While covering the NH Primary results for MSNBC, cable news superstar and all-around lesbian badass Rachel Maddow shared some surprisingly personal thoughts about her feelings as a gay person during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
Maddow feels Clinton, who gave us DOMA and DADT, didn’t really do enough to support gay rights in the face of pretty vocal opposition from Republicans at the time:
And I look at all the young people, particularly at this Bernie Sanders event. I was 19 in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running on the Democratic side and at the 1992 Republican convention, Pat Buchanan got up there and gave this culture war speech where he basically declared a crusade against minorities and particularly gay people. And as a gay person watching that in 1992 I didn’t feel like Bill Clinton had my back. I didn’t feel like the Democratic party had my back.
He was talking about agreeing with Ronald Reagan that government was the problem and all that stuff. If you are a liberal, you are not in the majority in this country and you know it and it always feels that way.
Whether you’re here for Hillary or Bernie (or Trump or Rubio), her thoughts raise some interesting questions about the past and future of the Democratic party.
Check out the clip below.
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Craig Houghton
As a 80s and 90s and 00s gay I don’t really think I was represented by ANY politician. It was not until Obama became President that anything beyond DADT was ever passed to benefit us.
Also, while it may not appear to have had the desired intended effect, as a gay man who served prior to DADT and during it, it was a step in the right direction that allowed full and open service of gay people to happen a lot sooner than it would have.
Manknee Aeizona
RIGay
I have to agree with her point of view; I felt the same way — that Gays were thrown under the bus by the Clintons, even though they may a point of having Melissa Etheridge and her (then) partner, dance at their inauguration ball.
Just felt let down, and still do. I get a pit in my stomach every time I hear Hillary. More of the same?
Luis H. Lopez
They evolved for opportunistic reasons like President Obama , that said the GOP is anti gay period .
bbg372
More garbage “journalism” from Rob Smith.
It is clear from the context of her comments that she did not feel supported by the Democratic party in general and Bill Clinton in particular.
To extrapolate that to “she didn’t feel supported by the Clintons (plural)” as the headline states is completely dishonest.
She is also citing her personal experience as a young person to try to explain the enthusiasm gap between Clinton and Sanders among younger voters.
What she felt 24 years ago tells us nothing about what she feels now.
This is just another disingenuous argument by innuendo from an ardent Sanders supporter.
And here is a hint, the fact that readers can identify the candidate you support by the nature of the articles you post, tells us everything we need to know about your objectivity as a journalist.
You should probably go back to journalism school if you ever attended in the first place.
Imperialist
Finally, someone has said what I’ve been saying for at least 20 years. The Clintons are friends to no one, no one but themselves. When the going gets tough, tough for anyone, they turn their backs and run. After they put a knife in your back. Does anyone remember the “FOBs”? The Friends of Bill. DeeDee Meyer, George S, Tom Stoddard, et.al. They threw everyone of them under a bus. Anyone But Hilary.
DCguy
I think her comments are valid.
However,
Whether you love Clinton, Love Sanders, haven’t decided etc… Whoever doesn’t win, the people supporting them should deal with it and vote for the winner of the primary in the General election..
The petty name calling and attacks by the followers of each sound like a great way to make sure that Donald Trump or Ted Cruz becomes the President.
Billy Budd
If I were an american, HILLARY would get my vote. Go Hillary!
gjg64
I disagree. We need to look at Bill Clinton in the context of the times. He tried to open the military to us and was shot down by both the Joint Chiefs and a Senate that still had a lot of old time conservative Democrats (Sam Nunn…..remember him?, the Georgia Democrat head of the Armed Forces Committee).
He signed DOMA because he was running for re-election and if he’d lost we would have had a President Dole. Besides, he knew it was un-Constitutional, and his veto may well have been overturned, making him look even weaker in an election year.
He also had plenty of gay people in his administration, including someone responsible for the gay community. And anyone remember Janet Reno?
Bill Clinton was as good a friend we could have had for the times….and in Hilary we still do.
DCguy
@gjg64:
Your comment does the opposite of what you intended. Basically you are saying that “Yeah, he sold LGBTs out but it was ok because he was trying to get a job.”
And saying “Remember Janet Reno” does nothing, she wasn’t some out and proud person, there was no announcement that she was a lesbian, so that does nothing.
Dave Basora
The same could be said of how any gay person felt back then I’m sure. But the 2016 Maddow loves her judging by the way she fawned all over her a couple of weeks ago when she interviewed her
redcarpet30
@gjg64: You are admitting he compromised us. And what he did to African Americans with the crime bill THAT WE ARE STILL PAYING FOR is unforgivable. I don’t even know why any liberal is entertaining the idea of another Clinton in the WH other than their pockets are being lined by other people who insist its “Hilary’s turn!”.
I don’t expect life to get worse under HRC, but I’m sick of waiting for it to get better. Obama told us things would get better and even when Dems had control of congress he tip toed and was barely able to health care passed.
If we are going to get stonewalled by rich white hetero’s on everything we want to do to help the lives of everyone in this county, then we might as well be demanding what we really want, universal health care, break up the banks, tax the rich, rather than taking more “it will never happen” BS from Centrist Dems.
mydude
@Luis H. Lopez:
Welcome to the World of Politics. Play the game or leave.
@RIGay:
Clinton tried to let gay openly serve in the military, but he didn’t have the political capital at the time…we do remember the 90s right?
I love Rachael, but come on.
Dwik27
I was 27 in 1992, politically active in the gay rights movement in Massachusetts and Washington D.C. and I remember it completely differently. I remember Bill Clinton being the FIRST U.S. President to say positive things about gay and lesbian people in his capacity as President. I remember one of his first acts as president was to try to lift the ban on gays in the military. For the times, what he was doing at that level of government was revolutionary. He deserves credit for being the first to stick his neck out. He wasn’t perfect – but neither were the times. He had few allies on the matter, even in his own party, but he was the first to step off the line and give it a shot. And everyone knew back then that DOMA and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell were merely forced on him by conservative Republicans AND conservative Democrats who were threatening to do much worse if he didn’t play along.
Lastly, what was Bernie Sanders doing for us in 1992? I’m sure he was for us, but was was he DOING for us in 1992?
mujerado
It’s too bad Rachel Maddow is being used as a pawn in the present internecine Democratic party sniping. I’d be happy to have Bernie as our nominee, but if he’s not I’m not going to let it stop me supporting Hillary or whoever is the nominee. Anyone who thinks it’s Bernie or no one is almost as dangerous to this country as whichever demagogue on the Republican side their intransigence would allow to move into the White House.
Paul Green
As a gay man approaching 60, I always felt supported by the Clintons. Bill Clinton was the first president who ever mentioned gays in a positive light. He was a breathe of fresh air after the Reagan years where the White House was silent while tens of thousands of gay men died without any support from the govt. Clinton’s first executive order was to try and open the military fully to Lesbians and Gays. The backlash was UNBELIEVABLE!!! You have to remember that five years previously, Jesse Helms was calling for quarantining gays in camps. What Bill Clinton did to try and move the conversation forward was stunning. Facing impeachment, a re-election loss would have been guaranteed if he didn’t support DADT and DOMA. He tried but failed in the face of unprecedented attacks from the right much like what Obama has faced. I will always be grateful to the Clintons for trying to stand up for us even though success wouldn’t happen for another 20 years.
Bob LaBlah
I don’t have anything against the Clintons personally but I am NOT looking forward to a second Clinton administration, which is all it would be because no one can stand his wife and she would have to have him behind her in every incident. The truth about the old girl is coming to light and I just don’t think she is going to make it. That leaves the worst nightmare of all, ol’ Bernie.
And lets not bother looking to the other side of the aisle for any signs of hope. The GOP is in such disarray I honestly don’t think there is anyone in charge over there.
Desert Boy
The Clintons are despicable people. Pure, political opportunists.
Personally, I will never forgive Bill Clinton for signing DOMA and DADT. He’s a total coward. As for Hillary, she didn’t come around to supporting marriage equality until 2013 after she saw her lavender dollars drying up. Now, Hillary may support the LGBT community but does anyone in their right mind think it’s real and genuine?
If national support for marriage equality suddenly turned south on us, Hillary would wet her finger and stick it in the wind, throwing us under the bus again. The Clintons are disgusting.
girldownunder
Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama/Clinton, Obama/Clinton, now Clinton– AGAIN? Wtf– I’d like to see someone else have a go, thanks.
John Malin
Rachel, time has obviously diminished your memory. With the attitudes that existed and still do, Bill Clinton helped get the needed funding to help fight AIDS. While most thought “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a cop out, it stopped wholesale dismissals from the military at a time Congress passed DOMA and would have gone after the military with axes. Time to GROW UP!
Mike Burgess
Ronbo
I am truly amazed that a GLBT individual could support Hillary (or Bill) after their clear anti-gay bias. Hillary opposed marriage equality into 2014… until the law was changed AGAINST her public objections.
While Sen. Sanders was working 30 years ago to allow something as simple as a gay-pride parade (revolutionary and shocking back then), Hillary was a “Goldwater Gal”. She supported Goldwater even AFTER he called for the repeal of the Civil Rights ACT of 1964.
The winds have changed; but, the Clintons remain… rotten to the core. Corrupted by their million$ in
bribesspeaking fees for Wallstreet.1EqualityUSA
The Republicans will push for pr0-life as the Z!ka virus makes its way up from (now) Central America. It makes sense that the GOP would fight ab0rti0n in this case, as half-headed voters fit their demographics very nicely.
1EqualityUSA
The $uper pac$ are funneling money to bern because they feel he can be beaten. We’ll be bern vic’s when the GOP are replacing justices on the Supreme Court.
1EqualityUSA
test: Hillary Clinton
Dan Duprey
As a seventies/eighties/nineties gay man, I felt more support from the Clintons than from anyone up to that time.
Masc Pride
Feel the Bern!
PSPoolside
As a 70’s gay I’m well aware of the massive improvement the Clintons were over their predecessors. It’s unfortunate Rachel doesn’t have a better understanding of her own history.
Dee Stephens
Huh???? The Clintons have always been
Supportive of LBGT!
Are you living on Mars?
NateOcean
Man, my opinion of Rachael Maddow just dropped a few notches.
This sounds like she’s just makeing shit up so she can (directly) slam Hillary in (indirect) support of her choice, Bernie.
DOM and more so, DADT were an *incremental* approach that worked. Had we fought for the all-or-nothing “absolutist” approach, we’d still be at the starting gate.
DADT got our foot in the door. It said, “gays are in the military; stop harrassing them; deal with it”. After a period of time, all the hysteria died down, and the alarmists were exposed as a bunch of namby-pamby pussies.
Result? We not have gays in the miliary. Out, an serving proudly.
NateOcean
Result? We NOW have gays in the miliary. Out, an serving proudly.
John
Can’t stand Maddow….Could care less what she thinks. Probably just ticked Hillary won’t diddle her.
John
@Dee Stephens: only when it was convenient for them…
martinbakman
Clintons = NAFTA, DADT, deregulation of credit default swaps, DOMA, all that good Republican stuff.
1EqualityUSA
I just watched the feb 11 debate on PBS. This debate sealed it for me. The caliber of knowledge and vision shown by Secretary Hillary Clinton outshone the paltry performance, the superficial address of the Middle East with clueless, meaningless generalizations about “working hard over there.” that bern gave. Not to mention, his head is going to pop like that scene out of scanners. She kicked ass. She will get past all of the manufactured, obstructionist Republicans and kick ass in Washington too. No wonder the super pacs are funneling dollars into Bern’s coffer. He could be so easily beaten, if he performs as badly as he did in this last debate.
1EqualityUSA
I loved her response to the Henry Kissinger b.s. bernie spewed. What a fantastic come back to what may have been seen as a throat lunge. His petty, simple mind cannot parse things out in an overview fashion. His weakness really showed.
mydude
@martinbakman:
You speak as if the Clintons passed this stuff through Congress themselves. DOMA and DADT were compromises at best, do you remember the 90s at all?
@John:
You described every politician in this country, even Bernie.
Chris
The 90s were a time when the Repubs attacked gay folk and the Dems stood by, silently. Very few people had our interests in mind. Probably, that’s because they were busy dismantling the last few things that kept the Banks and Wall Street under control.