Feeling Your Pain: The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years

by James Bovard

Right-wing libertarian columnist Bovard reveals Bill Clinton as the next best thing to Adolf Hitler in his threat to American freedom. From the "Green iron fist" of environmental policy to the "plundering and blundering" IRS, it seems that it's a miracle we can still breathe. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Genres: History, American, Politics

426 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Is a libertarian author and lecturer whose political commentary targets examples of waste, failures, corruption, cronyism and abuses of power in government. He is the author of Attention Deficit Democracy, and eight other books. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New Republic, Reader's Digest, The American Conservative, and many other publications. His books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean.

Reviews

[Liberté · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually a child for most of the Clinton-Gore administration, and with the upcoming presidential election, I've been trying to educate myself on some of the history from that period. This book is very well researched, with meticulous references to support each of the author's comments. Bovard deserves much credit for compiling and researching these topics and for focusing on less sensational (and less well-known) problems from the administration. In particular, I found his discussion of the drug war, civil asset forfeiture, the actions of the IRS, farm subsidies, and the "free trade" policies of the administration both interesting and useful chapters. Bovard includes several real life examples of the extent of damage done by these policies, and the bullet points are a useful reference of crimes by federal agents. (Free trade is in quotations because we all should know that if you have to negotiate free trade, it's not free trade.) Bovard also discusses the history of Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Kosovo, which are all depressing but very well researched.

There are many policies and problems with the federal government that are usually rolled into the next administration, and it's hard to remember who first introduced or expanded them. I was interested to learn about the expansion of programs under Clinton which became hated hallmarks of the "W" era, including the expansion of no-knock raids and warrantless wiretapping.

However, I do not think this book will appeal to many people, such as others in my age group, who liked Clinton in the abstract without knowing much about the damage from his administration. The author regularly characterizes the behavior of those he talks about. I was more interested in the facts of the cases, which are damning enough on their own, but the characterizations may alienate some people. This is especially true when he talking about the ADA, the Clinton gun control program, and affirmative action. However, the facts are supported, and it's understandable why Bovard indulges in characterizations - these are heated subjects.

There are also a few cases where the age of the book reveals itself, as when Bovard refers to Osama bin Laden as "allegedly the worst terrorist mastermind in the world", or his poor discussion of depression as an ADA (the public recognition of depression as an illness has increased significantly since then). The book was first published 2000, though perhaps later editions have been updated. There are also a handful of grammatical errors in the early chapters of the book, which wouldn't stand out except for his discussion of the low education levels from AmeriCorps tutors. Despite this, it is an incredibly well researched history, and the editing picks up after a few chapters. The book is definitely worth a shot, even for those who have a hazy positive view of Clinton and Gore but who'd like to know more of the facts.

[Jon]

James Bovard is a true libertarian, one who cares about personal freedom, not just the "right" of big business to pile onto the bottom line. This may be the single best book about the Clinton-Gore administration.