‘William Jefferson Clinton was a moderate Republican’ isn’t a new criticism of the former president—Michael Moore lobbed it in his book "Stupid White Men" years ago. Still, some pollsters and data crunchers have used it to analyze the former president, as his 1996 landslide was far from a foregone conclusion after the 1994 Republican Revolution. People thought this Slick Willy was dead in the water, and he might have been if it weren’t for Dick Morris’ triangulation overhaul concerning policy. In short, it eschewed far-left tendencies and gravitated toward the middle, attacking policies with healthy consensuses.
We’re a right-of-center country; no matter how much progressives deny that fact, it’s true and channeling that saved Clinton’s presidency. Patrick Ruffini of Echelon Insights decided to construct a lengthy Twitter thread about Clinton’s 1996 comeback, how his presidency stole some GOP initiatives, and how some issues that Clinton championed still resonate today, like being tough on crime and curbing illegal immigration.
Bill Clinton was re-elected in 1996 by 8.5 points, the most resounding victory by a Democrat since LBJ.
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
I don’t think people realize what a stick in the eye his campaign was to liberal Democratic orthodoxy.
A 🧵and appreciation of Clinton’s 🐐 ‘96 re-election. pic.twitter.com/tAjoFFJU62
At the same time, the president and his surrogates continued to distance themselves from their party’s soft on crime image.
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
Here’s Hillary Clinton talking about “superpredators” on January 28, 1996. https://t.co/TGUyEu2aUL
The signature of the Morris triangulation campaign was a series of “micro-initiatives” to pitch Clinton to culturally conservative voters concerned about the decline of traditional values.
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
In February 1996, Clinton came out for school uniforms in public schools. pic.twitter.com/pntw8lOgf9
The biggest legislative accomplishment of 1996 was welfare reform, an issue pushed relentlessly by the Republican Congress.
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
A Stick. In. The. Eye. to the left and yet another example of Clinton swiping an issue from out under the Republicans’ noses.https://t.co/OorNr89ehW pic.twitter.com/9i0GRZkFnN
While Clinton didn’t go out of his way to tout DOMA with a huge bill signing ceremony, his campaign bragged about it in stealth ads on Christian radio.
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
Audio was so hard to come by it was only uncovered by @KFILE in 2016. https://t.co/qO9ItIw5cv
Many of Clinton’s fall ads were a carbon copy of Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America.” In this ad, Clinton leads off with a promise to lead the country “toward a future where government is smaller.” https://t.co/XKLqp5HtOf
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
Here are some stills from that ad. pic.twitter.com/MvxQOpHxuo
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
A Pew survey late in the campaign revealed Clinton’s strength: He unified all parts of the Democratic Party, who acquiesced to his moves to the center, while fracturing Republicans, including “economically squeezed populist conservatives.” https://t.co/RmvVA0gIio
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
Many of the conservatives who voted for Bill Clinton in 1996 switched to Donald Trump in 2016, especially in the Midwest.
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2024
It’s why MAGA remembers Clinton more fondly than other Democratic presidents. https://t.co/WV6u2FO7Pn
The things that stand out are simple: being pro-public safety, pro-law enforcement, pro-work, and anti-illegal immigration sells with voters. It still does. It also shows what happens when your campaign is successful with cobbling together healthy margins among white working class voters, a voter bloc that new Democrats have denigrated the past few cycles. Our system values and rewards geographic diversity, and Bill Clinton dominated by taking on issues typically championed by conservatives: the welfare reform package is a prime example.
If Democrats quit trying to scrap by with the college faculty crowd and get back to talking sense on the economy, crime, health care, and immigration, the GOP could be in some trouble. With Trump on the ballot, I’m not so sure, but Trump voters have and will vote for Democrats if the messaging is right. Lucky for us, the current liberal consensus is to be as stark-raving mad as possible on even the little things, but the path remains there for them. It also shows how insane the Democrats have become over the past 20 or so years. You could argue that maybe Barack Obama would have a more difficult time running in today’s Democratic Party.
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