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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBill Clinton: Hillary's Answer About Our Finances Was 'Factually True'
TOM KLUDT JUNE 24, 2014, 3:54 PM EDT
Bill Clinton defended his wife Hillary Clinton on Tuesday from the ridicule that's followed her recent comments on the family's personal finances.
Speaking at a forum in Denver hosted by his foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, the former president insisted that his wife is "not out of touch" and said she was telling the truth when she claimed that the couple was "dead broke" when he left office in 2001.
It is factually true that we were several million dollars in debt, Bill Clinton said, as quoted by The Hill, adding that reporters should put this in some sort of context.
The "dead broke" remark has made the family's wealth the primary focal point of a book tour that was supposed to serve as a springboard for Hillary Clinton's anticipated 2016 White House bid. She later tried to clarify the comment, saying she appreciates "how hard life is for so many Americans today."
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/--100536
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)DonViejo
(60,536 posts)are you being a drama queen?
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)I think the more they talk about this the deeper they are digging a hole.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)recall the Clintons were broke when they left the WH. Their financial status is what led to the VRWC accusing them of stealing furniture from the WH and yet another investigation.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)amandabeech
(9,893 posts)through the various scandals and the impeachment/trial.
But somehow they managed to finance the purchase of that very large compound in Westchester County, NY, and the expensive townhouse in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. Chelsea never had to drop out of Stanford to attend UDC or one of the Suny campuses.
The Clintons have wealthy friends all over the world who were not about to see the Clintons really struggle. Undoubtedly those friends arranged things so that the Clintons managed until Bill could start raking in the big bucks for his speeches and put together the Global Initiative.
Most of us do not have such a network of wealth, nor can we make beaucoup bucks with speeches, foundations and writing books to pay it all back. We also don't have wealthy advisers nor friends with ideas for investmenting loaned or earned money.
All Clintons and their proxies need to just shut up about this if Hillary is to actually get a campaign going. Both Bill and Hillary have huge name recognition, and all of it is not positive. There's another sleazo anti-Hillary book coming out this week that apparently suggests (without a shred of truth, undoubtedly) a difficult relationship with the Obamas and gives (phony) details suggesting that Hillary has serious health problems. The book will put that much more bad air out there that the Clintons should put this wealth thing behind them and lay low for awhile.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)definitely not good when in a discussion. Sorry for that. Anyway, I found this:
Fact Check: Were the Clintons really broke?
http://jacksonville.com/reason/fact-check/2014-06-21/story/fact-check-were-clintons-really-broke
Dawgs
(14,755 posts)They are only making it worse.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)that "not paying attention" extends to the folks here on DU, also.
Dawgs
(14,755 posts)Many of us recognize that the ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IN POLITICS is how things are perceived by the general public.
We don't want our democratic leaders saying stupid things that will only hurt them. Don't you?
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)Not precisely the same words I used but, exactly what I meant; not everyone is 'not paying attention' but that lack of attention extends to some of the folks here on DU, also.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Dawgs
(14,755 posts)And then that's all the public knows. And the public includes low information voters on the left, right, and center.
frylock
(34,825 posts)did he pour a can of soup over a bed of rice to make dinner a little more filling? did he ever stay up all night wondering if they were going to make rent? what credit cards, that he was using to buy gas and food, did he blow off paying 2-3 months in a row because the money just wasn't there? did they have to stay at their mom and dad's for a few months after filing for bankruptcy? is any of that in the article?
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)frylock
(34,825 posts)it really wasn't much fun at all. thanks for your concern.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)Maybe if you weren't sarcastic and hyperbolic, you'd get a different response about your 2004 ordeal. At least you'd get a different one from me, I cannot speak for others.
frylock
(34,825 posts)everything in that post happened just as I posted. no embellishment or exaggeration whatsoever. thankfully, I had the support of my very loving friends and family to get me through that period.
marshall
(6,661 posts)To be dead broke is beyond being broke. It means not only not having any money, but also having no reserves and no available options for obtaining any money.
FBaggins
(26,681 posts)We all know what the purpose of the "broke" statement was. It implied that she connected with the millions of Americans that stuggle financially (rather than with the wealthy).
You can argue until you're blue in the face whether or not the statement was technically true because of the debt they accumulated prior to leaving the WH... but it doesn't change the reality that their financial situation at the time did not connect them with with those millions. Their situation was in no way comparable.
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,103 posts)femmocrat
(28,394 posts)Yesterday, Chelsea talked about not caring about money. Today, Bill jumps in to defend Hillary. It's starting to look like an episode of "VEEP"!
Someone please advise them to change the subject already!
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)they see it as some big smeary blight and they are gleeful....yet they are the only ones that seem to think it is a major deal.
greatlaurel
(2,004 posts)If one actually read the articles where HRC and Chelsea made these statements, the statements are completely different taken in context. The only people leading this parade of HRC and Chelsea hating are GOP sympathizers like Chuck Todd. I remember when HRC was FLOTUS and changed the rules so the top dogs in the White House press core no longer got to eat steak and lobster on the taxpayers dime. The whole "Travelgate" hoopla was created because Sam Donaldson of ABC news and George Will stopped getting free gourmet meals paid by the American people.
Thanks for trying to keep the record straight here at DU. There are a couple of regular posters here that are starting to remind me of the Nixon years dirty tricks campaigns. The only hope the GOP has for 2014 and 2016 is to trick Democrats into party infighting.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)heh heh heh
Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)it depends what is rich is , is broke is what lying is....... they is even a word
for what the Clintons do that explains it and its not the word
truth.
And why the fuck he had to pull his dick out so Bush could beat Gore.?
Now........ they went out and made themselves the NEWS, We didn't ask for the headlines one after another.
They sought it and promoted it
This isn't about a BOOK
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,103 posts)Response to DonViejo (Original post)
quinnox This message was self-deleted by its author.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)Alex P Notkeaton
(309 posts)He's a double failure.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)long way since 2000, they have helped others and have worked to get humane treatment of others. This is the Democrat way, we help others, unlike the GOP who seeks to hurt poor people.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)It's what happens when people are in positions of power - I wouldn't expect it to be any different for them.
The problem is the seeming tone deafness of Chelsea and Hillary's remarks in the context of the current economy and the permanent damage the banksters have done to many people, though the fault of the banksters, who are also operating within a legal financial system.
The problem is the system that exists - and who helped to create it.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)and not interested in your manipulations. bye.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)My deceased Grandmother told me long ago that EVERYONE benefits under Democrats...
dflprincess
(28,042 posts)but the banksters certainly benefited from the repeal of Glass-Steagall.
cali
(114,904 posts)that, like it or not, counterbalances what they've done to help others. And the revelations about the Clinton foundation that came out a couple of years ago, are none too savory.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)I am sorry....but most people just don't seem to care.....this is not the issue the Ideologue wish it were...
Response to VanillaRhapsody (Reply #30)
Post removed
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Please enlighten me how I AM the one freaking out and not the other way around...C...?
cali
(114,904 posts)what people say, 'nilla, old girl.
You are fun to play with though, nills- I feel like a cat with a pet mouse. purrrrr.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)day after day...hour after hour....week after week....diary after diary...
here you are on Democratic Underground bashing the Democratic Frontrunner and likely next President...
Who is desperate here?
keep trying C....maybe you will get better at this...
cali
(114,904 posts)visiting, and doing other things. Unlike most people, I only sleep 3 to 4 hours out of 24. I get a lot more time in any given day to do things and thus get more done than most people. Today, I made a wonderful curried brown rice salad, slow roasted beet, orange and blue cheese salad, asparagus gribiche and Linzer cookies for a picnic tomorrow. I planted more lettuce, spinach and chard. I made hummingbird nectar, I weeded. I wrote 8 pages. I edited a chapter of the book I'm writing. I made herbal face cream, body scrub and an herbal almond oatmeal face mask. Oh, and I exercise a minimum of 45 minutes a day and meditate for 20. Here are a couple of poems I wrote recently:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1199232
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1199229
You can find my essays on art and other subjects in the writing forum.
What do you do, nils- aside from spending hours and hours on DU, hon?
time to go fill the cookies with jam.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Oh we know how invested you are in that one....we know....
(and I am betting in the end you vote for her....)
cali
(114,904 posts)and no, I won't be voting for her should she be the nominee.
so what do YOU do, 'nilla- aside from complaining about me, which seems to be your hobby? Do you write? make things? photography? cook? garden?
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)and what do I do? I play in a band
and the rest...none of your business...
cali
(114,904 posts)how on earth do you find time to play in a band? You're always here following me around and complaining bitterly. bitter, bitter, bitter, nilla.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)ahahahahahahah....whatever gets you through the night...
cali
(114,904 posts)VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Bobbie Jo
(14,341 posts)"I feel like a cat with a pet mouse. purrrrr."
Because that's not what it looks like from here. Generally, condescending people aren't nearly as superior as they believe themselves to be.
Beacool
(30,243 posts)snooper2
(30,151 posts)closeupready
(29,503 posts)she doubtless knew just how hard Walmart's lowest paid employees worked to make ends meet.
These people make me sick.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)JVS
(61,935 posts)Not a very strong effort here by Bill.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)Last edited Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:52 PM - Edit history (1)
and hey, we all know Bill tells factually true truths.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)It's called a hole. You may stop digging.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)should just stay out of the public view. I am done with them. Have been for a long, long time.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)None of their assets were touched in order to service that debt.
Bill was soon making over $9,000,000.00 a year in speaking fees, and the fund set up to pay off debt had some pretty large donors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/legal022599.htm
They were never in fear of losing their home(s). They never worried where their next meal was coming from. Both had sources of income.
They were never broke as in destitute, and they both know this. They were in debt, but very quickly that was no longer so.
The Clintons must think we are all idiots.
cali
(114,904 posts)deutsey
(20,166 posts)That's what my family faced when I was growing up and had the electric shut off and were eventually evicted from our apartment.
I'm sure the Clintons had to do some hustling and juggling to dig out of their debt, but what they experienced, imo, wasn't being dead broke. It was a temporary setback they were soon able to rectify.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)or Shinnicock. You feel my pain"
Whisp
(24,096 posts)Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Whisp
(24,096 posts)tularetom
(23,664 posts)Like this other time when he made an unfortunate statement:
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Where is the fainting couch I am feeling the vapors.....
Are you guys STILL expecting saviors and saints?
cali
(114,904 posts)you actually act like they're gods, nills.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)I expect Democrats....that is all. I'm the realist remember c?
Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Because they don't think she said anything wrong and was not wrong.
They wanted to talk about with Gregory and they did.
1000words
(7,051 posts)How insulting to Hillary. I don't think she needs her husband to defend her.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)with his broken mop and leaky pail making things worse.
It should be embarrassing for the fine and great Feminist (lol) Hillary claims to be.
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,103 posts)Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)And not that it took arm twisting too
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)That is not the average person's definition of "dead broke".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/12/dead-broke-a-deep-dive-into-the-clintons-finances/
No one who in one year earned more than enough to pay off all debt would call themselves dead broke. Further, they knew about the book advances, and when the financial disclosure was filed in 2001 it shows a positive net worth. Further, the legal debt was not all really theirs - there were external funds set up to help pay it.
They should just leave this subject and stay off it.
frylock
(34,825 posts)Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)Is it really their intention to try to nullify that advantage?
Or are they so clueless that they just don't realize what the average person experiences? "Dead broke" means "I don't have the money to pay my current minimal living expenses." rather than "I am not as well off as Oprah."
Maybe they're really campaigning for Elizabeth Warren?
Anyone would laugh in the face of their friend who told them on January 31st that he was dead broke because he only was going to earn 160K that year and he had a 50K mortgage (plus other assets), and that's what this equates to.
Baitball Blogger
(46,532 posts)Well, I would be doing better today if Clinton's campaign donors weren't given such a wide berth in the late nineties. Patronage is a game that is not a victimless crime. I guess, you really have to be living in the trenches to see it. I absolutely believe that Clinton could be "The One." And I don't just mean the next president. I mean, the next great president. But she has to come to terms with the fact that her quick neo-liberal solutions are creating untold hardships on many of us.
joshcryer
(62,265 posts)It's just factually untrue that they were in any way broke as modern Americans. Even if he got removed from office from the impeachment he still would've been able to make boatloads of money on book deals and speaking outlets.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)By numbers. For the fact Bill and Hillary are still in demand shows their popularity. People still want to hear what they have to say.
FBaggins
(26,681 posts)He comes cheaper than President Clinton does (100-150k reportedly), but that's hardly "paint by numbers"
fishwax
(29,146 posts)It's about not having money or not being able to pay for stuff that you actually need. That wasn't the case for the Clintons. I have no doubt that they had mountains of debt from defending themselves against all that right wing witch hunting, and that their debt likely exceeded their assets. But I don't think they were dead broke.
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,103 posts)Whisp
(24,096 posts)InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,103 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)If your net worth is a very large negative number, I don't think "dead broke" is all that outrageous of a statement. Misleading? Perhaps.
But the obvious implication is that she and Bill did some sort of bootstrappy thing and could be a useful case study on how to succeed.
JVS
(61,935 posts)An issue of cash flow but not a serious threat to standard of living.
JVS
(61,935 posts)Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Ie speeches in order to secure the housing loans.
rock
(13,218 posts)is the very best kind of true there is. In fact the only kind.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)It could be taken as meaning those of us that aren't as well off or "dead broke" as them don't work hard or the others that are as well off or "dead broke" as them don't work hard.
I do know that she should have used the 'sarcasm' icon when she made the "dead broke" remark. That, or the people running this country are seriously out of touch (reminds me of George H Bush and is scanner incident at the grocery store and Donald Trump's bankruptcy).