A decade after Bill Clinton pushed his party toward the center of American politics, inspiring a vibrant movement of “New Democrat” followers in Congress, a liberal resurgence is sweeping the party, threatening to brush centrists to the side. [“After ‘New Democrats’ Era, Party Set to Take Left Turn,” Washington Post, 14 November 2002, p. A08]
Could this be the same President Clinton who, so far from “inspiring a vibrant movement of ‘New Democrat’ followers in Congress,” actually ran away from House Democrats, following Dick Morris’s famous “triangulation” advice?
Clinton’s initial “third way” was to position himself between the House Democrats and the Republicans. This positioning was abandoned only when impeachment threatened, causing Clinton to tie his fate to House and then Senate Democrats.
He did attempt to lead the Democratic Party toward the center on some issues — trade and, reluctantly, welfare reform — but, contrary to the Post’s version of history, during the course of his tenure the House Democrats became more, not less, liberal as they lost increasing numbers of their moderate and conservative members to retirement, defeat, and party-switching.
If the House Democrats take a left turn under Nancy Pelosi, it will not be a sharp one. They’ve been turning left for a long time.
UPDATE – SLATE agrees that electing Pelosi does not represent a left turn for House Democrats.
“In fact, Pelosi isn’t any more liberal than the average House Democrat…. Are Pelosi’s positions on welfare reform (against), trade (against fast-track), and war in Iraq (against) worrisome? Perhaps, but so are her caucus’s…. While it’s true that Pelosi’s views, particularly on war and foreign policy, are out of step with much of the American public’s, they’re right in the mainstream of what House Democrats believe.
