Former President Bill Clinton (SFS ‘68) contrasted his view of American politics with that of the Bush Administration in a speech in Gaston Hall yesterday.
By focusing on the “common good,” Clinton returned to the themes he presented in a series of speeches in Gaston in 1991 on his Presidential campaign. He outlined a philosophy based on the debate of ideas, which “stands in stark contrast” to the Bush Administration, he said.
photo by Chris Stanton
“The problem with ideology is if you got an ideology, you already got your mind made up, ” he said.
Clinton delivered his address at a conference co-sponsored by The Center for American Progress and Georgetown University.
“This is the first time when on a consistent basis the most conservative … wing of the Republican party has had both the executive and the legislative branch with a very distinct governing philosophy,” Clinton said.
Republicans at the speech contended that they are committed to the common good as well.
“The Republican Party is about empowering individual people, about empowering them to do better than they’re doing right now,” College Republican J.D. Allman (COL ‘09) said.
For College Democrats board member Lauryn Bruck (SFS ‘08), the common good is about bringing our nation together.
“Since the 2004 election, our politics have been really polarized and that’s been detrimental towards getting legislation passed,” she said.
Although Clinton is a millionaire, he does not want a tax cut.
“[They] should have kept my money and put it into making it possible for more people like you to go to college,” he said.
Allman disagreed with the attack on tax cuts.
“The idea that the supposed tax cuts for the rich has only helped the rich is false,” he said. “There is record home ownership in this country, which is further proof that not only the wealthy are benefiting from this economy.”
