Legal Commentary

2008 Is Not 1992

By Big Tent Democrat

It seems to me that progressives are making a mistake in the way they are arguing for a progressive agenda for the Obama Administration. Specifically, the thesis seems to be that Bill Clinton made a mistake in projecting a moderate image after the 1994 electoral debacle. That his failure was in not delivering a progressive agenda. This seems like denial to me. Denial of what the American People wanted in that period. In short, America was not a progressive nation then. In denying that America is a Center Right nation NOW, it is not necessary to deny that America was a Center Right nation then. There are two important points to be made about this. First is a demographic one - the electorate is clearly and indisputably more progressive now. Why? Pretty simple, there are less white people in the electorate. In 1992, 88% of the electorate was white. In 2008, 74% of the electorate is white. People like to dance around the basic fact that non-whites are generally more progressive than whites (some important exceptions have been discussed at this site.) More . .

In addition, it is important to understand that Democrats depended more on conservative Southern Democrats to form their majority in 1992. In 1994, the cleansing of the Dixiecrats changed all that. The Democratic Party is indeed a national party, but it surely is not the dominant party in the conservative white South. In contrast, the Republican Party is largely a Southern Party with enclaves in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and the like.

Politics is the art of the possible. Bill Clinton was the politician he had to be in the 1990s. Back in 2007, I wrote:

Clinton's approach was to essentially blur the Dem identity, while allowing the Republican identity unscathed. The fear of the branding imposed on the Democratic Party over the years by Republicans may have made that approach understandable.

Ironically, the policy successes of the Clinton Administration make concerns regarding the Democratic brand on domestic issues unnecessary. These successes, coupled with the utter disaster that is the Bush Administration, permit Democrats to argue the issues on their own terms, advocating core Democratic values and yes, allow the Democrats to brand the Republicans as the extremist incompetent unprincipled party that it is. Now that won't win many conservative votes I grant you, but we ain't getting them anyway. So called moderates? Well I think it will win their votes.

In short, political climate allows the Democrats to define what the middle is.

D-Day is right when he states:

In fact, the entire notion of "what kind of a country is America" becomes quickly tautological. This is a centrist country in the sense that the center would be the median ideology of everyone in it. The question becomes where is that center. And it's completely clear that the public agrees with Obama's agenda, which includes investments in public health, education, energy and infrastructure, an end to the war in Iraq, increased diplomacy, reproductive choice, and a more progressive tax code.

That wasn't the center in 1992. It is now. 2008 is NOT 1992. I hope Obama realizes that.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 07, 2008 (boomark / email).