Allen Gregg: Christopher Hitchens Interview (2001)

Source:TVO- Canadian talk show host Allen Gregg interviewing British political columnist & author Christopher Hitchens, in 2001. 

"Christopher Hitchens 2001 Conversation with Allan Gregg on Bill Clinton" 

From the Hitchens Archive

Before I get into what I really think about Christopher Hitchens and his take on Bill Clinton, I'm going to give him credit for one thing. 

The Liberals (meaning the real Liberals) really love Bill Clinton. The Republican Party gets stereotyped as the party of wealth and rich people and some of that is true. But a lot of the money and well-educated in this country is in the liberal wing (center-right-wing of the Democratic Party) of the Democratic Party, who have a tendency to talk like whacked-out, hippie-leftists. But who love liberal democracy and American capitalism (at least privately) because they've benefited so much from the American system of individual freedom, choice, rights, rule of law, separation of powers, and federalism. 

American Liberals even though at times talk like leftists who at times act like the America is the real empire in the world and we need to replace the American federal, liberal democratic, form of government, which some type of socialist state, actually, at least privately love America and what we're supposed to stand for.

American Liberals (again, meaning the real Liberals) in and outside of Hollywood, New York, the establishment of the Democratic Party, love Bill Clinton, because he's one of them culturally and ideologically.  

Now I'm not a mindreader (hopefully that's not a newsflash for anyone) but Chris Hitchens represents the Democratic Party of the 1960s, the New-Left of the 1960s, the George McGovernite wing of the Democratic Party of the 1970s and 80s. The Democratic Party that was stereotyped as people who value the welfare state, over education, opportunity, and individual freedom. A Democratic Party that was stereotyped as soft of communism, because the Far-Left of the party didn't have problems with Communists and communism. A Democratic Party that was viewed as soft of crime, who favored the rights of criminals and prison inmates, over the rights of their victims. 

When Mike Dukakis when he ran for President and won the Democratic nomination in 1988, he started to try to change the image of the Democratic Party and take back the party from the Chris Hitchens's and other far-leftists in the party, but lost badly against George H.W. Bush. 

Bill Clinton in 1992 and as President of the United States, was successful in taking back the Democratic Party from the Far-Left and turning the party back into a center-left and in some cases a center-right party, that was seen as responsible on fiscal policy and with American tax dollars. A party and government that would defend the country domestically and against foreign powers,. A party and government that wanted people on welfare to get an education, a good job, and move to the middle class. 

This is what Chris Hitchens really hates about Bill Clinton. Clinton took the Democratic Party away from him and people who think like him. That's what I believe anyway.