Re: Clinton--Why I am Chortling

[Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>]

On Sat, 12 Sep 1998, Tim May wrote:

> * What goes around, comes around. The Liberal puke Democrats who crucified
> Bob Packwood, Clarence Thomas, and any number of corporate people charged
> with "sexual harassment," are now reaping what they sowed. "If she says it
> happened, it happened," the mantra of the feminazi left, is now apparently
> forgotten by Patricia It's not our business" Ireland.

There's also the idea popular in some gender feminist circles that the
imbalance of power in manager-employee relationships makes it impossible
for genuine consent to be given. Can there be any greater power imbalance
than the president of the United States and an intern? Where are the
feminist cries of outrage?

> * Lawmaking is paralzyed, frozen, stillborne. This I count as a Good Thing.
> Even better will be another 8-10 months of this nightly spectacle. No
> Health Care Reform, no Communications Decency Act II, no Tobacco Act,
> nothing.

In general you might be right. But for "noncontroversial" measures like
CDA II, well, it'll be in one of the appropriations bills that will be
approved in the next three weeks.

> * This disgraces the Presidency, which I also count as a Good Thing. There
> were hopes that Nixon's downfall would be the end of the Imperial
> Presidency, but, alas, the pomp and circumstance continued unabated. It's

The balance of power in the U.S. government is too tilted in favor of the
executive and federal agencies; I think more should be returned to
Congress and the states but don't think we're going to see that happen. To
do that Congress needs to be willing to seize it; they're not. If we get
Al Gore in the Oval Office we'll have business as usual.

-Declan