History 65

The United States and a New Economic Order

April 27, 2006

I. The Path to 1994

1. Bush: Politics, Principle, and Economic Choices (taxes, budget deal, and political fallout)

            2. Politics of Scandal (Thomas/Hill hearings and “Year of the Woman”; House bank scandal and term-limits movement; lessons of the 1992 election)

            3. Clinton Policy Agenda (inconsistency and economic issues; promising too much and social issues; erratic foreign policy—Somalia disaster, Haitian and Balkan confusion)

II. The Aftermath of 1994

            1. Road to Democratic Defeat (early stumbles—Hillary, Whitewater, Foster; Reno and the cult of independent counsels—Cisneros, GOP pressure, role of Scaife and Wall Street Journal; collapse of health care plan—who’s to blame?; gearing up for elections—defeat of Synar, Senate retirements, Republican attacks; Gingrich and Contract with America; results)

            2. Triangulation (Gingrich Revolution: tax and budget cuts, public relations; overreach—budget cuts, Rabin funeral; Dick Morris and concept of triangulation: welfare reform, DOMA; significance of Rubin and new approach to the deficit; encouragement of high-tech industry and Silicon Valley—unintended consequences of Telecommunications Reform Act, significance of Gore)

3. Reestablishing Executive Authority (role of “soccer moms”—environmentalism, police, school safety through incremental executive actions; foreign policy—free trade and China, defending NAFTA, NATO expansion and redefining the US-European relationship, peacemaking missions—Haiti, Northern Ireland, Africa, Israel)

4. The Limits of Clintonism (triangulation as a political strategy; 1996 elections—weakness of Republicans, House recruitment, Dole collapse, role of Perot, congressional surge, fundraising scandal; a limited mandate?)