published in 1994 claiming that Clinton had en-
gaged in sexual improprieties while governor of Ar-
kansas, which ultimately led to Paula Jones coming
forward to sue the president for sexual harassment.
Also in 1994, Kenneth Starr was appointed indepen-
dent counsel to investigate the Whitewater land de-
velopment project that was linked to the president
and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, an investiga-
tion that was later broadened to the Paula Jones and
Monica Lewinsky matters. This combination of scan-
dalous allegations continued to plague the Clinton
White House and provide fodder for a continuous
stream of news stories.
In 1995, the White House compiled a 331-page
document that charged that a “media food chain”
was passing conspiracy theories and innuendo from
conservative newsletters and newspapers to Internet
Web sites, which in turn passed them to the British
tabloid press and to the right-wing American news
media, the whole process allegedly backed by
wealthy conservative foundations. On January 27,
1998, ten days after the Web site Drudge Report
broke the news of the Lewinsky scandal, Hillary
Clinton stated on national television that the real
story to be told was how a “vast right-wing conspir-
acy” had conspired against her husband since he an-
nounced for president.
Impact Hillary Clinton’s right-wing conspiracy
charge attracted considerable press attention but
was widely dismissed as an exaggeration, although it
was generally conceded that her husband had been
the target of persistent attacks on both a personal
and political level from his conservative opponents.
Public opinion polls showed that only a minority of
Americans agreed that such a right-wing conspiracy
existed. At the same time, President Clinton’s ap-
proval ratings benefited from widespread satisfac-
tion with the economy, and he continued to retain
support from the Democrats in Congress that fore-
stalled his removal from office after he was im-
peached in 1999. The emergence of proof that he
had engaged in an affair with former White House
intern Monica Lewinsky and lied under oath during
the Jones civil case served to make him appear less
an innocent victim of false charges, however, and
while running for the Senate in 2000, Hillary
Clinton maintained that she did not know the truth
when she made her famous charge of a right-wing
conspiracy.
Further Reading
Brock, David.Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of
an Ex-Conservative. New York: Crown Publishers,
2002.
Toobin, Jeffrey.A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Stor y of the
Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.
New York: Random House, 1999.
Larr y HaapanenSee also Clinton, Bill; Clinton, Hillary Rodham;
Clinton’s impeachment; Clinton’s scandals; Drudge,
Matt; Journalism; Lewinsky scandal; Starr Report;
Troopergate; Whitewater investigation. Ripken, Cal, Jr.
Identification American baseball player
Born August 24, 1960; Havre de Grace, Maryland
Ripken, an all-star shortstop and third baseman for the
Baltimore Orioles during the 1990’s, broke Lou Gehrig’s
record for consecutive games played on September 6, 1995.
Cal Ripken, Jr., known as baseball’s “Iron Man,” was
a Major League Baseball player from 1981 until- He played shortstop and third base and spent
his entire major-league career with the Baltimore
Orioles. A nineteen-time all-star, Ripken played in
all of the all-star games in the 1990’s and was the
Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the American
League in 1991. Ripken was named MVP in the 1991
All-Star Game and won Golden Gloves in 1991 and
1992 for his outstanding fielding at shortstop. He
won numerous other sporting awards and in 1999
was named to the prestigious Major League Baseball
All-Century Team.
Ripken’s most significant achievement during the
1990’s was his breaking of Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-
games streak of 2,130 games. With a packed stadium
at Baltimore and millions at home, the nation
watched as he tied Gehrig’s record on September 5,
1995, marking the event with a home run. Incredibly,
on the following night he also hit a home run in the
game that broke Gehrig’s record. The stadium
erupted after the home run, and a humble Ripken
was pushed out of the dugout by his teammates to re-
ceive the praise of his fans. These two games are the
most historic for Major League Baseball in the 1990’s,
as many credit Ripken for saving the game after the
disastrous baseball strike of 1994. Ripken’s consecu-
The Nineties in America Ripken, Cal, Jr. 721