New Democrats

This article is about the US political faction. For the Canadian political party, see New Democratic Party. For the Greek political party, see New Democracy (Greece).

In the politics of the United States, the New Democrats are an ideologically centrist faction within the Democratic Party that emerged after the victory of Republican George H. W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election. They are identified with centrist social/cultural/pluralist positions and neoliberal fiscal values.^[1][2] They are represented by organizations such as the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), the New Democrat Network, and the Senate and House New Democrat Coalitions.

Origins

After the landslide electoral losses to Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, a group of prominent Democrats began to believe their party was out of touch and in need of a radical shift in economic policy and ideas of governance.^[3][4] The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was founded in 1985 by Al From and a group of like-minded politicians and strategists.^[5] They advocated a political "Third Way" as an antidote to the electoral successes of Reaganism.^[3][4]

Although the label "New Democrat" was briefly used by a liberal reformist group including Gary Hart and Eugene McCarthy in 1989,^[6] the term became more widely associated with the policies of the Democratic Leadership Council, who in 1990 renamed their bi-monthly magazine from The Mainstream Democrat to The New Democrat.^[7] When then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton stepped down as DLC chairman to run for president in the 1992 presidential election, he presented himself as a "New Democrat".^[8]

Claims That Robert F. Kennedy Was a New Democrat

As a harbinger of modern liberalism, Robert F. Kennedy has been described as the first "New Democrat". ^[9][10][11] As former President Bill Clinton described in his book My Life:

"In the 1968 Indiana primary, Bobby Kennedy became the first New Democrat. He believed in civil rights for all and special privileges for none, in giving poor people a hand up rather than a handout: work was better than welfare. He understood in a visceral way that progressive politics requires the advocacy of both new policies and fundamental values, both far-reaching change and social stability. If he had become President, America's journey through the rest of the twentieth century would have been very different."^[12]

Bill Clinton as a New Democrat

Bill Clinton was the single Democratic politician of the 1990s most identified with the New Democrats; his promise of welfare reform in the 1992 presidential campaign, and its subsequent enactment, epitomized the New Democrat position, as did his 1992 promise of a middle-class tax cut and his 1993 expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor.^[4] New Democrat and Third Way successes under Clinton, and the writings of Anthony Giddens, are often regarded to have inspired Tony Blair in the United Kingdom and his policies.^[13]

New Democrats were more open to deregulation than the previous Democratic leadership had been. This was especially evident in the large scale deregulation of agriculture and the telecommunications industries. The New Democrats and allies on the DLC were responsible for the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

An important part of New Democrat ideas is focused on improving the economy. During the administration of Bill Clinton, New Democrats were responsible for passing the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. It raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2% of taxpayers,^[14] while cutting taxes on 15 million low-income families and making tax cuts available to 90% of small businesses.^[15] Additionally, it mandated that the budget be balanced over a number of years, through the implementation of spending restraints. This helped oversee the longest peace-time economic expansion in USA history.^[16] Overall, the top marginal tax rate was raised from 31% to 40% under the Clinton administration.

New Democrats today

See also: New Democrat Coalition

Some of those identified as New Democrats had vied for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President, including Hillary Rodham Clinton and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

In 2003 Barack Obama (at the time serving in the Illinois State Senate), asked the Democratic Leadership Council to remove his name from its New Democrat Directory. He said that his name had been added without his knowledge, and that he was removing his name because it implied membership in the DLC, which he had never joined.^[17] In March 2009, Obama reportedly told a White House gathering of 65 members of the New Democrat Coalition that he is a "New Democrat."^[18]

New Democratic Governors

• Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas
• Former Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee
• Former Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin
• Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan
• Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington
• Former Gov. Brad Henry of Oklahoma
• Former Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia
• Gov. Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware
• Former Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania
• Former Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico
• Current U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and Former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas
• Former U.S. Senator and Former Gov. Evan Bayh of Indiana
• Current U.S. Senator and Former Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia
• Current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and Former Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona
• Current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa
• Current U.S. Senator and former Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia

See also

• Democratic Leadership Council
• Democratic Party
• Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)

References

1. ^ http://www.irc-online.org/content/3476
2. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/us/politics/30dems.html |accessdate=2006-11-10
3. ^ ^{a b} Wayne LeMieux, The Democrats' New Path, 2006, ISBN 978-1419638725
4. ^ ^{a b c} John F Harris, The Survivor:Bill Clinton in the White House, Random House, 2005, ISBN 978-0375508479
5. ^ Al From, Founder of the DLC and New Democrats
6. ^ Herman, Steven L. (December 4). "The "New Democrats" are Liberals and Proud of It". Associated Press. 
7. ^ Rae, Nicol C. (1994). Southern Democrats. Oxford University Press. p. 117. ISBN 0195087097. 
8. ^ Kelly, Michael (September 28). "The 1992 Campaign: The Democrats; Clinton Uses Farm Speech to Begin New Offensive". New York Times. 
9. ^ Steel, Ronald, In Love With Night: The American Romance With Robert Kennedy
10. ^ CNN
11. ^ review of The last campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 days that inspired America, Publishers Weekly vol. 255 iss. 13 p. 48
12. ^ Excerpt from My Life
13. ^ Sidney Blumenthal The Clinton Wars, 2003, ISBN 0-374-12502-3
14. ^ 1994 State of the Union Address
15. ^ Presidential Press Conference - 08/03/1993
16. ^ April 2, 1999: The Longest Peacetime Expansion in History
17. ^ "Obama to Have Name Removed from DLC List: Says 'New Democrats' acted 'without my knowledge'". Black Commentator, Issue Number 48. Black Commentator. June 26, 2003. http://www.blackcommentator.com/48/48_cover.html. Retrieved March 13, 2009. 
18. ^ Martin, Jonathan; Carol E. Lee (March 10, 2009). "Obama: 'I am a New Democrat'". Politico (Politico). http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19862.html. 

External links

• About the New Democrat movement, DLC