Criticism of Bill Clinton
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Template:Bill Clinton series Before, during, and after his Presidency - and continuing today - Bill Clinton has been a subject of criticism. He has been criticized for a range of topics from Moderating The Democratic Party, 1996 crime bill, 1998 bombing of Iraq, Battle of Mogadishu (1993), Austerity, and Sexual harassment scandals.
Moderating The Democratic Party
Left-wing critics saw Clinton’s shift of the Democratic Party toward the political center as a fundamental break from the party’s traditional identity.
Howard Zinn in his book 'A People's History of the United States' accuses Clinton of appeasing Republicans and Big business more than Democrats who recalled the ‘bold’ programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt.[1]
Zinn describes Clinton's moderate platform as “To get more votes, he decided he must move the party closer to the center. This meant doing just enough for blacks, women, and working people to keep their support, while trying to win over white conservative voters with a program of toughness on crime, stern measures on welfare, and a strong military.”[2]
Zinn highlights that the CEO of military weapons manufacturer Martin Marietta Corporation noted during the 1992 campaign: "I think the Democrats are moving more toward business and business is moving more toward the Democrats."[3]
Tough on Crime policies
Criminologist Todd Clear wrote in the New York Times essay titled 'Tougher is Dumber' that harsher sentencing added 1 million to the prison population, giving the United States the highest prison population in the world yet violent crime continued to increase. He highlighted "About 70 percent of prisoners in New York come from eight neighborhoods in New York City. These neighborhoods suffer profound poverty, exclusion, marginalization, and despair, All these things nourish crime."[4]
Criticism of Clinton's austerity
Critics of Clinton’s austerity generally do not dispute that his administration achieved budget surpluses in the late 1990s. Instead, they disagree over how those surpluses were achieved and who bore the costs.
Zinn criticizes Clinton for cutting Social programs to achieve a surplus rather than raising taxes on the wealthy or de-funding the military.[5]
Clinton did not want to raise taxes on the wealthy, or to cut funds for the military, the only alternative was to sacrifice the poor, the children, the aged-to spend less for health care, for food stamps, for education, for single mothers.
NAFTA
Clinton is often criticized for his involvement with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) because critics argue the agreement had negative effects on some American workers and industries.
Zinn argues "free trade" was little more than a slogan for The Clinton administration, and the government interfered with markets when it didn't serve national interests.[6]
Zinn points to Clinton’s use of sanctions against Iraq and Cuba as a contradiction of the argument that his administration was truly committed to free-trade principles. "In an even more flagrant violation of the principle of free trade, the United States would not allow shipments of food or medicine to Iraq or Cuba."[7]
1998 bombing of Iraq
The 1998 bombings of Iraq, known as Operation Desert Fox, were a military campaign conducted by the United States and the United Kingdom from December 16 to 19, 1998, aimed at disabling Iraq's military capabilities and addressing its non-compliance with United Nations weapons inspections.
Critics argue the bombings was used to distract the public from his impeachment.[8]
Sexual assault and misconduct allegations
Clinton has been publicly accused of sexual misconduct, including rape, harassment, and sexual assault. Additionally, some commentators have characterized Clinton's sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky as predatory or non-consensual.[9][10][11]
Neutrality during The Rwandan Genocide
Clinton chose not to commit U.S. military forces because officials saw Rwanda as having little strategic importance, feared another military disaster after Battle of Mogadishu, were reluctant to even acknowledge that a genocide was occurring, and believed there was little domestic support for intervention.[12][13][14]
When Clinton intervened in The Yugoslav Wars, journalist Scott Peterson claimed racism influenced the different reactions in Rwanda and The Balkans, stating; "as if a decision had been made, somewhere, that Africa and Africans were not worth justice."[15]
Criticism of the Telecommunications act of 1996
The Telecommunications act of 1996 has been criticized for consolidating power of the media into corporations over independent and public control.
Zinn attributes the act to a significant decline in alternative media and public control of information.
the Telecommunications Act of 1996...enabled the handful of corporations dominating the airwaves to expand their power further. Mergers enabled tighter control of information...The Latin American writer Eduardo Galeano commented..."Never have so many been held incommunicado by so few."[16]
Helms-Burton Act
Helms-Burton act is a United States federal law which strengthens and continues the United States embargo against Cuba.[17]
References
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States (2003 ed.). Harper Perennial Modern Classics. p. 643. ISBN 9780060528423. Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States (2003 ed.). Harper Perennial Modern Classics. p. 644. ISBN 9780060528423. Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States (2003 ed.). Harper Perennial Modern Classics. p. 644. ISBN 9780060528423. Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States: 1492–Present. New York: Perennial Classics. p. 647. ISBN 0060528427. Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States (2nd ed.). New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics. p. 651. ISBN 978-0060528379. Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (YEAR). A People's History of the United States. LOCATION: PUBLISHER. p. 658. Check date values in:
|date=(help) Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2003, p. 659.
- ↑ "Bombing of Iraq, 1998". EBSCO Research Starters. EBSCO Information Services. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ Tumulty, Karen; Mettler, Katie (November 17, 2017). "Abuse allegations have revived scrutiny of Bill Clinton—and divided Democrats". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Flanagan, Caitlin (November 13, 2017). "Bill Clinton: A Reckoning". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Wolf, Z. Byron (November 17, 2017). "Should Democrats turn their backs on Bill Clinton?". CNN. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The United States and the Genocide in Rwanda". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ "The Rwanda Genocide: How the U.S. Misread the Warnings and Failed to Act". National Security Archive. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ "Remarks in Rwanda on the Genocide". Miller Center. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States (2nd ed.). New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics. p. 655. ISBN 978-0060528379. Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard. A people's history of the United States: 1492-present. [New ed.] New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.
- ↑ Hillyard, Mick; Miller, Vaughne (14 December 1998). "Cuba and the Helms–Burton Act" (PDF). House of Commons Library Research Papers. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 98 (114): 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2000. Retrieved 26 June 2014. Unknown parameter
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Category:Criticism of United States Presidents Category:Bill Clinton
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