[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] Former President Bill Clinton said he “strongly” endorsed Bill de Blasio’s campaign promise to tackle inequality in New York as he swore in his former aide as the city’s 109th mayor on Wednesday.
I have to say I strongly endorse Bill de Blasio’s core campaign commitment to shared opportunities,” Mr. Clinton said, as he took the stage to swear in Mayor de Blasio. “This inequality problem bedevils the entire country. But it is not just a moral outrage, it is a horrible constraint on economic growth and on giving people the security they need to tackle problems like climate change.”
The former president’s embrace of the new progressive charter was seen by many as a deliberate step in the positioning of the Clintons towards the Democratic Party of 2014 – of Barack Obama and Bill de Blasio. Whether it was a signal of setting the stage for a Hillary run, removing a potential obstacle of a primary challenge from the left, or a brilliant fitting the mold for the ears of the liberal attendees, Mr. Clinton clearly indicated that Mayor de Blasio’s role will have an impact on the Party he once led.
University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato said on CNN Wednesday, minutes after former President Bill Clinton concluded his inauguration of mayor de Blasio, that Clinton’s speech was an effort to reframe his presidency, and Hillary Clinton, as progressive.
“As you listen to Clinton’s comments, it seemed to me, first of all, that he was redefining his own presidency as being quite a bit more liberal than it actually was,” Sabato observed. “It’s obvious he’s doing it for Hillary, because if she has a fear, a challenge that can actually dethrone her in 2016, it may well come from the left, progressive, populist wing of the party.”
“So, as you listen to Clinton, in essence, speaking for Hillary, he was trying to reposition her to put as little distance as possible between the left-wing of the Democratic Party and her candidacy,” Sabato concluded.
(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Time to get out of town. DeBlasio’s “progressive”, spread-the-wealth formula is being endorsed by the very frum as evidenced by their endorsement of him and their proud attendance at the event.
Don’t work, don’t go to college or learn a trade. Just take fo stamps, medicaid, section 8— take , take , take. Then take some more. The rest of us nebisch zhlubbs have to punch timeclocks like work bees to support them.
Which part of the Torah sanctions this communist grab of others’ hard earned money? Where’s your bitochon and emunah?