC-on-Jews.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=3&item=WBC</ref><br />
<br />
== Outside links ==<br />
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Addicted to Hate: the story of Fred Phelps]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOrz5k0jWdU The Most Hated Family In America]<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470# Fred Phelps' Unhinged Video Message to the Cheneys]<br />
*[http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/homophobia.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online], Anti-Defamation League (2001). Retrieved 05/23/07. <br />
*[http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ God Hates Fred Phelps], Retrieved from http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ October 25, 2007.<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8682089528957352638&ei=YB-PSa6HCYbi2gKtgPnCCw&q=fred+phelps+jerry+falwell&hl=en Phelps denouncing] [[Jerry Falwell]] after his death.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Activists]] <br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred}}<br />
{{liberalism}}</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Fred_Phelps&diff=877884Fred Phelps2011-06-10T17:44:17Z<p>Est300: /* Pickets */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' is [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization not affiliated with mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, and is a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps is noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has classified the church as a hate group by the radical [[leftist]] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. <ref>[http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/586891.html Counterdemonstrators drive off hate group in Flight 3407 protest] The Buffalo News, February 22, 2009</ref> He is said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], are related to Phelps either by blood or marriage.<br />
<br />
Phelps has openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]] and has made claims these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He has also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps is a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]]. [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#] His views are rejected by the majority of [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut"<ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref>.<br />
<br />
Phelps has led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006. Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is being represented by the [[ACLU]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps has been an active contributor to the [[Democratic Party]] and was enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for President in 1988.<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., also served as a delegate for Gore. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> <br />
<br />
Phelps also supported [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1992 presidential election. Phelps turned on Clinton and Gore almost immediatley after the 1993 inaguration due too there tolerance of gay rights. Phelps claims Gore in 1988 was a conservative icon of the Democratic Party that sold out on some critical social issues. Phelps also demonstrated against Clinton and Gore during the 1997 inaugural. <ref> http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC} </ref> <br />
<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681 </ref><br />
<br />
== Phelps' Criticism of Religious Leaders ==<br />
<br />
Phelps runs several websites on the Internet which preach against [[homosexuality]] and immoral living. Phelps espouses a skewed version of his own "literal" interpretation of the [[Bible]] and the holy scriptures, and speaks against mainstream religious and Christian leaders who in his view, distort or twist the literal interpretation of the Bible. Phelps also speaks for greater accountability for religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, and has been vocal in the press and media concerning the abuse of young boys by Catholic Priests and Church Leaders, and practicing homosexuals in the Episcopal Church.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Democrat politics ==<br />
<br />
Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democratic Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. and 1997. <ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps has been a vocal critic of former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and his whole family saying, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys.<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref> It would be misleading however too call Phelps a liberal Democrat as he has been fairly anti-political and predicts virtualy all politicans are going too hell.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==<br />
<br />
In 1997, upset about [[United States]] sanctions on [[Iraq]], Phelps wrote a letter to [[Saddam Hussein]] that read, in part, ''We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message.'' <ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/wbc_on_america.asp</ref> He requested, and received, permission from Hussein to protest in Iraq. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC}</ref> In 2006 however when Hussein died Phelps said Hussein was in hell for practicing the Muslim faith. <br />
<br />
== Lawsuits and Litigation ==<br />
<br />
*Phelps and his congregation were recently sued by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps and his congregation protested the Iraq War at his son's funeral. The father sued for defamation over Phelps' statement: "Mr. Snyder raised his son for the devil and hell," during the funeral protest and in statements on his website. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against the church; Mr. Snyder won on every count of his complaint, receiving $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.<br />
<br />
*Phelps has also been threatened with prosecution by the Canadian Government for alleged hate speech in Canada for preaching what he has stated are the literal teachings of the Bible against homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559 Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group], 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate', By Jon E. Dougherty, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', October 25, 2000.</ref><br />
*Already picketing daily in Topeka, the Phelpses began to shower faxes on the community, targeting business and political leaders they disagreed with. After Topeka councilwoman Beth Mechler publicly doubted Phelps' claims that wild [[gay sex]] was occurring in Gage Park, Phelps responded with an insulting fax.<br />
<br />
==Criticism of Phelps==<br />
Phelps has been almost universally criticized, often by a great number of individuals, both conservative and liberal. For example, [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to Phelps as "a first class nut". <ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref><br />
<br />
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera said "Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion," <ref>http://www.eleventh-avenue-south.com/archives/2005/08/fred_phelps_a_p.html</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps was also cited during Canadian deliberations<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121806.html</ref> about declaring anti-gay sentiments to be a hate crime.<br />
<br />
Westboro Baptist also is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League.<br />
<br />
== Pickets ==<br />
[[File:1f3.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]<br />
Phelps announced that he and his group would picket the funeral service of actor [[Heath Ledger]].<br />
<br />
In February 2009, Phelps' group announced that they would travel to the [[United Kingdom]] to protest in [[Basingstoke]] against a gay-themed play called [[The Laramie Project]], based on the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]]. <br />
However, the British Foreign Secretary [[Jacqui Smith]] later announced on February 19th that they would be barred from entering the country as the group "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Phelps' group later responded with a message on their website GodHatesFags.com stating:<br />
<br />
"You British Bastards will not have Jesus Christ to rule over you, and think you can issue bans and pass laws to remove God’s word from the landscape. You do greatly err, not knowing the power of God; and, you do that against your own interests. It is a great kindness to have God’s prophets in your land. But, you ungrateful brutes despise knowledge. It is too late for the UK. God Hates You! God’s wrath and destruction is all that’s left for you, thanks to Secretary Smith."<ref>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11226.html</ref><br />
<br />
Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "Lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harrassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals refering too them as "the modern day Saduccees" and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref><br />
<br />
==Obama "Antichrist"==<br />
Fred Phelps believes that [[Barack Obama]] is the Antichrist. According too Phelps we are living in the end of days and Obama will form a Unholy Trinity with the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Satan]].<ref> http://www.beastobama.com/unholytrinity/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
If your aren't aware of why people call Phelps "hateful" this should give you a clue:<br />
<br />
*"Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact. He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear. The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies. Germany was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from World War I. Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power. Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches. Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him. The Congress of doomed america is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses. The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people. They’ll cave like a cheap deak of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants." Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>http://www.beatobama.com</ref> <br />
<br />
*"God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies."<br />
"How many do you suppose of those hundred (sic) and thirty soldiers died (sic) in the Pentagon last Tuesday were fags and dykes? And how many do you suppose were working in that massively composed building structure called those two World Trade Center buildings, Twin Towers? There were five thousand or ten thousand killed and, counting all those passengers in those airplanes, it's very likely that every last single one of them was a fag or dyke or a fag enabler, and that the minute he died, he split hell wide open, and the way to analyze the situation is that the Lord God Almighty, pursuant to His threatenings and warnings, killed him, looked him in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into Hell!... God hates America, and God demonstrated that hatred to some modest degree only last Tuesday -- sent in those bombers, those hellacious 767 Boeing bombers, and it was a glorious sight. What you need to do is see in those flames -- those sickening, twisting, burning, life-destroying flames, brightly shining from every television set around the world! You need to see in those flames a little preview of the flames of Hell that are going to soon engulf you, my friend. Burn your soul forever!" September 14, 2001<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smashed-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty, and you think He's going to let England and America and the rest of this evil world get by with it? God Almighty has not joined fags in holy wedlock. God no longer keeps America safe. America is doomed. We're getting the pants beat off of us, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. God is now America's terrorist, that's who Bush is fighting, that's the terrorist that he best be afraid of. You tweaked His nose, you jackass, you tweaked His nose! God put it in your wicked heart to start that war. That's the message we've got at the funerals of these dead soldiers. God duped you into starting a war, so He could punish you. And any preacher preaching it any other way is a lying hell-bound false prophet. So almost eighteen months now and the siege has got people eating their babies, and their small children, and each other! You're gonna eat your babies! God Himself duped Bush into a no-win war, and He did that by the technique of putting a lying spirit in the mouth of all his trusted advisers, to punish America." Phelps on April 1, 2007<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000764/</ref><br />
<br />
*"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in US history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three." Phelps on April 23, 2007<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Canada is a filthy country run by fags, which has Draconian laws making it a crime to preach the Gospel there. All of these cowardly kissy-poo preachers who telecast their milquetoast sermons into Canada have to edit out every single word critical of fags -- snip, snip, snip -- or the fag officials of Canada will arrest and criminally prosecute the Canadian affiliates, and shut down their stations! There's no freedom of speech in Canada. There's no freedom of religion in Canada. It is against the law to read the Bible in Canada.... Our church has had a lot of bad dealings with those demon-possessed Canadians! A big Canadian flag flies at our church upside-down, the international symbol of distress. We fly it day and night, to educate and warn people about the fagi-nazi regime just to the north of us. Canadians are afraid of their tyrannical fag-run government. You can determine for yourself about Canada, and keep as far away from them as you can." Phelps on July 31, 2008<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message...The same majoritarian sodomite tyranny that now guides the Clinton administration's repressive policies toward Gospel preaching on America's streets, is apparently responsible — at least in part — for the merciless slaughter by starvation of 400 innocent Iraqi babies each day in your country. If our government and laws will allow it, and at the invitation of your government, we would like to send a delegation from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to preach the Gospel on the streets of Baghdad for one week in the near future." Phelps November 30, 1997 letter too Saddam Hussein.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"In our experience, no modern country is more repressive of human rights than the U.S.A. The vaunted First Amendment is nothing but empty words on paper...we will journey to China at our expense, and tell our story of modern American repression of human rights, upon invitation." <br />
Fred Phelps, demanding permission too picket in the People's Republic of China, February 26, 1997.<br />
<br />
*"Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses." Phelps on March 2003.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030307tony107col2p2.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"You are a Bible pervert, [President George W.] Bush! And I knew it, the minute you hired that fag Scott Evertz to run your White House and told Rumsfeld to hire that fag [Stephen] Herbits, to screen all the applicants for employment to the Pentagon." Phelps on September 14, 2001 <ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref>.<br />
<br />
== Outside links ==<br />
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Addicted to Hate: the story of Fred Phelps]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOrz5k0jWdU The Most Hated Family In America]<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470# Fred Phelps' Unhinged Video Message to the Cheneys]<br />
*[http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/homophobia.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online], Anti-Defamation League (2001). Retrieved 05/23/07. <br />
*[http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ God Hates Fred Phelps], Retrieved from http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ October 25, 2007.<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8682089528957352638&ei=YB-PSa6HCYbi2gKtgPnCCw&q=fred+phelps+jerry+falwell&hl=en Phelps denouncing] [[Jerry Falwell]] after his death.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Activists]] <br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred}}<br />
{{liberalism}}</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Fred_Phelps&diff=877883Fred Phelps2011-06-10T17:43:45Z<p>Est300: /* Criticism of Phelps */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' is [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization not affiliated with mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, and is a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps is noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has classified the church as a hate group by the radical [[leftist]] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. <ref>[http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/586891.html Counterdemonstrators drive off hate group in Flight 3407 protest] The Buffalo News, February 22, 2009</ref> He is said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], are related to Phelps either by blood or marriage.<br />
<br />
Phelps has openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]] and has made claims these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He has also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps is a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]]. [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#] His views are rejected by the majority of [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut"<ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref>.<br />
<br />
Phelps has led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006. Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is being represented by the [[ACLU]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps has been an active contributor to the [[Democratic Party]] and was enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for President in 1988.<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., also served as a delegate for Gore. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> <br />
<br />
Phelps also supported [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1992 presidential election. Phelps turned on Clinton and Gore almost immediatley after the 1993 inaguration due too there tolerance of gay rights. Phelps claims Gore in 1988 was a conservative icon of the Democratic Party that sold out on some critical social issues. Phelps also demonstrated against Clinton and Gore during the 1997 inaugural. <ref> http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC} </ref> <br />
<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681 </ref><br />
<br />
== Phelps' Criticism of Religious Leaders ==<br />
<br />
Phelps runs several websites on the Internet which preach against [[homosexuality]] and immoral living. Phelps espouses a skewed version of his own "literal" interpretation of the [[Bible]] and the holy scriptures, and speaks against mainstream religious and Christian leaders who in his view, distort or twist the literal interpretation of the Bible. Phelps also speaks for greater accountability for religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, and has been vocal in the press and media concerning the abuse of young boys by Catholic Priests and Church Leaders, and practicing homosexuals in the Episcopal Church.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Democrat politics ==<br />
<br />
Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democratic Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. and 1997. <ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps has been a vocal critic of former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and his whole family saying, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys.<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref> It would be misleading however too call Phelps a liberal Democrat as he has been fairly anti-political and predicts virtualy all politicans are going too hell.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==<br />
<br />
In 1997, upset about [[United States]] sanctions on [[Iraq]], Phelps wrote a letter to [[Saddam Hussein]] that read, in part, ''We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message.'' <ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/wbc_on_america.asp</ref> He requested, and received, permission from Hussein to protest in Iraq. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC}</ref> In 2006 however when Hussein died Phelps said Hussein was in hell for practicing the Muslim faith. <br />
<br />
== Lawsuits and Litigation ==<br />
<br />
*Phelps and his congregation were recently sued by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps and his congregation protested the Iraq War at his son's funeral. The father sued for defamation over Phelps' statement: "Mr. Snyder raised his son for the devil and hell," during the funeral protest and in statements on his website. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against the church; Mr. Snyder won on every count of his complaint, receiving $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.<br />
<br />
*Phelps has also been threatened with prosecution by the Canadian Government for alleged hate speech in Canada for preaching what he has stated are the literal teachings of the Bible against homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559 Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group], 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate', By Jon E. Dougherty, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', October 25, 2000.</ref><br />
*Already picketing daily in Topeka, the Phelpses began to shower faxes on the community, targeting business and political leaders they disagreed with. After Topeka councilwoman Beth Mechler publicly doubted Phelps' claims that wild [[gay sex]] was occurring in Gage Park, Phelps responded with an insulting fax.<br />
<br />
==Criticism of Phelps==<br />
Phelps has been almost universally criticized, often by a great number of individuals, both conservative and liberal. For example, [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to Phelps as "a first class nut". <ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref><br />
<br />
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera said "Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion," <ref>http://www.eleventh-avenue-south.com/archives/2005/08/fred_phelps_a_p.html</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps was also cited during Canadian deliberations<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121806.html</ref> about declaring anti-gay sentiments to be a hate crime.<br />
<br />
Westboro Baptist also is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League.<br />
<br />
== Pickets ==<br />
[[File:1f3.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]<br />
Phelps announced that he and his group would picket the funeral service of actor [[Heath Ledger]].<br />
<br />
In February 2009, Phelps' group announced that they would travel to the [[United Kingdom]] to protest in [[Basingstoke]] against a gay-themed play called [[The Laramie Project]], based on the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]]. <br />
However, the British Foreign Secretary [[Jacqui Smith]] later announced on February 19th that they would be barred from entering the country as the group "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Phelps' group later responded with a message on their website GodHatesFags.com stating:<br />
<br />
"You British Bastards will not have Jesus Christ to rule over you, and think you can issue bans and pass laws to remove God’s word from the landscape. You do greatly err, not knowing the power of God; and, you do that against your own interests. It is a great kindness to have God’s prophets in your land. But, you ungrateful brutes despise knowledge. It is too late for the UK. God Hates You! God’s wrath and destruction is all that’s left for you, thanks to Secretary Smith."<ref>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11226.html</ref><br />
<br />
Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harrassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals refering too them as "the modern day Saduccees" and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref><br />
<br />
==Obama "Antichrist"==<br />
Fred Phelps believes that [[Barack Obama]] is the Antichrist. According too Phelps we are living in the end of days and Obama will form a Unholy Trinity with the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Satan]].<ref> http://www.beastobama.com/unholytrinity/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
If your aren't aware of why people call Phelps "hateful" this should give you a clue:<br />
<br />
*"Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact. He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear. The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies. Germany was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from World War I. Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power. Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches. Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him. The Congress of doomed america is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses. The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people. They’ll cave like a cheap deak of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants." Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>http://www.beatobama.com</ref> <br />
<br />
*"God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies."<br />
"How many do you suppose of those hundred (sic) and thirty soldiers died (sic) in the Pentagon last Tuesday were fags and dykes? And how many do you suppose were working in that massively composed building structure called those two World Trade Center buildings, Twin Towers? There were five thousand or ten thousand killed and, counting all those passengers in those airplanes, it's very likely that every last single one of them was a fag or dyke or a fag enabler, and that the minute he died, he split hell wide open, and the way to analyze the situation is that the Lord God Almighty, pursuant to His threatenings and warnings, killed him, looked him in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into Hell!... God hates America, and God demonstrated that hatred to some modest degree only last Tuesday -- sent in those bombers, those hellacious 767 Boeing bombers, and it was a glorious sight. What you need to do is see in those flames -- those sickening, twisting, burning, life-destroying flames, brightly shining from every television set around the world! You need to see in those flames a little preview of the flames of Hell that are going to soon engulf you, my friend. Burn your soul forever!" September 14, 2001<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smashed-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty, and you think He's going to let England and America and the rest of this evil world get by with it? God Almighty has not joined fags in holy wedlock. God no longer keeps America safe. America is doomed. We're getting the pants beat off of us, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. God is now America's terrorist, that's who Bush is fighting, that's the terrorist that he best be afraid of. You tweaked His nose, you jackass, you tweaked His nose! God put it in your wicked heart to start that war. That's the message we've got at the funerals of these dead soldiers. God duped you into starting a war, so He could punish you. And any preacher preaching it any other way is a lying hell-bound false prophet. So almost eighteen months now and the siege has got people eating their babies, and their small children, and each other! You're gonna eat your babies! God Himself duped Bush into a no-win war, and He did that by the technique of putting a lying spirit in the mouth of all his trusted advisers, to punish America." Phelps on April 1, 2007<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000764/</ref><br />
<br />
*"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in US history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three." Phelps on April 23, 2007<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Canada is a filthy country run by fags, which has Draconian laws making it a crime to preach the Gospel there. All of these cowardly kissy-poo preachers who telecast their milquetoast sermons into Canada have to edit out every single word critical of fags -- snip, snip, snip -- or the fag officials of Canada will arrest and criminally prosecute the Canadian affiliates, and shut down their stations! There's no freedom of speech in Canada. There's no freedom of religion in Canada. It is against the law to read the Bible in Canada.... Our church has had a lot of bad dealings with those demon-possessed Canadians! A big Canadian flag flies at our church upside-down, the international symbol of distress. We fly it day and night, to educate and warn people about the fagi-nazi regime just to the north of us. Canadians are afraid of their tyrannical fag-run government. You can determine for yourself about Canada, and keep as far away from them as you can." Phelps on July 31, 2008<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message...The same majoritarian sodomite tyranny that now guides the Clinton administration's repressive policies toward Gospel preaching on America's streets, is apparently responsible — at least in part — for the merciless slaughter by starvation of 400 innocent Iraqi babies each day in your country. If our government and laws will allow it, and at the invitation of your government, we would like to send a delegation from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to preach the Gospel on the streets of Baghdad for one week in the near future." Phelps November 30, 1997 letter too Saddam Hussein.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"In our experience, no modern country is more repressive of human rights than the U.S.A. The vaunted First Amendment is nothing but empty words on paper...we will journey to China at our expense, and tell our story of modern American repression of human rights, upon invitation." <br />
Fred Phelps, demanding permission too picket in the People's Republic of China, February 26, 1997.<br />
<br />
*"Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses." Phelps on March 2003.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030307tony107col2p2.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"You are a Bible pervert, [President George W.] Bush! And I knew it, the minute you hired that fag Scott Evertz to run your White House and told Rumsfeld to hire that fag [Stephen] Herbits, to screen all the applicants for employment to the Pentagon." Phelps on September 14, 2001 <ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref>.<br />
<br />
== Outside links ==<br />
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Addicted to Hate: the story of Fred Phelps]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOrz5k0jWdU The Most Hated Family In America]<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470# Fred Phelps' Unhinged Video Message to the Cheneys]<br />
*[http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/homophobia.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online], Anti-Defamation League (2001). Retrieved 05/23/07. <br />
*[http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ God Hates Fred Phelps], Retrieved from http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ October 25, 2007.<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8682089528957352638&ei=YB-PSa6HCYbi2gKtgPnCCw&q=fred+phelps+jerry+falwell&hl=en Phelps denouncing] [[Jerry Falwell]] after his death.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Activists]] <br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred}}<br />
{{liberalism}}</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Fred_Phelps&diff=877882Fred Phelps2011-06-10T17:43:01Z<p>Est300: /* Phelps and Democrat politics */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' is [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization not affiliated with mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, and is a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps is noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has classified the church as a hate group by the radical [[leftist]] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. <ref>[http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/586891.html Counterdemonstrators drive off hate group in Flight 3407 protest] The Buffalo News, February 22, 2009</ref> He is said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], are related to Phelps either by blood or marriage.<br />
<br />
Phelps has openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]] and has made claims these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He has also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps is a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]]. [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#] His views are rejected by the majority of [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut"<ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref>.<br />
<br />
Phelps has led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006. Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is being represented by the [[ACLU]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps has been an active contributor to the [[Democratic Party]] and was enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for President in 1988.<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., also served as a delegate for Gore. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> <br />
<br />
Phelps also supported [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1992 presidential election. Phelps turned on Clinton and Gore almost immediatley after the 1993 inaguration due too there tolerance of gay rights. Phelps claims Gore in 1988 was a conservative icon of the Democratic Party that sold out on some critical social issues. Phelps also demonstrated against Clinton and Gore during the 1997 inaugural. <ref> http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC} </ref> <br />
<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681 </ref><br />
<br />
== Phelps' Criticism of Religious Leaders ==<br />
<br />
Phelps runs several websites on the Internet which preach against [[homosexuality]] and immoral living. Phelps espouses a skewed version of his own "literal" interpretation of the [[Bible]] and the holy scriptures, and speaks against mainstream religious and Christian leaders who in his view, distort or twist the literal interpretation of the Bible. Phelps also speaks for greater accountability for religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, and has been vocal in the press and media concerning the abuse of young boys by Catholic Priests and Church Leaders, and practicing homosexuals in the Episcopal Church.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Democrat politics ==<br />
<br />
Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democratic Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. and 1997. <ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps has been a vocal critic of former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and his whole family saying, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys.<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref> It would be misleading however too call Phelps a liberal Democrat as he has been fairly anti-political and predicts virtualy all politicans are going too hell.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==<br />
<br />
In 1997, upset about [[United States]] sanctions on [[Iraq]], Phelps wrote a letter to [[Saddam Hussein]] that read, in part, ''We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message.'' <ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/wbc_on_america.asp</ref> He requested, and received, permission from Hussein to protest in Iraq. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC}</ref> In 2006 however when Hussein died Phelps said Hussein was in hell for practicing the Muslim faith. <br />
<br />
== Lawsuits and Litigation ==<br />
<br />
*Phelps and his congregation were recently sued by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps and his congregation protested the Iraq War at his son's funeral. The father sued for defamation over Phelps' statement: "Mr. Snyder raised his son for the devil and hell," during the funeral protest and in statements on his website. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against the church; Mr. Snyder won on every count of his complaint, receiving $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.<br />
<br />
*Phelps has also been threatened with prosecution by the Canadian Government for alleged hate speech in Canada for preaching what he has stated are the literal teachings of the Bible against homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559 Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group], 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate', By Jon E. Dougherty, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', October 25, 2000.</ref><br />
*Already picketing daily in Topeka, the Phelpses began to shower faxes on the community, targeting business and political leaders they disagreed with. After Topeka councilwoman Beth Mechler publicly doubted Phelps' claims that wild [[gay sex]] was occurring in Gage Park, Phelps responded with an insulting fax.<br />
<br />
==Criticism of Phelps==<br />
Phelps has been criticized by a great number of individuals, both conservative and liberal. For example, [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to Phelps as "a first class nut". <ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref><br />
<br />
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera said "Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion," <ref>http://www.eleventh-avenue-south.com/archives/2005/08/fred_phelps_a_p.html</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps was also cited during Canadian deliberations<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121806.html</ref> about declaring anti-gay sentiments to be a hate crime.<br />
<br />
Westboro Baptist also is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League.<br />
<br />
== Pickets ==<br />
[[File:1f3.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]<br />
Phelps announced that he and his group would picket the funeral service of actor [[Heath Ledger]].<br />
<br />
In February 2009, Phelps' group announced that they would travel to the [[United Kingdom]] to protest in [[Basingstoke]] against a gay-themed play called [[The Laramie Project]], based on the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]]. <br />
However, the British Foreign Secretary [[Jacqui Smith]] later announced on February 19th that they would be barred from entering the country as the group "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Phelps' group later responded with a message on their website GodHatesFags.com stating:<br />
<br />
"You British Bastards will not have Jesus Christ to rule over you, and think you can issue bans and pass laws to remove God’s word from the landscape. You do greatly err, not knowing the power of God; and, you do that against your own interests. It is a great kindness to have God’s prophets in your land. But, you ungrateful brutes despise knowledge. It is too late for the UK. God Hates You! God’s wrath and destruction is all that’s left for you, thanks to Secretary Smith."<ref>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11226.html</ref><br />
<br />
Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harrassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals refering too them as "the modern day Saduccees" and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref><br />
<br />
==Obama "Antichrist"==<br />
Fred Phelps believes that [[Barack Obama]] is the Antichrist. According too Phelps we are living in the end of days and Obama will form a Unholy Trinity with the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Satan]].<ref> http://www.beastobama.com/unholytrinity/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
If your aren't aware of why people call Phelps "hateful" this should give you a clue:<br />
<br />
*"Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact. He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear. The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies. Germany was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from World War I. Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power. Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches. Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him. The Congress of doomed america is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses. The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people. They’ll cave like a cheap deak of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants." Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>http://www.beatobama.com</ref> <br />
<br />
*"God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies."<br />
"How many do you suppose of those hundred (sic) and thirty soldiers died (sic) in the Pentagon last Tuesday were fags and dykes? And how many do you suppose were working in that massively composed building structure called those two World Trade Center buildings, Twin Towers? There were five thousand or ten thousand killed and, counting all those passengers in those airplanes, it's very likely that every last single one of them was a fag or dyke or a fag enabler, and that the minute he died, he split hell wide open, and the way to analyze the situation is that the Lord God Almighty, pursuant to His threatenings and warnings, killed him, looked him in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into Hell!... God hates America, and God demonstrated that hatred to some modest degree only last Tuesday -- sent in those bombers, those hellacious 767 Boeing bombers, and it was a glorious sight. What you need to do is see in those flames -- those sickening, twisting, burning, life-destroying flames, brightly shining from every television set around the world! You need to see in those flames a little preview of the flames of Hell that are going to soon engulf you, my friend. Burn your soul forever!" September 14, 2001<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smashed-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty, and you think He's going to let England and America and the rest of this evil world get by with it? God Almighty has not joined fags in holy wedlock. God no longer keeps America safe. America is doomed. We're getting the pants beat off of us, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. God is now America's terrorist, that's who Bush is fighting, that's the terrorist that he best be afraid of. You tweaked His nose, you jackass, you tweaked His nose! God put it in your wicked heart to start that war. That's the message we've got at the funerals of these dead soldiers. God duped you into starting a war, so He could punish you. And any preacher preaching it any other way is a lying hell-bound false prophet. So almost eighteen months now and the siege has got people eating their babies, and their small children, and each other! You're gonna eat your babies! God Himself duped Bush into a no-win war, and He did that by the technique of putting a lying spirit in the mouth of all his trusted advisers, to punish America." Phelps on April 1, 2007<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000764/</ref><br />
<br />
*"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in US history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three." Phelps on April 23, 2007<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Canada is a filthy country run by fags, which has Draconian laws making it a crime to preach the Gospel there. All of these cowardly kissy-poo preachers who telecast their milquetoast sermons into Canada have to edit out every single word critical of fags -- snip, snip, snip -- or the fag officials of Canada will arrest and criminally prosecute the Canadian affiliates, and shut down their stations! There's no freedom of speech in Canada. There's no freedom of religion in Canada. It is against the law to read the Bible in Canada.... Our church has had a lot of bad dealings with those demon-possessed Canadians! A big Canadian flag flies at our church upside-down, the international symbol of distress. We fly it day and night, to educate and warn people about the fagi-nazi regime just to the north of us. Canadians are afraid of their tyrannical fag-run government. You can determine for yourself about Canada, and keep as far away from them as you can." Phelps on July 31, 2008<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message...The same majoritarian sodomite tyranny that now guides the Clinton administration's repressive policies toward Gospel preaching on America's streets, is apparently responsible — at least in part — for the merciless slaughter by starvation of 400 innocent Iraqi babies each day in your country. If our government and laws will allow it, and at the invitation of your government, we would like to send a delegation from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to preach the Gospel on the streets of Baghdad for one week in the near future." Phelps November 30, 1997 letter too Saddam Hussein.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"In our experience, no modern country is more repressive of human rights than the U.S.A. The vaunted First Amendment is nothing but empty words on paper...we will journey to China at our expense, and tell our story of modern American repression of human rights, upon invitation." <br />
Fred Phelps, demanding permission too picket in the People's Republic of China, February 26, 1997.<br />
<br />
*"Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses." Phelps on March 2003.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030307tony107col2p2.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"You are a Bible pervert, [President George W.] Bush! And I knew it, the minute you hired that fag Scott Evertz to run your White House and told Rumsfeld to hire that fag [Stephen] Herbits, to screen all the applicants for employment to the Pentagon." Phelps on September 14, 2001 <ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref>.<br />
<br />
== Outside links ==<br />
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Addicted to Hate: the story of Fred Phelps]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOrz5k0jWdU The Most Hated Family In America]<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470# Fred Phelps' Unhinged Video Message to the Cheneys]<br />
*[http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/homophobia.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online], Anti-Defamation League (2001). Retrieved 05/23/07. <br />
*[http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ God Hates Fred Phelps], Retrieved from http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ October 25, 2007.<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8682089528957352638&ei=YB-PSa6HCYbi2gKtgPnCCw&q=fred+phelps+jerry+falwell&hl=en Phelps denouncing] [[Jerry Falwell]] after his death.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Activists]] <br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred}}<br />
{{liberalism}}</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Fred_Phelps&diff=877881Fred Phelps2011-06-10T17:42:19Z<p>Est300: /* Pickets */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' is [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization not affiliated with mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, and is a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps is noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has classified the church as a hate group by the radical [[leftist]] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. <ref>[http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/586891.html Counterdemonstrators drive off hate group in Flight 3407 protest] The Buffalo News, February 22, 2009</ref> He is said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], are related to Phelps either by blood or marriage.<br />
<br />
Phelps has openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]] and has made claims these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He has also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps is a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]]. [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#] His views are rejected by the majority of [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut"<ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref>.<br />
<br />
Phelps has led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006. Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is being represented by the [[ACLU]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps has been an active contributor to the [[Democratic Party]] and was enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for President in 1988.<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., also served as a delegate for Gore. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> <br />
<br />
Phelps also supported [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1992 presidential election. Phelps turned on Clinton and Gore almost immediatley after the 1993 inaguration due too there tolerance of gay rights. Phelps claims Gore in 1988 was a conservative icon of the Democratic Party that sold out on some critical social issues. Phelps also demonstrated against Clinton and Gore during the 1997 inaugural. <ref> http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC} </ref> <br />
<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681 </ref><br />
<br />
== Phelps' Criticism of Religious Leaders ==<br />
<br />
Phelps runs several websites on the Internet which preach against [[homosexuality]] and immoral living. Phelps espouses a skewed version of his own "literal" interpretation of the [[Bible]] and the holy scriptures, and speaks against mainstream religious and Christian leaders who in his view, distort or twist the literal interpretation of the Bible. Phelps also speaks for greater accountability for religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, and has been vocal in the press and media concerning the abuse of young boys by Catholic Priests and Church Leaders, and practicing homosexuals in the Episcopal Church.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Democrat politics ==<br />
<br />
Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democratic Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. and 1997. <ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps has been a vocal critic of former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and his whole family saying, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys.<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref> It would be misleading however too call Phelps a liberal Democrat as he has been fairly anti-political and predivts virtualy all politicans are going too hell.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==<br />
<br />
In 1997, upset about [[United States]] sanctions on [[Iraq]], Phelps wrote a letter to [[Saddam Hussein]] that read, in part, ''We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message.'' <ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/wbc_on_america.asp</ref> He requested, and received, permission from Hussein to protest in Iraq. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC}</ref> In 2006 however when Hussein died Phelps said Hussein was in hell for practicing the Muslim faith. <br />
<br />
== Lawsuits and Litigation ==<br />
<br />
*Phelps and his congregation were recently sued by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps and his congregation protested the Iraq War at his son's funeral. The father sued for defamation over Phelps' statement: "Mr. Snyder raised his son for the devil and hell," during the funeral protest and in statements on his website. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against the church; Mr. Snyder won on every count of his complaint, receiving $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.<br />
<br />
*Phelps has also been threatened with prosecution by the Canadian Government for alleged hate speech in Canada for preaching what he has stated are the literal teachings of the Bible against homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559 Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group], 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate', By Jon E. Dougherty, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', October 25, 2000.</ref><br />
*Already picketing daily in Topeka, the Phelpses began to shower faxes on the community, targeting business and political leaders they disagreed with. After Topeka councilwoman Beth Mechler publicly doubted Phelps' claims that wild [[gay sex]] was occurring in Gage Park, Phelps responded with an insulting fax.<br />
<br />
==Criticism of Phelps==<br />
Phelps has been criticized by a great number of individuals, both conservative and liberal. For example, [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to Phelps as "a first class nut". <ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref><br />
<br />
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera said "Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion," <ref>http://www.eleventh-avenue-south.com/archives/2005/08/fred_phelps_a_p.html</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps was also cited during Canadian deliberations<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121806.html</ref> about declaring anti-gay sentiments to be a hate crime.<br />
<br />
Westboro Baptist also is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League.<br />
<br />
== Pickets ==<br />
[[File:1f3.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]<br />
Phelps announced that he and his group would picket the funeral service of actor [[Heath Ledger]].<br />
<br />
In February 2009, Phelps' group announced that they would travel to the [[United Kingdom]] to protest in [[Basingstoke]] against a gay-themed play called [[The Laramie Project]], based on the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]]. <br />
However, the British Foreign Secretary [[Jacqui Smith]] later announced on February 19th that they would be barred from entering the country as the group "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Phelps' group later responded with a message on their website GodHatesFags.com stating:<br />
<br />
"You British Bastards will not have Jesus Christ to rule over you, and think you can issue bans and pass laws to remove God’s word from the landscape. You do greatly err, not knowing the power of God; and, you do that against your own interests. It is a great kindness to have God’s prophets in your land. But, you ungrateful brutes despise knowledge. It is too late for the UK. God Hates You! God’s wrath and destruction is all that’s left for you, thanks to Secretary Smith."<ref>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11226.html</ref><br />
<br />
Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harrassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals refering too them as "the modern day Saduccees" and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref><br />
<br />
==Obama "Antichrist"==<br />
Fred Phelps believes that [[Barack Obama]] is the Antichrist. According too Phelps we are living in the end of days and Obama will form a Unholy Trinity with the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Satan]].<ref> http://www.beastobama.com/unholytrinity/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
If your aren't aware of why people call Phelps "hateful" this should give you a clue:<br />
<br />
*"Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact. He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear. The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies. Germany was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from World War I. Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power. Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches. Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him. The Congress of doomed america is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses. The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people. They’ll cave like a cheap deak of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants." Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>http://www.beatobama.com</ref> <br />
<br />
*"God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies."<br />
"How many do you suppose of those hundred (sic) and thirty soldiers died (sic) in the Pentagon last Tuesday were fags and dykes? And how many do you suppose were working in that massively composed building structure called those two World Trade Center buildings, Twin Towers? There were five thousand or ten thousand killed and, counting all those passengers in those airplanes, it's very likely that every last single one of them was a fag or dyke or a fag enabler, and that the minute he died, he split hell wide open, and the way to analyze the situation is that the Lord God Almighty, pursuant to His threatenings and warnings, killed him, looked him in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into Hell!... God hates America, and God demonstrated that hatred to some modest degree only last Tuesday -- sent in those bombers, those hellacious 767 Boeing bombers, and it was a glorious sight. What you need to do is see in those flames -- those sickening, twisting, burning, life-destroying flames, brightly shining from every television set around the world! You need to see in those flames a little preview of the flames of Hell that are going to soon engulf you, my friend. Burn your soul forever!" September 14, 2001<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smashed-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty, and you think He's going to let England and America and the rest of this evil world get by with it? God Almighty has not joined fags in holy wedlock. God no longer keeps America safe. America is doomed. We're getting the pants beat off of us, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. God is now America's terrorist, that's who Bush is fighting, that's the terrorist that he best be afraid of. You tweaked His nose, you jackass, you tweaked His nose! God put it in your wicked heart to start that war. That's the message we've got at the funerals of these dead soldiers. God duped you into starting a war, so He could punish you. And any preacher preaching it any other way is a lying hell-bound false prophet. So almost eighteen months now and the siege has got people eating their babies, and their small children, and each other! You're gonna eat your babies! God Himself duped Bush into a no-win war, and He did that by the technique of putting a lying spirit in the mouth of all his trusted advisers, to punish America." Phelps on April 1, 2007<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000764/</ref><br />
<br />
*"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in US history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three." Phelps on April 23, 2007<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Canada is a filthy country run by fags, which has Draconian laws making it a crime to preach the Gospel there. All of these cowardly kissy-poo preachers who telecast their milquetoast sermons into Canada have to edit out every single word critical of fags -- snip, snip, snip -- or the fag officials of Canada will arrest and criminally prosecute the Canadian affiliates, and shut down their stations! There's no freedom of speech in Canada. There's no freedom of religion in Canada. It is against the law to read the Bible in Canada.... Our church has had a lot of bad dealings with those demon-possessed Canadians! A big Canadian flag flies at our church upside-down, the international symbol of distress. We fly it day and night, to educate and warn people about the fagi-nazi regime just to the north of us. Canadians are afraid of their tyrannical fag-run government. You can determine for yourself about Canada, and keep as far away from them as you can." Phelps on July 31, 2008<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message...The same majoritarian sodomite tyranny that now guides the Clinton administration's repressive policies toward Gospel preaching on America's streets, is apparently responsible — at least in part — for the merciless slaughter by starvation of 400 innocent Iraqi babies each day in your country. If our government and laws will allow it, and at the invitation of your government, we would like to send a delegation from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to preach the Gospel on the streets of Baghdad for one week in the near future." Phelps November 30, 1997 letter too Saddam Hussein.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"In our experience, no modern country is more repressive of human rights than the U.S.A. The vaunted First Amendment is nothing but empty words on paper...we will journey to China at our expense, and tell our story of modern American repression of human rights, upon invitation." <br />
Fred Phelps, demanding permission too picket in the People's Republic of China, February 26, 1997.<br />
<br />
*"Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses." Phelps on March 2003.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030307tony107col2p2.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"You are a Bible pervert, [President George W.] Bush! And I knew it, the minute you hired that fag Scott Evertz to run your White House and told Rumsfeld to hire that fag [Stephen] Herbits, to screen all the applicants for employment to the Pentagon." Phelps on September 14, 2001 <ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref>.<br />
<br />
== Outside links ==<br />
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Addicted to Hate: the story of Fred Phelps]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOrz5k0jWdU The Most Hated Family In America]<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470# Fred Phelps' Unhinged Video Message to the Cheneys]<br />
*[http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/homophobia.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online], Anti-Defamation League (2001). Retrieved 05/23/07. <br />
*[http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ God Hates Fred Phelps], Retrieved from http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ October 25, 2007.<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8682089528957352638&ei=YB-PSa6HCYbi2gKtgPnCCw&q=fred+phelps+jerry+falwell&hl=en Phelps denouncing] [[Jerry Falwell]] after his death.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Activists]] <br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred}}<br />
{{liberalism}}</div>Est300https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Fred_Phelps&diff=877880Fred Phelps2011-06-10T17:41:10Z<p>Est300: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' is [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization not affiliated with mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, and is a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps is noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has classified the church as a hate group by the radical [[leftist]] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. <ref>[http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/586891.html Counterdemonstrators drive off hate group in Flight 3407 protest] The Buffalo News, February 22, 2009</ref> He is said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], are related to Phelps either by blood or marriage.<br />
<br />
Phelps has openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]] and has made claims these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He has also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps is a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]]. [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#] His views are rejected by the majority of [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut"<ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref>.<br />
<br />
Phelps has led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006. Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is being represented by the [[ACLU]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps has been an active contributor to the [[Democratic Party]] and was enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for President in 1988.<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., also served as a delegate for Gore. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> <br />
<br />
Phelps also supported [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1992 presidential election. Phelps turned on Clinton and Gore almost immediatley after the 1993 inaguration due too there tolerance of gay rights. Phelps claims Gore in 1988 was a conservative icon of the Democratic Party that sold out on some critical social issues. Phelps also demonstrated against Clinton and Gore during the 1997 inaugural. <ref> http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC} </ref> <br />
<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681 </ref><br />
<br />
== Phelps' Criticism of Religious Leaders ==<br />
<br />
Phelps runs several websites on the Internet which preach against [[homosexuality]] and immoral living. Phelps espouses a skewed version of his own "literal" interpretation of the [[Bible]] and the holy scriptures, and speaks against mainstream religious and Christian leaders who in his view, distort or twist the literal interpretation of the Bible. Phelps also speaks for greater accountability for religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, and has been vocal in the press and media concerning the abuse of young boys by Catholic Priests and Church Leaders, and practicing homosexuals in the Episcopal Church.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Democrat politics ==<br />
<br />
Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democratic Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. and 1997. <ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps has been a vocal critic of former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and his whole family saying, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys.<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref> It would be misleading however too call Phelps a liberal Democrat as he has been fairly anti-political and predivts virtualy all politicans are going too hell.<br />
<br />
== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==<br />
<br />
In 1997, upset about [[United States]] sanctions on [[Iraq]], Phelps wrote a letter to [[Saddam Hussein]] that read, in part, ''We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message.'' <ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/wbc_on_america.asp</ref> He requested, and received, permission from Hussein to protest in Iraq. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={91058469-F6DE-4615-8B2A-73CDF3E8FCAC}</ref> In 2006 however when Hussein died Phelps said Hussein was in hell for practicing the Muslim faith. <br />
<br />
== Lawsuits and Litigation ==<br />
<br />
*Phelps and his congregation were recently sued by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps and his congregation protested the Iraq War at his son's funeral. The father sued for defamation over Phelps' statement: "Mr. Snyder raised his son for the devil and hell," during the funeral protest and in statements on his website. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded him nearly $11 million in a verdict against the church; Mr. Snyder won on every count of his complaint, receiving $2.9 million for compensatory damages and $8 million for punitive damages.<br />
<br />
*Phelps has also been threatened with prosecution by the Canadian Government for alleged hate speech in Canada for preaching what he has stated are the literal teachings of the Bible against homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559 Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group], 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate', By Jon E. Dougherty, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', October 25, 2000.</ref><br />
*Already picketing daily in Topeka, the Phelpses began to shower faxes on the community, targeting business and political leaders they disagreed with. After Topeka councilwoman Beth Mechler publicly doubted Phelps' claims that wild [[gay sex]] was occurring in Gage Park, Phelps responded with an insulting fax.<br />
<br />
==Criticism of Phelps==<br />
Phelps has been criticized by a great number of individuals, both conservative and liberal. For example, [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to Phelps as "a first class nut". <ref>http://cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/102498_protests.shtml</ref><br />
<br />
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera said "Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion," <ref>http://www.eleventh-avenue-south.com/archives/2005/08/fred_phelps_a_p.html</ref><br />
<br />
Phelps was also cited during Canadian deliberations<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121806.html</ref> about declaring anti-gay sentiments to be a hate crime.<br />
<br />
Westboro Baptist also is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League.<br />
<br />
== Pickets ==<br />
[[File:1f3.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]<br />
Phelps announced that he and his group would picket the funeral service of actor [[Heath Ledger]].<br />
<br />
In February 2009, Phelps' group announced that they would travel to the [[United Kingdom]] to protest in [[Basingstoke]] against a gay-themed play called [[The Laramie Project]], based on the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]]. <br />
However, the British Foreign Secretary [[Jacqui Smith]] later announced on February 19th that they would be barred from entering the country as the group "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Phelps' group later responded with a message on their website GodHatesFags.com stating:<br />
<br />
"You British Bastards will not have Jesus Christ to rule over you, and think you can issue bans and pass laws to remove God’s word from the landscape. You do greatly err, not knowing the power of God; and, you do that against your own interests. It is a great kindness to have God’s prophets in your land. But, you ungrateful brutes despise knowledge. It is too late for the UK. God Hates You! God’s wrath and destruction is all that’s left for you, thanks to Secretary Smith."<ref>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11226.html</ref><br />
<br />
Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harrassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also hates liberals refering too them as "the modern day Saduccees" and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref><br />
<br />
==Obama "Antichrist"==<br />
Fred Phelps believes that [[Barack Obama]] is the Antichrist. According too Phelps we are living in the end of days and Obama will form a Unholy Trinity with the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Satan]].<ref> http://www.beastobama.com/unholytrinity/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
If your aren't aware of why people call Phelps "hateful" this should give you a clue:<br />
<br />
*"Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact. He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear. The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies. Germany was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from World War I. Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power. Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches. Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him. The Congress of doomed america is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses. The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people. They’ll cave like a cheap deak of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants." Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>http://www.beatobama.com</ref> <br />
<br />
*"God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies."<br />
"How many do you suppose of those hundred (sic) and thirty soldiers died (sic) in the Pentagon last Tuesday were fags and dykes? And how many do you suppose were working in that massively composed building structure called those two World Trade Center buildings, Twin Towers? There were five thousand or ten thousand killed and, counting all those passengers in those airplanes, it's very likely that every last single one of them was a fag or dyke or a fag enabler, and that the minute he died, he split hell wide open, and the way to analyze the situation is that the Lord God Almighty, pursuant to His threatenings and warnings, killed him, looked him in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into Hell!... God hates America, and God demonstrated that hatred to some modest degree only last Tuesday -- sent in those bombers, those hellacious 767 Boeing bombers, and it was a glorious sight. What you need to do is see in those flames -- those sickening, twisting, burning, life-destroying flames, brightly shining from every television set around the world! You need to see in those flames a little preview of the flames of Hell that are going to soon engulf you, my friend. Burn your soul forever!" September 14, 2001<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smashed-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty, and you think He's going to let England and America and the rest of this evil world get by with it? God Almighty has not joined fags in holy wedlock. God no longer keeps America safe. America is doomed. We're getting the pants beat off of us, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. God is now America's terrorist, that's who Bush is fighting, that's the terrorist that he best be afraid of. You tweaked His nose, you jackass, you tweaked His nose! God put it in your wicked heart to start that war. That's the message we've got at the funerals of these dead soldiers. God duped you into starting a war, so He could punish you. And any preacher preaching it any other way is a lying hell-bound false prophet. So almost eighteen months now and the siege has got people eating their babies, and their small children, and each other! You're gonna eat your babies! God Himself duped Bush into a no-win war, and He did that by the technique of putting a lying spirit in the mouth of all his trusted advisers, to punish America." Phelps on April 1, 2007<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000764/</ref><br />
<br />
*"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in US history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three." Phelps on April 23, 2007<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"Canada is a filthy country run by fags, which has Draconian laws making it a crime to preach the Gospel there. All of these cowardly kissy-poo preachers who telecast their milquetoast sermons into Canada have to edit out every single word critical of fags -- snip, snip, snip -- or the fag officials of Canada will arrest and criminally prosecute the Canadian affiliates, and shut down their stations! There's no freedom of speech in Canada. There's no freedom of religion in Canada. It is against the law to read the Bible in Canada.... Our church has had a lot of bad dealings with those demon-possessed Canadians! A big Canadian flag flies at our church upside-down, the international symbol of distress. We fly it day and night, to educate and warn people about the fagi-nazi regime just to the north of us. Canadians are afraid of their tyrannical fag-run government. You can determine for yourself about Canada, and keep as far away from them as you can." Phelps on July 31, 2008<ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref><br />
<br />
*"We understand that Iraq is the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets without fear of arrest and prosecution. Alas, the United States no longer allows the Gospel to be freely and openly preached on the streets, because militant sodomites now control our government, and they violently object to the Bible message...The same majoritarian sodomite tyranny that now guides the Clinton administration's repressive policies toward Gospel preaching on America's streets, is apparently responsible — at least in part — for the merciless slaughter by starvation of 400 innocent Iraqi babies each day in your country. If our government and laws will allow it, and at the invitation of your government, we would like to send a delegation from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to preach the Gospel on the streets of Baghdad for one week in the near future." Phelps November 30, 1997 letter too Saddam Hussein.<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/print.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"In our experience, no modern country is more repressive of human rights than the U.S.A. The vaunted First Amendment is nothing but empty words on paper...we will journey to China at our expense, and tell our story of modern American repression of human rights, upon invitation." <br />
Fred Phelps, demanding permission too picket in the People's Republic of China, February 26, 1997.<br />
<br />
*"Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses." Phelps on March 2003.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030307tony107col2p2.asp</ref><br />
<br />
*"You are a Bible pervert, [President George W.] Bush! And I knew it, the minute you hired that fag Scott Evertz to run your White House and told Rumsfeld to hire that fag [Stephen] Herbits, to screen all the applicants for employment to the Pentagon." Phelps on September 14, 2001 <ref>http://www.signmovies.net/videos/news/index.html</ref>.<br />
<br />
== Outside links ==<br />
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Addicted to Hate: the story of Fred Phelps]<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOrz5k0jWdU The Most Hated Family In America]<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470# Fred Phelps' Unhinged Video Message to the Cheneys]<br />
*[http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/homophobia.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online], Anti-Defamation League (2001). Retrieved 05/23/07. <br />
*[http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ God Hates Fred Phelps], Retrieved from http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/ October 25, 2007.<br />
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8682089528957352638&ei=YB-PSa6HCYbi2gKtgPnCCw&q=fred+phelps+jerry+falwell&hl=en Phelps denouncing] [[Jerry Falwell]] after his death.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Activists]] <br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred}}<br />
{{liberalism}}</div>Est300