Reinventing Democrats
by Kenneth S. Baer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kenneth S. BaerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-02-09
ISBN: 070061009X
Number of pages: 376
Publisher: University Press Of Kansas
Book Reviews of Reinventing Democrats
Book Review: The Democratic Party's recent history and near future
Summary: 4 Stars
Reinventing Democrats chronicles the efforts of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) to shift the Democratic Party from its liberal orientation to a more centrist position. It details the DLC's strategies, its successes and its failures up to the 2000 primaries, before the Democratic Party had selected a candidate. It makes a compelling case that the Democratic Party needs to (1) select public policies that are fiscally responsible, business friendly, and, in short, consonant with middle-class values and (2) eschew or de-emphasize policies that are attractive primarily to the party's issue-activists -- this being necessary to occupy the mainstream of American political thought and avoid becoming politically marginalized. This message is particularly relevant now (2003) that some Democrats are panicking over the 2002 mid-term election results and calling for a shift back to the left, effectively seeking to reverse the successful course set by Clinton after the disaster of the 1994 mid-term elections.Clinton was elected on a New Democrat (i.e. DLC) platform, but he commenced to govern, or was perceived to govern, with a liberal agenda. This led to his plummeting popularity and the mid-term disaster of 1994, and at the time it appeared he would be retired after one term. Since a good scare is always more valuable than good advice, he embraced a New Democratic agenda in his second two years and, with a little help from the Republicans, he won a handy victory in 1996, vindicating the DLC in the process. In all likelihood the New Democratic philosophy (embodied in Al Gore) would have achieved further electoral vindication in 2000 but for unfortunate lapses in the Oval Office and mis-steps thereafter -- the 2000 election was close; Clinton-exhaustion seems to have been a factor.
This book narrates events in a Democratic evolution that is still taking place, and the success of which is not guaranteed. If you care about public policy and the future of the Democratic Party, or just like to look inside the political process, this book is worth a read.
Summary of Reinventing Democrats
When Bill Clinton declared in 1996 that "the era of big government is over," Republicans felt that he was stealing their thunder. But in fact, it was the culmination of a decade-long struggle for the heart and soul of the Democratic party. This book tells how a group of New Democrats reformed their enfeebled party's agenda, moved it toward the center, and recaptured the White House with their first two-term president since FDR. Reinventing Democrats is the story of the Democratic Leadership Council, an elite group of elected officials, benefactors, and strategists that let fresh air into the smoke-filled room of politics and changed the public philosophy of their party. Kenneth Baer tells who they are, where they came from, what they believe in, and how they helped elect Bill Clinton--the DLC's former chairman--to the presidency. Drawing on DLC archives and interviews with party insiders, Baer chronicles the increasing influence of the DLC from 1985 to the present. He describes battles waged between New Democrats and party liberals after the failed candidacy of Walter Mondale, and he takes readers behind the scenes in Little Rock to tell how DLC director Al From encouraged Clinton's run for the White House. He then explains how the DLC reshaped the party's agenda into a "third way" that embraced positions such as welfare reform, a balanced budget, free trade, a tough stance on crime, and a strong defense. In this revealing analysis of insider politics, Baer shows how a determined faction can consciously change a party's public philosophy, even without the impetus of a national crisis or electoral realignment. He also shows that the New Democrat stance exemplifies how ideas can work in sync with the political calendar to determine which specific policies find their way onto the national agenda. If Clinton achieved nothing else in his presidency, says Baer, he moved his party to the center, where it stood a better chance to succeed--much to the dismay of conservatives, who felt victimized by the theft of many of their strongest issues. Baer reveals the role of new ideas in shaping political stratagems and provides much food for thought concerning the evolution of the Democratic party and American party politics.Philosophy Books
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