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What Lady Thatcher thinks of Hillary

Human Events, Sep 29, 2000 by Pearcey, J Richard

"What do you think of Hillary Cinton?" came the question to Lady Margaret Thatcher. She paused, then said, "I don't."

Thatcher's comment was greeted with cheers from the crowd of more than 500 at the final banquet of the 16th annual Concerned Women of America (CWA) convention, held September 16 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.

CWA, the conservative women's organization founded in 1979 by Beverly LaHaye, now boasts a membership of 550,000.

In her keynote address, Lady Thatcher praised the U.S. economy, but also spoke of the "problems we now face" that "are more in the sphere of values." There is a link, she said, between good values and healthy markets, for a healthy economy depends ultimately on factors such as "trust and respect for the rule of law," not to mention "fair dealing."

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The "great moral foundations" of America, she said, made the United States the "greatest nation the world has ever known."

To illustrate her point, she cited one of Ronald Reagan's favorite quotes, John Winthrop's declaration of America as a "city on a hill." (Winthrop, a Puritan who was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was echoing the words of Christ found in Matthew 5:14-16: "A city on a hill cannot be hidden.... In the same way let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.")

Thatcher also cited the words of President John Adams: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

"Education should never be a leveling down, but a leveling up," she said, noting that the 1944 Education Act in England allows for students to be taught Scripture in state schools, and for each day to begin with prayer.

Against this backdrop, she contrasted the rule of law with "the rule of force," a politics that rejects the "sanctity of the individual" and is typified by national socialism and communism.

Thatcher praised her friend Ronald Reagan ("Ronnie," as she warmly spoke of him) and seemed to fight back tears when she said it was unfortunate that "he could not be with us." As she has many times before, she credited Reagan with being "responsible for the collapse of communism."

"It was Ronnie who brought the Cold War to an end... We'll never forget what he did and his warm way of doing it."

When asked to compare Bill Clinton to Ronald Reagan, she said, "Bill Clinton isn't in the same framework," and that "Ronnie was infinitely superior."

Thatcher also said the Chinese "will never give up communism voluntarily."

When asked who her political hero is, Thatcher said she has had only one: Winston Churchill. She said God seems to sprinkle a couple of personalities around in each century and hopes they will be of use. Churchill was one of those she said. She also said she much prefers George W. Bush to Al Gore and suggested that Americans have had quite enough of the Democrats.

Asked to comment on the future of conservatism in the United States and the world: "We shall win in both."

What Lady Thatcher thinks of Hillary

Human Events, Sep 29, 2000 by Pearcey, J Richard

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