Political cartoonists and right-wing-conspiracy theorists aren't the only ones who miss Bill Clinton. Moderate New Democrats have been in a swoon since their leader left town. In Clinton's heyday, New Democrat think tanks churned out ideas that moved the party toward the political center through an artful fusion of conservative economics and liberal social policy. But short on leadership and new ideas, New Democrats are struggling for relevance in George W. Bush's Washington.
With liberal leaders pressuring centrists to oppose Bush on trade liberalization and tax cuts, corporate benefactors of the supposedly pro-business movement are questioning New Dems' loyalty. The big blow came on Dec. 6, when a majority of centrist Democrats in the House refused to give Bush the fast-track trade-negotiating authority that Corporate America believes will open new markets.
Most New Dems say they voted against fast track because it didn't include enough protections for U.S. workers and the environment. They blame Republicans for designing a bill that would hurt Democrats--not lead to a consensus. "The Republicans are trying to marginalize us," says Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), a self-proclaimed free-trade moderate. "They would much rather run against the liberal Democratic leadership."
Business reaction was fast and furious. A day after the vote, Microsoft Corp. pulled out of a Seattle fund-raiser hosted by Smith. "New Democrats really need to do some serious soul-searching," says Tim Hugo, executive director of the tech lobby CapNet. Apparently they already are. Smith predicts a better showing when the Senate sends down a more worker-friendly version of the trade bill later this spring. "A number of us who didn't support it then are very anxious to support it when it comes back," Smith says.
Moderate Dems remain caught in a political squeeze play, however. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), and a reenergized "Fighting Al" Gore are nudging the party to the left. "There's danger that the party will backslide to interest-group politics," says Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute, a centrist Democrat think tank.
It's also getting downright crowded in the middle. Intent on building a "New Republican" coalition, Bush is appropriating signature New Dem issues such as education and national service. That makes it easier for moderate GOPers to cut into New Dem funding sources. Claiming to be more reliably pro-business, the fledgling Republican Main Street Partnership is collecting checks from Citigroup (C
), Microsoft (MSFT
), Novell (NOVL
), and others.
In fairness to the New Dems, a certain loss of energy was inevitable after a long run in which many of their ideas, such as work-based welfare reform, became law. And proposals that were novel a decade ago, such as means testing for entitlements, today are widely embraced by members of both parties. To rebuild, New Dems are turning to fresh faces. On Apr. 17, Smith, Jim Davis (Fla.), and Ron Kind (Wis.) took the helm of the New Democrats' House coalition. They'll work with Democratic Leadership Council Chairman Senator Evan Bayh (Ind.) to regroup.
Although high-tech money isn't flowing like it used to, funding is not yet an issue. The New Democrat Network, the group's campaign fund-raising arm, took in $5.4 million for the 2000 elections and hopes to boost that by almost $2 million this cycle.
But business remains skeptical. None of the new leaders has voted with business more than 48% of the time. Yet given the closely divided Congress, corporate lobbyists can't afford to write off anybody. "We're rebuilding some of the bridges that were burned from the trade vote," says Ralph Hellman, a lobbyist for the Information Technology Industry Council.
Even if the New Democrat movement regains Corporate America's trust, it still must find new ideas--and a new leader. Contenders for that role include Senators John Edwards of North Carolina and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut--both possible Presidential candidates in 2004. Neither seems likely to generate that old Clinton electricity.
Woellert covers Congress.
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