Creating a Third Way

Presentation by Al From

The Democratic Leadership Council

Little Rock, Arkansas

January 30, 2003

www.ndol.org

The Clinton/New Democrat Path to Victory in 1992

Redefining Democrats

• In 1992, Bill Clinton was faced with a dying Democratic Party.

• By redefining it, he not only won the White House, but rescued his party.

• Along the way, Clinton and the DLC shaped a political philosophy and governing agenda – the Third Way – that redefined and re-invigorated progressive parties all over the world.

The DLC/Clinton Strategy

• Reality Therapy

• The Philosophy – The New Orleans Declaration

• The Governing Agenda – the New Choice Resolutions

• The Market Test – The 1992 Primaries

Reality Therapy

“The Democratic Party’s 1988 defeat demonstrated that theparty’s problems would not disappear, as many had hoped,once Ronald Reagan left the White House. Without a charismatic President to blame for their ills, Democrats must come face to face with reality: too many Americans have come to see the party as inattentive to their economic interests, indifferent if not hostile to their moral sentimentsand ineffective in defense of their national security.”

-- Bill Galston and Elaine KamarckThe Politics of Evasion: Democrats andthe Presidency 1989

The Politics of Evasion

• The Myth of Liberal Fundamentalism

• The Myth of Mobilization

• The Myth of the CongressionalBastion

52.6

42.8 4349.2 48.445.8

52.4

38

47.9

40.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1932-64 1968-88 1992 1996 2000

Democrat Republican

The GOP LockFrom 1968-1988 Republicans Dominated the

White House

DEM 5 (1)DEM 4 (1)DEM 3 (3)GOP 3 (5)GOP 4 (15)GOP 5 (26)

Presidential Elections

The GOP Lock: 1972-1988

15 1429

6882

47

85 8672

3218

53

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000

Democrat Republican

Losing the Middle Class

Percentage of Electorate Won by Democrat

A Changing America

A Different America

• More Affluent• More Educated• More Suburban• More Diverse• More Wired• More Two Parent

Working Families

• More Non-Factory Jobs

• More Job Churning• More Aged• More Boomers• More Moderates

and Independents

How Our Country Changed in the Past Two Decades

The New Electorate

PERIOD DOMINANT VOTERS

Industrial Era Working Class----------------------------------------------------Information Age Rising Learning Class-----------------------------------------------------

Campaign Premises

• Message Matters.

• In the Information Age, winning coalitionsare built around ideas, not interests.

• The key to winning Presidential elections is not just maximizing your strengths; it’s removing obstacles that prevent people fromvoting for you.

A Message Campaign

Because President Clinton believed thatPresidential campaigns should be aboutwhat a candidate would do as President, we spent his time as DLC chairman developing our agenda, not traditional organizing or fundraising.

During that period we shaped the New Democrat Philosophy.

The New Democrat Approach

The Philosophy and Governing Agenda

The New Democrat Approach

New Democrats are the modernizers of the Democratic Party

We further our party’s enduring values with new and innovative ideas

The Traditions We Honor

• Jefferson’s belief in individual libertyand the capacity for self government

• Jackson’s credo of equal opportunityfor all, special privileges for none

• Roosevelt’s thirst for innovation

• Kennedy’s summons to civic duty

• Clinton’s insistence upon new meansto achieve progressive ideals

Core Principles

TheNew Democrat

Philosophy

Opportunity & Growth Global Outlook

Empowering Government

Mutual ResponsibilityTraditional Values

New Democrat Ideas

• National Service• Earned Income Tax Credit• Welfare Reform• Fiscal Discipline• Investment in People and Technology• Expanded Trade• Community Policing• Charter Schools• Reinventing Government

Clinton 96 (2)

Clinton 92 (3)

GOP 92 & 96 (16)

Clinton 92 & 96 (30)

The Clinton Reversal

Picking the GOP Lock