His acceptance speech at the convention sounded a populist message, attacking HMOs and oil and insurance companies. By October, his message was muted. Who got to him?

This argument is posted here every week, stating that it was the "DLC's fault" that the Democrats lost Congres in 1994. That is simply not true. The Democrats lost the Congress in 1994 due to these three factors:

1. The 1990 redistricting:

The 1900 redistricting resulted in the creation of minority-majority districts. These districts packed in populations that were 70%-80% minority in some places. These districts often looked like snakes, parasites, weird shapes, and intestines. They often ran across for hundreds of miles, connecting disparate populations whose only connection was race--cities and towns that had no real similiar geopolitical interests.

The results were that many white Democrats ended up with districts that were more Republican. The creation of one or two heavily Democratic districts basically bleached the surrounding districts into conservative white Republican bastions.  Some of them lost in 1994, while others barely held on.

2. The south's realingment to the GOP:

Secondly, in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the final wave of "old southern Democrats" left over from the Solid South era finally retired or died. Democrats like Claude Pepper, Charles Bennett, Jamie Whitten, Sonny Montgomery, William Natcher, Butler C. Derrick, Earl Hutto, Jack Brooks, Don Bevill, and Dante Fascell finally died or retired. They had been able to hold onto their districts even though the demographics had turned steadily Republican. What kept them in office was their own popularity even though their districts had been voting Republican for most offices for decades. When these districts finally became open they turned Republican, even though they should have flipped as early as the 1950s and the 1960s. What kept them Democratic was the popularity of the incumbents.

3. The first two years of the Clinton adminstration:

The first two years of the Clinton administration did not turn out well. The failed healthcare plan, Whitewater, Paula Jones, Somalia, the Branch Davidan siege, the Assualt weapons ban, the budget bill that had tax increases, environmental laws, the House Banking Scandal, and the death of Vince Foster all led to the GOP takeover. Those scandals, both real and imagined, turned the voters en masse against the Clintons.

So it wasn't the DLC's "fault" that the Democrats lost Congres in 1994. It was due primarily more to the 1990 redistricting and the long-term political realignment of the south to the GOP. Those two factors, plus Clinton's dismal first two years, turned the Congress to the Republicans. There were many more compelling causes at hand there.

was more responsible for getting Clinton elected than the DLC, and I severe doubt the DLC did anything to get Clinton elected that he didn't figure out for himself.

...to Clinton's populist approach in 1992. The country was in a recession and Clinton definitely ran to the left on economic issues, but he also had a lot of pro-middle class populism. I don't think it was his embrace of corporate-friendly policies and free trade that won over middle class voters. It was more his support of education, health care, and reducing the budget deficit that won over middle class voters.

There was also somewhat of an ideological shift in the suburbs. Suburbs were once a bastion of both anti-government fiscal conservatism and social conservatism as well. But, as time went on and as suburbs grew and became more diverse, things changed. A lot more suburbanites began to realize that good roads, good public transit, and good schools aren't free and they got rid of their reflexive hatred of taxes. Meanwhile, as suburbs became more diverse, they also became more socially liberal as well.

After 8 years of Clinton, we found out that a new kind of Democrat meant they changed parties.  Clinton sucked up to Reagan's welfare reform and took money from welfare babies while never touching a dime of corporate welfare. Then he sold us a bill of goods on NAFTA.  It passed because he was a Dem, and we trusted him.  If a Republican had been up there giving us the line, we would have known it was a crock of lies.   The Dems did get fixated and stuck on "black and poor".  They pissed off labor and they abandoned the working and middle class. The DLC was right that they needed to come "back" to the center.  Unfortunately, the DLC didn't have a clue where that was.  Apparently they thought it was up Reagans butt somewhere.