Liberal Fantasy Or Not, Washington Could Use A Dose Of Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing Idealism

The West Wing is one of the finest shows to ever appear on television, and I’m only sorry I didn’t watch it during its original run, which began 14 years ago. It’s funny, people refer to The West Wing as a 90s show, but only 10 of the 154 episodes aired in that decade. But it was obvious the show, particularly in the early seasons, was heavily influenced by Clinton-era topics like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, free-trade agreements, and even gun control. When Aaron Sorkin’s White House drama appeared on Netflix in the summer of 2012, I binge-watched the entire seven seasons in under three months. Yes, the show is that good.

• • •

CHART: The Conservative ‘Big Government’ Lie – U.S. Residents per Public Sector Worker

Conservatives loathe “big government.” I mean, they hate it with a passion. But their antipathy for big government is manufactured from a false pretense that larger government leads to smaller individual liberty. It’s hard to believe something as complex as the United States government, in a country with a population over 300 million, could be boiled down to a zero sum game of government vs. liberty, but that’s conservative logic for ya.

• • •

Did Clinton’s DNC Speech Win President Obama a Second Term?

Clinton and Obama hug - DNCFormer President Bill Clinton delivered a lengthy, issue-specific speech and he did so in a way that was both entertaining as well as informative. His speech delivered much needed context on the economy and President Obama’s record after the Great Recession, and it destroyed Republican lies and out of context talking points.

• • •

President Bill Clinton’s DNC Speech Makes Him the FactChecker-in-Chief

President Clinton - DNCFormer President Bill Clinton delivered a 50 minute substantive speech that thoroughly explained how we got here and where we are going if we elect President Obama to a second term — an economy built for the future. Along the way he eviscerated some of the biggest Republican lies over the past few weeks (and years). Lies like the $716 billion Medicare cuts [savings] and the welfare work requirement. Issue after issue, President Clinton delivered the clear honest truth to Americans and he even re-appropriated President Reagan’s famous line when he said of Republicans, “there they go again.” In his own unique style, Clinton reminded us why he was a two-term president and why he is such a popular former president.

• • •