Clintonism
Political ideology by Bill and Hillary Clinton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clintonism refers to the political and economic policies associated with Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as the period of the Clinton presidency (1993–2001) in the United States.[17][18][19] Members of the Democratic Party who align with these policies and practices are often referred to as New Democrats.[20][21][22]
Clintonism | |
|---|---|
| Founders | Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Center[15] to center-left[16] |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
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The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a now-defunct organization within the Democratic Party establishment, argued in 2002 that Clintonism "stands for economic growth and opportunity; for fiscal responsibility; for work, not welfare; for preventing crime and punishing criminals; and for non-bureaucratic, empowering government" and further states that "these policies are key to the successes in the beginning of the 21st century."[23] Despite this, some progressives have criticized Clintonism, with Common Dreams describing the ideology as "coddling big money (except guns and tobacco), financial scandals, winning at any cost, flip-flopping and prevaricating".[24]
Characteristics
Clintonism refers to the centrist or neoliberal wing of the United States Democratic Party, being most prominently associated with the Clinton administation from 1993 to 2001. The ideology can be said in broad outline to favor certain policies:
- Free trade: an essential component of the Clinton administration's economic policy, which worked to pass NAFTA and create the World Trade Organization.
- Fiscal conservatism: restraining the growth of federal spending in order to create a balanced budget.[25][26]
- Lower interest rates and deregulation.[27]
- Compromise on social issues such as abortion and LGBT rights: Clinton signed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, although it was struck down by the Supreme Court and repealed by the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act.
- Reform or reduction of some government programs, exemplified by the ending of Aid to Families with Dependent Children as part of welfare reform.
- Internationalism, particularly the expansion of NATO.
Some notable political figures associated with Clintonism include Leon Panetta,[28] Rahm Emanuel,[29] Larry Summers,[30] Madeleine Albright,[31] James Carville,[32] Terry McAuliffe,[33] Robert Rubin,[34] Al From,[35] Bruce Reed,[36] and John Podesta.[37] Barack Obama once referred to himself a "New Democrat", and his cabinet from 2009 to 2017 included several officials who had served in or were associated with the Clinton-era administration.[38][39] Similarly, during his time in the Senate in the 1990s, Joe Biden supported a range of centrist Democratic policy initiatives during the Clinton administration era, athough his policy positions later evolved during his presidency beginning in 2021.[40][41][42][43]
The ideology is sometimes thought of as part of the Third Way, a brand of politics that is said to include (at the time or since) Prime Minister Tony Blair's New Labour in the United Kingdom, the Liberal Party in Canada under Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, and the Social Democratic Party in Germany under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. According to Vanity Fair, Clintonism is foundationally "based on the baby boomer credo that you truly can have it all".[44]