RAH Day 39 AgendaRAH Day 39 AgendaRAH Day 39 AgendaRAH Day 39 Agenda• Goal – understand why Clinton was elected and reelected,

what his administration attempted to do domestically and internationally and why there was so much political opposition to Clinton

1. Complete p 1 boxes 1-5 to review Clinton’s Presidency 2. Questions from homework3. Read p 5 about the Republican Contract with America.

Complete P 1 Box 6 and 7 to understand the conservative policy positions

4. Read p 6 - Clinton’s “Bridge to the Future” to understand how Clinton presented his view of the problems and solutions1. answer the attached questions

5. How is this Contract with America similar to and different from Nixon and Reagan’s policies? How is it different from Clinton’s ideas?

Pres. George H.W. Bush was the Republican

H. Ross Perot was the billionaire independent candidate

William Jefferson Clinton was the Democrat

The economy, his tax cut pledge, his seeming disconnectedness from the American people, apparent absence of future vision

Both parties did not look capable of helping America deal with the economy, the budget deficit and the public debt. Perot made the gov’t’s financial situation the key issue

Clinton focused on the messages of improving infrastructure, helping the middle class with tax cuts and child care help, and to shrink the size of the fed. Gov’t and balance the budget (stole the idea from Perot)Domestic achievements: smaller

fed. Gov’t, diverse cabinet, economic growth, welfare reform, environment protection, balanced budget, low unemployment, gun control, more police,

Foreign achievements: peace talks b/t PLO and Israel, NAFTA approved, trade w/ China, no fly zones in Iraq, arms limits on North Korea2nd term – Kosovo, missile strikes on Afghanistan, Sudan and Iraq

Clinton’s First Term

The 1992 Presidential Election

Republican Goals: 1. balanced budget2. Cut entitlement growth leading

to ending the entitlement programs

3. Morality laws like ending abortion, cutting funding for family planning programs, regulating porn and spending money on religious schools

4. Helping families5. Strengthening the military6. Helping businesses7. Welfare reform8. Tough on crime and increase

penalties9. Immigration reform to slow

immigration

Clinton’s response to C w A: vetoed 15 different lawsAllowed the government to shut down due to no money and blamed Gingrich and the CongressHelped to defeat the balanced budget amendmentStole the welfare reform ideas and made them his own

The Republican Congress and the Contract with America

Clinton Administration Domestic Clinton Administration Domestic PoliciesPolicies

Health Care

Early in first term proposed a national health plan (spearheaded by wife Hillary), but it failed in Congress due to a heavy ad campaign (Harry and Louise) put out by the health insurance and hospital industry who saw the plan as hurting their profits and businesses.

Welfare 1996 Welfare Reform Act – like Nixon sent block grants to states to develop their own programs but they must require work or work related activities in order to be eligible for government help. Set 2 year consec max and 5 yr lifetime maximum for getting money help. Offered Earned Income Tax Credit – workers could receive up to $4k for work

Federal Budget

Raised taxes 8.6% on very rich and 5% on top 10% of income earners. Cut federal spending on defense and on other government activities, especially cutting federal employees in defense, HHS, labor depts. 1998 –2001 were budget surpluses for first time since 1969

Economic issues

Expand free trade throughout world with WTO, expand free trade here in US by supporting NAFTA, deregulating industries like Telecommunications Act

Crime Brady handgun bill, community policing – 100K more local cops, increased penalties for gun crimes, assault weapons ban, icnreased funding for war on drugs

Clinton Administration Foreign PoliciesClinton Administration Foreign PoliciesFormer USSR

1. Clinton worked with Boris Yeltsin to help turn Russia into a capitalist and democratic country.

2. Helped prop up Russian economy with $4.5billion in aid

3. Continued to implemented START obligations to dismantle nuclear weapons and helped Russia pay for dismantling their nukes.

4. Helped to bring Russia into cooperation with NATO

Eastern Europe

1. Yugoslavia fell apart into warring countries. US got involved in stopping the war in the Bosnian part of Yugo. Using NATO airpower and then NATO peace-keeping troops Through the Dayton Peace Accords.

2. Kosovo, another part of former Yugo was then in civil war – US got NATO to use air power to stop the violence there.

3. In each case, the US helped protect Muslims.

Global trade

1. NAFTA united Canada, US and Mexico in one free-trade block, which ended up benefiting all three countries in terms of GDP

2. WTO replaced the GATT as the overseer of global trade and further increased global trade, including with former enemy commie countries like China and Vietnam

Event How did Clinton address the issue?

Results of Clinton Policies?

End of Cold War – USSR is gone, E. Eur wants capitalism and Democracy

Save money on defense, worked with Yeltsin, but no Grand Strategy

Russia began to prosper by 2000, Russia brought west into partnership w. NATO, defense $ down

Conflict b/t Arabs and Israelis

Clinton worked on Oslo peace process –

Arafat and Rabin shake hands leading to cooperation

Somalia warlords Clinton continued Bush plan for humanitarian aid and expanded into fighting warlords

Blackhawk down. Hurt US/UN and White House/congress relations, Clinton looks weak

Haiti – Aristide elected then overthrown

US mobilized forces and called on the UN to act to protect Aristide

Aristide was put back into power.

Clinton’s Foreign Policies 1993-2001

Event How did Clinton address the issue?

Results of Clinton Policies?

NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement b/t US, Mexico, Canada

Tough ratification fight in Senate – Clinton pushed hard

Treaty was narrowly ratified – all three countries saw significant economic growth

Russia – economic, military and nuclear problems

$4.5b, in econ aid, advisers sent, $ for disarmament, START II implemented

Less nukes, remaining nukes detargeted, Russian economy imporves. No nukes in Ukraine or Kazahkstan

Yugoslavia – balkanized into Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and civil war b/t Croats and Serbs in Bosnia w/ Muslims Bosnians in the middle

92 – civil war begins94 – NATO air strikes95 – Clinton-led Dayton peace accords ends war96-98 Kosovo civil war98 – Serb ethnic cleansing of Muslims99 NATO air strikes

Bosnia becomes separate country with power-sharing and stable environment.Kosovo stays part of Yugoslavia (greater Serbia) but civil war ends and bad guys go on trial

Clinton’s Foreign Policies 1993-2001

Event How did Clinton address the issue?

Results of Clinton Policies?

Iraq – ’91 - end of first Persian Gulf War –

’94 – Iraq makes moves against Kuwait – US sends 54k troops to Kuwait in show of support and defense

Iraq backs off

- Iraqi planes are prohibited from flying over southern and northern Iraq

’96 – US airstrikes against Iraqi air defenses and air forces sites for violating no-fly zones and targeting US air craft patrols

Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries continue to intermittently light up US planes. Iraqi air forces violate no-fly zones and are shot down

Iraq required to open to weapons inspections-’92 – UN weapons inspectors go into Iraq

’92-98 inspectors are messed with, then finally kicked out’98 US responds with air and missile strikes

2000 – inspectors allowed back in to make sure weapons programs were not restarted

Clinton’s Foreign Policies 1993-2001