What Was Clintonism?
At TNR online, former Kerry speechwriter Andrei Cherny has a smart piece on Clintonism. How many times have we heard the simple-minded cliche that Clinton just split the difference between liberals and moderates? Or the bizarre statement that the Democrats in 2000 or 2004 had to choose between a populist message and a DLC-style centrist ...
At TNR online, former Kerry speechwriter Andrei Cherny has a smart piece on Clintonism. How many times have we heard the simple-minded cliche that Clinton just split the difference between liberals and moderates? Or the bizarre statement that the Democrats in 2000 or 2004 had to choose between a populist message and a DLC-style centrist one? Even Clinton himself(!) recently seemed to characterize his presidency, in Cherny's words, as "the political equivalent of a menu in an old-fashioned Chinese restaurant: one issue from a conservative Column A and another from a more liberal Column B." Cherny realizes that the analysis of political ideas is complex.
At TNR online, former Kerry speechwriter Andrei Cherny has a smart piece on Clintonism. How many times have we heard the simple-minded cliche that Clinton just split the difference between liberals and moderates? Or the bizarre statement that the Democrats in 2000 or 2004 had to choose between a populist message and a DLC-style centrist one? Even Clinton himself(!) recently seemed to characterize his presidency, in Cherny’s words, as “the political equivalent of a menu in an old-fashioned Chinese restaurant: one issue from a conservative Column A and another from a more liberal Column B.” Cherny realizes that the analysis of political ideas is complex.
Even a cursory examination of some of the actions that Clinton’s Democratic critics point to as proving his accommodation to conservative ideology–such as signing a balanced budget, pushing for welfare reform, and declaring an end to the “era of big government”–show something more than a search for the center. … Three notions–America’s increasing global interdependence, the importance of the bonds of community, and the need to rethink government for a post-bureaucratic age–formed the basis for Clinton’s approach to government.
I’ve got a slightly different take on Clintonism’s component parts, but either way there’s a lot more to it than “triangulation.” (TNR Subscription required to read all of Cherny’s piece.)
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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