Bill Clinton left a bad taste in the mouths of many progressives. Even before Obama took office, many liberals were ready to approach him as the next Clinton-style triangulating, center-right Democrat. For some, every compromise made by Obama is seen through the prism of Clinton betraying the left.
Here's why I think the comparison is inaccurate.
- The popular view of Clinton triangulation is that he would split the difference between agendas pushed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress. By proposing something down the middle, Clinton pulled Democrats in Congress to the right.
By contrast, Obama is proposing plans to the left of what Congressional Democrats will pass (usually the Senate). It's Senate Democrats who push the agenda to right of what Obama advocates.
- Clinton passed bills with Republican votes because he adopted many of their agenda items.
Obama has done just the opposite. He gets almost zero Republican support because he's pushing an agenda that runs against everything conservatives stand for.
- The long term impact of Clinton's actions overwhelmingly worked against progressive causes. Media consolidation, NAFTA, welfare reform, deregulating the lending and financial industry. These extended the Reagan legacy of deregulation and corporate government in ways that still harm us today.
Obama's actions set in place the framework for long-term progress. For example, states will be able to start their own single-payer health care program, which creates the opportunity for the idea to expand. Even before the BP oil gusher, he started the work of reducing oil consumption far beyond his Presidency. Establishing a consumer-oriented agency for the financial sector is a fundamental change of the government's role in the economy.
The Reagan legacy is being reversed. We are on a new trajectory.
There have been disappointing compromises. The most crushing defeat is the Senate's failure to vote on a cap-and-trade bill. Liberals should speak up about those failures.
But every week I see cynical pundits/bloggers portray compromise as an epic betrayal of the left by a sinister, secretly conservative and/or incompetent Obama Administration. I don't believe that viewpoint is accurate or particularly productive.
This isn't Bill Clinton we're dealing with. The progressive movement needs to find an approach that's right for today, instead of being stuck in the same mindset we've had for the last 30 years of conservative Presidents.