NEW DEMOCRATS

In U.S. politics, the 'New Democrats' are an organized faction within the Democratic Party that emerged in the 1980s and came to prominence after the 1988 presidential election. The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) is their central institution. They are identified with center-right social/cultural positions and neo-liberal fiscal values.^[1][2] Current New Democrat politicians belong to the DLC, as well as in some cases, ''The House New Democrat Coalition'' and the ''The New Democrat Network''.^[3][4][5]

Contents

Emergence

Bill Clinton and implication of New Democrat policy

Recently

New Democratic Presidents and Vice Presidents

New Democratic Governors

Members of the House New Democratic Coalition

Members of the Senate New Democratic Coalition

See also

References

External links

Emergence

After the severe electoral losses to Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, a group of prominent Democrats began to believe that their party was both out of touch with the current political situation and in need of a radical shift in both economic policy and on the ideas of governance.^[6][7]
The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was founded in 1985 by prominent New Democrat Al From as well as by several emerging politicians and strategists.^[8] The term New Democrat was used to refer the emerging organisation of Democrats who saw that a Third Way was needed to meet the electoral successes of Reaganism.^[6][7]

Bill Clinton and implication of New Democrat policy

Bill Clinton was the single Democratic politician of the 1990s most identified with the New Democrats; his promise of welfare reform in the 1992 presidential campaign, and its subsequent enactment, epitomized the New Democrat position, as were his 1992 promise of a middle-class tax cut and his 1993 expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor.^[7] New Democrat and Third Way successes under Clinton, and the writings of Anthony Giddens, are often regarded to have inspired Tony Blair in the United Kingdom and his moderate policies, which became the New Labour party.^[12]
New Democrats were more open to deregulation than the previous Democratic leadership had been. This was especially evident in the large scale deregulation of agriculture and the telecommunications industries. The new democrats and allies on the DLC were responsible for the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).^[13]
An important part of New Democrat ideas is focused on improving the economy. During the administration of Bill Clinton, New Democrats were responsible for passing the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. It raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2% of taxpayers,^[14] while cutting taxes on 15 million low-income families and making tax cuts available to 90 percent of small businesses.^[15] Additionally, it mandated that the budget be balanced over a number of years, through the implementation of spending restraints. This helped oversee the longest peace-time economic expansion in USA history.April 2, 1999: The Longest Peacetime Expansion in History

Recently

Some of those identified as New Democrats have vied for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President such as Senator Hillary Clinton, Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, Senator Joe Biden.
Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, also affiliated with the New Democrats, declined to run for the Presidency in 2008.

New Democratic Presidents and Vice Presidents

★ President Bill Clinton

★ Vice President Al Gore

New Democratic Governors

★ Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas

★ Gov. Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana

★ Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee

★ Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey

★ Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin

★ Gov. Michael Easley of North Carolina

★ Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan

★ Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington

★ Gov. Brad Henry of Oklahoma

★ Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia

★ Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia

★ Gov. Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware

★ Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona

★ Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania

★ Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico

★ Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas

★ Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York

★ Former Gov. (now former President) Bill Clinton of Arkansas

★ Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa

★ Former Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia

★ Former Gov. Jim McGreevey of New Jersey

Members of the House New Democratic Coalition

★ Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California - Chair

★ Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin - Vice-Chair

★ Rep. Adam Smith of Washington - Vice-Chair

★ Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama - Vice-Chair

★ Rep. Joseph Crowley of New York - Vice-Chair

★ Rep. Brian Baird of Washington

★ Rep. John Barrow of Georgia

★ Rep. Melissa Bean of Illinois

★ Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada

★ Rep. Lois Capps of California

★ Rep. Russ Carnahan of Missouri

★ Rep. Ben Chandler of Kentucky

★ Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas

★ Rep. Susan Davis of California

★ Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois

★ Rep. Eliot Engel of New York

★ Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina

★ Rep. Charlie Gonzalez of Texas

★ Rep. Jane Harman of California

★ Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota

★ Rep. Brian Higgins of New York

★ Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey

★ Rep. Darlene Hooley of Oregon

★ Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington

★ Rep. Steve Israel of New York

★ Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington

★ Rep. John Larson of Connecticut

★ Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York

★ Rep. Mike McIntyre of North Carolina

★ Rep. Kendrick Meek of Florida

★ Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York

★ Rep. Charlie Melancon of Louisiana

★ Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald of California

★ Rep. Dennis Moore of Kansas

★ Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia

★ Rep. David Price of North Carolina

★ Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California

★ Rep. Adam Schiff of California

★ Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania

★ Rep. David Scott of Georgia

★ Rep. Vic Snyder of Arkansas

★ Rep. Tom Udall of New Mexico

★ Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida

★ Rep. David Wu of Oregon

Members of the Senate New Democratic Coalition

★ Sen. Max Baucus of Montana

★ Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana

★ Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware

★ Sen. Thomas R. Carper of Delaware

★ Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota

★ Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota

★ Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California

★ Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota

★ Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin

★ Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana

★ Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut

★ Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas

★ Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida

★ Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska

★ Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas

★ Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York

★ Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado

★ Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan

★ Former Senator (Now Former Vice President) Al Gore of Tenessee

See also

★ Democratic Leadership Council

★ Democratic Party

References

1. http://www.irc-online.org/content/3476
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/us/politics/30dems.html |accessdate=2006-11-10
3. The DLC - current New Democrats
4. The House New Democrat Coaltion
5. The New Democrat Network
6. Wayne LeMieux, The Democrats' New Path, 2006, ISBN 978-1419638725
7. John F Harris, The Survivor:Bill Clinton in the White House, Random House, 2005, ISBN 978-0375508479
8. Al From, Founder of the DLC and New Democrats
9. Wayne LeMieux, The Democrats' New Path, 2006, ISBN 978-1419638725
10. John F Harris, The Survivor:Bill Clinton in the White House, Random House, 2005, ISBN 978-0375508479
11. John F Harris, The Survivor:Bill Clinton in the White House, Random House, 2005, ISBN 978-0375508479
12. Sidney Blumenthal ''The Clinton Wars'', 2003, ISBN 0-374-12502-3
13. Livingston, C. Don, Kenneth A. Wink; "The Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House of Representatives: Presidential Leadership or Presidential Luck?" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997
14. 1994 State of the Union Address
15. Presidential Press Conference - 08/03/1993

External links

★ About the New Democrat movement, DLC