Wrong for All the Right Reasons: How White Liberals Have Been Undone by Race

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION Bill Clinton' s presidenc y bega n a t a confusing , transitiona l perio d i n American history. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, he could no t do wha t Ronal d Reaga n did : borro w enoug h mone y i n th e nam e o f national securit y t o purchas e temporar y prosperity . Presiden t Clinto n took offic e wit h the opportunity t o build a new progressive coalition o f working- an d middle-clas s whites , minorities , an d liberals—traditiona l Democratic constituents—t o restor e credibilit y t o th e ide a tha t govern ment play s a constructiv e rol e i n societ y an d th e economy , an d t o cal l the bluff o f the Republican Righ t in its refusal t o inflict th e pain implici t in its antigovernment jihad . The 1994 elections demonstrated that Clinton had failed to make his case. T o b e sure , h e wa s expose d throughou t hi s firs t tw o year s t o a relentless, scurrilous, even libelous campaign o f defamation an d ridicul e by the Right. And congressional Republicans appeared more interested in destroying Clinton' s persona l credibilit y tha n i n debatin g polic y differ ences (Senate Republicans used the filibuster mor e frequently i n 1993-9 4 than a t an y earlie r tim e i n th e twentiet h century) . Question s abou t Clinton's womanizing lingered from th e 1992 campaign. All of this mixed with a personal image of a slick southern politician who restyled his policies at the first sig n of opposition . President Clinton contributed to the creation of that image, demonstrating a lac k o f steadfastnes s t o th e idea s emphasize d b y candidat e Clinton. H e wa s draw n int o a figh t o n gay s i n th e militar y i n th e firs t weeks of the presidency, retreating fro m hi s campaign pledg e to the gay community an d openin g himsel f t o th e charg e o f waffling . Hi s cabine t looked lik e a n affirmativ e actio n plan . I t include d fou r black s (on e a woman), two Latinos, and two white women, but no Republican an d n o 1 2 WRONG FO R ALL THE RIGHT REASONS one associated with Ross Perot. He nominated (fo r a time) Lani Guinier, a black-Jewish, ivy-league law professor, to the highest civil rights job in the Department o f Justice, even though sh e advocated a vision of racial separatism at variance with his own experience as a son of the civil rights struggles . He was slow to translate his central campaign promise to "end welfar e as we kno w it " int o a concrete legislativ e proposal , choosin g instea d t o organize a highly bureaucratic, secretive, and confusing effor t t o achieve a sweeping reform o f the health care system, which failed spectacularly . During the 1994 congressional elections, President Clinton's achievements wer e degrade d an d minimized . Th e fact s tha t th e econom y wa s growing steadily and unemployment was down sharply failed to redound to the Democrats' favor. Clinto n had kept his promise to reduce deficits . He ende d th e antichoic e abortio n policie s o f th e Reagan-Bus h years . Millions o f workin g American s wer e aide d throug h expansio n o f th e earned income tax credit he pushed for and by passage of a family leave act that protected workers' jobs during maternity leaves and family medica l crises. Even though onl y 2 percen t o f America n household s pai d highe r taxes under Clinton's budget plan, Republicans accused him (successfully ) of raising middle-class taxes. Clinton's political plight was in no small part a result of wrong turns taken b y leaders of the Democratic part y durin g the past three decades . Before the mid-1960s certain values and precepts of American life were so widely supported that they were never the subject of partisan contention . For leaders...