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Bill Clinton on Government Reform

President of the U.S., 1993-2001; Former Democratic Governor (AR)


1993: Proposed (and failed at) campaign finance reform

Source: Wikipedia entry on Bill Clinton Nov 11, 2007

Presidential pardon is absolute right; all Presidents use it

I want to make some general comments about pardons and commutations of sentences. Article II of the Constitution gives the President broad and unreviewable power to grant “Reprieves and Pardons” for all offenses. The exercise of executive clemency is inherently controversial. The reason the Framers of our Constitution vested this broad power in the Executive Branch was to assure that the President would have the freedom to do what he deemed to be the right thing, regardless of how unpopular a decision might be.

On January 20, 2001, I granted 140 pardons and issued 36 commutations. During my Presidency, I issued a total of approximately 450 pardons and commutations, compared to 406 issued by President Reagan during his two terms. During his four years, President Carter issued 566 pardons and commutations, while in the same length of time President Bush granted 77. President Ford issued 409 during the slightly more than two years he was President.

Source: Editorial by Clinton in NY Times Feb 18, 2001

Big Government is over; but government has a role

Ever since the Reagan Revolution of 1980, the dominant Republican argument has shifted from “less government is almost always better than more of it” to “government is always the problem.”

Our administration and the new Democratic party take a different view. We say the era of big government is over, but we must not go back to an era of “every man for himself.”

The truth is, Americans don’t want our government gutted. We know from experience that there are some things that government must or should do: protect us against enemies, foreign and domestic, come to our aid when disaster strikes, help fight crime, ensure the health and well-being of the weakest among us, restore and preserve the environment, ensure the safety of our food, provide for the needs of those who have defended our country in uniform, provide everyone with access to quality education.

We don’t want our government in our face, but we do want it on our side when we need it, and quickly.

Source: Between Hope and History, by Bill Clinton, p. 89-91 Jan 1, 1996

Voluntary public financing for all general elections.

Clinton adopted the manifesto, "A New Agenda for the New Decade":

Return Politics to the People
At a time when much of the world is emulating American values and institutions, too many Americans have lost confidence in their political system. They are turned off by a partisan debate that often seems to revolve not around opposing philosophies but around contending sets of interest groups. They believe that our current system for financing campaigns gives disproportionate power to wealthy individuals and groups and exerts too much influence over legislative and regulatory outcomes.

The time for piecemeal reform is past. As campaign costs soar at every level, we need to move toward voluntary public financing of all general elections and press broadcasters to donate television time to candidates.

The Internet holds tremendous potential for making campaigns less expensive and more edifying and for engaging Americans directly in electoral politics. We should promote the Internet as a new vehicle for political communication and champion online voting.

Source: The Hyde Park Declaration 00-DLC9 on Aug 1, 2000

Other candidates on Government Reform: Bill Clinton on other issues:

Political Leaders:
Pat Buchanan
George W. Bush
Hillary Clinton
Elizabeth Dole
Al Gore
John McCain
Ralph Nader
Robert Reich
Janet Reno
Jesse Ventura

Opinion Leaders:
Noam Chomsky
Bill Clinton
Jesse Jackson
Rush Limbaugh
Ross Perot
Ronald Reagan

Party Platforms:
Democratic Platform
Green Platform
Libertarian Platform
Republican Platform
Abortion
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Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families/Children
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
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Health Care
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Social Security
Tax Reform
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Page last updated: 3/31/2008