The new disclosures of Al Gore’s history of political corruption has
surprised some people.
They knew Bill Clinton was a “rogue,” but some people really believed
Gore was some kind of Mr. Clean — the wonderful “family man” we all saw
portrayed at the Democratic National Convention.
Neither characterization was ever true. Gore isn’t Mr. Clean and Bill
Clinton, please remember, is much worse than a rogue — even according to
those who know him best.
Take George Stephanopoulos, for example. In his book, “All Too Human,” he
writes about Clinton’s violent emotions as displayed during the Somalia
crisis.
“We’re not inflicting pain on these f——,” Clinton is quoted as
saying. “When people kill us, they should be killed in greater numbers. I
believe in killing people who try to hurt you. And I can’t believe we’re
being pushed around by these two-bit pr—-.”
Doug Thompson, the estimable reporter-editor of
Capitol Hill
Blue, quotes other White House staffers as saying
Clinton often uses the word “kill” in connection with his political
enemies.
“Once, when the House was finishing up its impeachment investigation, the president slammed his fist down on the table and said, ‘I’d like to kill all of these sons of bitches and just be done with it!'” said one former White House staffer. “There was a long, painful period of silence until he regained composure. Then everybody went on like it was never said.”
Thompson quotes Samuel Wilson, a former political worker in his second campaign for governor of Arkansas, regarding an encounter with a critic who called Clinton a “two-bit politician.” Wilson says Clinton turned to him and said: “Write down the name of that m—–f—–. When I’m back in office, he’s a dead man.”
“I remember his look,” Wilson said. “It was cold I don’t want to think he wanted to kill him literally, but I’m sure some sort of revenge was inflicted later on.”
Thompson also quotes Helen Shannon, who worked in the Arkansas Statehouse during Clinton’s second term, as saying the governor would personally cancel state contracts when he got angry with people.
Shannon says Clinton would order audits of contracts and tell the Arkansas State Police to “turn up the heat” on anyone he didn’t like.
“When Bill Clinton ran Arkansas, it was a police state,” she says.
That pattern of behavior continued in Washington. At one meeting, Clinton told White House staffers he wanted everyone in Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s office audited by the Internal Revenue Service.
“Several people in the meeting told the president he shouldn’t do that,” the staff member recalled. “He slammed his fist down on the table and said: ‘I can do any G——– thing I want. I’m the president of the United States. I take care of my friends and I f— with my enemies. That’s the way it is. Anybody who doesn’t like it can take a hike.”
Remember Clinton’s now-famous line right after his re-election in 1996. He was quoted in USA Today as saying he would devote a lot of time in his second term to going after detractors who pursued him on Whitewater and other ethical questions. He also called political attackers “a cancer” and vowed to “cut (them) out of American politics.” That’s what he said on the record, in front of a large and adoring audience and reporters. Is it hard to envision him making these other comments behind closed doors?
These stories are legion. Some are attributable to named sources who put their lives and careers on the line and others come from reliable anonymous sources. Al Gore was around this type of behavior for eight years. He condoned and supported every minute of it. And, given what we are now learning about his activities as a campaign fund-raiser and
his history
in Tennessee, they seem like they are cut out of the same mold.
