How Three Democrats Who Saved the Party Before Would Do It Again

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How Three Democrats Who Saved the Party Before Would Do It Again"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Opinions
• Host/Author: The New York Times Opinion
• Description: You've heard the news, here's what to make of it.
• Episode: How Three Democrats Who Saved the Party Before Would Do It Again
• Release Date: May 8, 2025

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Introduction

In the episode titled "How Three Democrats Who Saved the Party Before Would Do It Again," The Opinions hosted by Patrick Healy delves into the current struggles of the Democratic Party and explores strategies from the past that could rejuvenate its future. Drawing parallels between the Democratic Party's challenges in the early 1990s and today, Healy engages with three seasoned Democratic strategists who were instrumental in Bill Clinton's transformative 1992 presidential campaign.

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Current State of the Democratic Party

Patrick Healy opens the discussion by highlighting the Democratic Party's current state of introspection and soul-searching. Healy notes that while Democrats seek new leadership and strategies to confront President Trump, there is uncertainty about the path forward. He emphasizes that simply making Trump unpopular may not suffice for the party to become a credible alternative, stating:

"If a party wants to be a credible alternative to those in power, any successful political party has to offer something. A concrete agenda."
(00:50)

Healy references a recent roundtable with Democratic operatives who previously orchestrated Clinton's successful 1992 campaign, asserting that the focus was less on Trump and more on what Democrats need to offer voters today.

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Lessons from the 1992 Clinton Campaign

The strategists share critical insights from their experience in the early '90s, drawing lessons applicable to the current political landscape.

1. Embrace Change

   Bill Galston, a former policy advisor to President Clinton, underscores the importance of change:

   "Change is hard, right? It's one of the hardest things in the world... Giving up power that you've accrued over decades is enormously difficult."
   (02:56)

   The strategists argue that like the late 1980s, today’s Democrats face a low point, and significant transformation is necessary to overcome it.

2. Crafting the Cultural Message

   Elaine Kamark highlights the necessity of addressing cultural issues effectively:

   "If you are on the wrong side of a cultural issue, nobody hears your economics... nobody hears it. And that, I think was true back then, and I think it's true now."
   (04:55)

   The strategists emphasize that aligning the Democratic message with voters' cultural sentiments is crucial, particularly on issues like identity and personal beliefs about America.

3. Foster Intra-Party Competition

   The panel discusses the benefits of internal party debates, likening them to the struggle that led to Clinton's victory:

   "The Democratic Party didn't just wrap its arms in new ideas. It was a fight within the party... you have to be willing to say things that previously were regarded as unsayable."
   (09:26 - 09:39)

   They suggest that healthy competition within the party can invigorate its base and present a more dynamic image to the electorate.

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Addressing Key Issues Today

The strategists identify pressing issues that the Democratic Party must tackle to reconnect with voters:

1. Immigration and Inflation

   Highlighting missteps in previous administrations, the strategists assert:

   "We were simply on the wrong side of this issue... Democrats have to get right on immigration and then inflation."
   (10:26)

   They argue that addressing these economic concerns is vital, especially as inflation affects the broader population more directly than the upper-middle-class Democratic base.

2. Transgender Rights as a Cultural Issue

   The discussion shifts to the sensitive topic of transgender rights:

   "Transgender rights is one of the cultural issues Democrats have to figure out soon... you have to say, we get it, we get it. But you also have to say to the broader public, we understand your fears."
   (07:46 - 09:26)

   The strategists advocate for a balanced approach that respects the Democratic base while addressing public apprehensions, drawing parallels to how Clinton handled welfare reform.

3. Capturing the Working-Class Vote

   Will Marshall emphasizes the need to reconnect with working-class voters through a distinct class-based message:

   "We have a big job of reaching working-class voters. And that's just going to require a completely different orientation of our ideas and our political strategies."
   (03:37 - 04:15)

   The strategists suggest that tailoring policies to address the immediate economic concerns of these voters is essential for electoral success.

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Generating New Ideas and Capturing Imagination

Elaine Kamark and her colleagues stress the importance of fresh, imaginative policies to redefine the party:

"In 1991, it was palpable and out there in the country, people responded to it. Something fresh... voluntary national service, public school choice, reinventing government... it helped that we had a next generation team in Clinton and Gore."
(08:26 - 09:26)

They advocate for innovative solutions that resonate with contemporary issues, much like the transformative ideas that propelled Clinton’s campaign.

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Selecting the Next Generation of Democratic Leaders

The episode concludes with a discussion on identifying and empowering new Democratic leaders. The strategists mention potential candidates:

• Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania)
• Josh Stein (North Carolina)
• Wes Moore

They emphasize the necessity of open and competitive primaries to cultivate and refine new talent, ensuring the party remains vibrant and forward-thinking.

"The next generation of Democrats, there's a lot of good people... which one of them will emerge."
(14:53 - 15:07)

Patrick Healy echoes this sentiment, reinforcing the importance of leadership that aligns with the party’s renewed vision.

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Conclusion

The Opinions episode underscores the parallels between the Democratic Party’s past challenges and its present struggles. By learning from the strategic transformations of the 1992 Clinton campaign, the strategists advocate for embracing change, effectively managing cultural narratives, fostering internal competition, and generating innovative policies. Identifying and empowering the next wave of Democratic leaders is presented as crucial for the party’s resurgence. For Democrats seeking to reclaim their position, the lessons from Clinton's team offer a roadmap to reengage voters and present a compelling, forward-thinking agenda.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Patrick Healy:
  "If a party wants to be a credible alternative to those in power, any successful political party has to offer something. A concrete agenda."
  (00:50)

• Bill Galston:
  "Change is hard, right?... Giving up power that you've accrued over decades is enormously difficult."
  (02:56)

• Will Marshall:
  "We have a big job of reaching working-class voters... a completely different orientation of our ideas and our political strategies."
  (03:37 - 04:15)

• Elaine Kamark:
  "If you are on the wrong side of a cultural issue, nobody hears your economics... nobody hears it."
  (04:55)

• Unnamed Participant 4:
  "A lot of ordinary Americans are asking themselves, do the Democrats know how to draw lines anymore, or are they just pushed into extremes?"
  (06:34)

• Unnamed Participant 1:
  "We have to say, we get it... But you also have to say to the broader public, we understand your fears."
  (07:46)

• Unnamed Participant 2:
  "We have a big job of reaching working-class voters... completely different orientation of our ideas and our political strategies."
  (10:26)

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Production Credits:

The Opinions is produced by Derek Arthur, Sophia Alvarez, Boyd Vishaka Darba, Christina Samulewski, and Gillian Weinberger. Edited by Kari Pitkin, Allison Bruzek, and Annie Rose Strasser, with engineering and original music by Isaac Jones, Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Carol Sabaro, and Afim Shapiro, and additional music by Amin Sohota. The Fact Check team includes Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker, and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy is handled by Shannon Busta and Christina Samulewski, with Annie Rose Strasser serving as the executive producer of Times Opinion Audio.

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Listen to The Opinions:

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Transcript

[Robert Vinlowen]

Hey, I'm Robert Vinlowen. I'm from New York Times Games, and I'm here talking to people about wordle and the wordle Archive. Do you all play wordle? I play it every day. All right. I have something exciting to show you. It's the wordle Archive.

[Unnamed Participant 1]

What? Okay, that's awesome.

[Robert Vinlowen]

So now you can play every wordle that has ever existed. There's like a thousand puzzles.

[Patrick Healy]

What? Wordle Archive.

[Unnamed Participant 2]

Oh, cool.

[Patrick Healy]

Now you can do yesterday's wordle.

[Unnamed Participant 3]

If you missed it, New York Times game subscribers can now access the entire Wordle archive. Find out more at nytimes.com games. Subscribe by May 11to get a special offer. This is the Opinions, a show that brings you a mix of voices from New York Times Opinion. You've heard the news. Here's what to make of it.

[Patrick Healy]

I'm Patrick Healy, deputy editor of New York Times Opinion. I've covered politics for decades, and I've never seen the Democratic Party soul searching like it is right now. Many Democrats tell me that they want new new leadership, new ideas, and new ways of standing up to President Trump, but they don't know how to do it. Some Washington Democrats think they can win by making Trump unpopular, but history and polls suggest that's not enough. If a party wants to be a credible alternative to those in power, any successful political party has to offer something. A concrete agenda. That was the big takeaway from a recent roundtable I did with a few Democratic operatives who were the architects of Bill Clinton's breakthrough 1992 presidential campaign.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

Now that we have changed the world.

[Unnamed Participant 2]

It'S time to change America.

[Patrick Healy]

I talked to this group of political strategists for nearly two hours, and Trump's name barely came up. Instead, it was all about what the Democrats need to be offering. Back when these strategists rose to power in the late 1980s, the Democratic Party had lost four of the five previous presidential elections. Democrats were at a real low point, comparable to what the party is facing today. In 1992, this group of operatives helped transform the party and won a resounding victory for Bill Clinton. I hope it's fun for you guys.

[Unnamed Participant 1]

Yeah, we get to see each other.

[Unnamed Participant 2]

It's a reunion.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

There's more courage in this room than in the rest of the Democratic Party.

[Patrick Healy]

Here's what these guys learned from their victory back then and what they think Democrats should be doing today. First, don't be afraid of change. Here's Bill Galston, former policy advisor to President Clinton.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

Change is hard, right? It's One of the hardest things in the world. Changing ourselves as individuals is enormously difficult. And institutions aren't all that different. New ideas empower new groups with new champions, and giving up power that you've accrued over decades is enormously difficult.

[Unnamed Participant 2]

There are a lot of Democrats who are tempted today to say, well, look what's happening to Trump. He's underwater on his tariffs, he's underwater on his mauling of government. People are not happy about it, abandoning Ukraine and 80 years of US international leadership.

[Patrick Healy]

That's Will Marshall, another Clinton policy advisor.

[Unnamed Participant 2]

I heard this argument last night with a bunch of Democrats. We shouldn't be baiting each other. We should be keeping the spotlight intensely on our opponent in hopes of eking out a 49.3% victory next time. That will leave us in this ping ponging, back and forth situation in American politics, a virtual tie that we've been in basically since 2012. And so we got to break out of this syndrome. And it's in everybody's interest that we understand that we have a big job of reaching working class voters. And that's just going to require a completely different orientation of our ideas and our political strategies.

[Patrick Healy]

That's what Bill Clinton was in the early 90s. He looked at the big government messaging that had been around since FDR's new deal, and he realized it wasn't resonating anymore. The Democrats had to make big changes, especially on cultural issues that tap into identity and personal feelings that voters have about America. And that's the second lesson for Democrats today. They have to get their cultural message right. Here's Elaine Kamark, another advisor on Clinton's campaign, on the problem Democrats faced then.

[Unnamed Participant 1]

So in 1988, we had a real cultural problem. We had become the party of criminals, not the party of victims. And it was just very clear there was a big crime wave going on in the United States. There were murders that were random murders, and people were nervous. And so we had a cultural issue hanging over us as we do today. And the problem here is that because culture evokes emotion, if you are on the wrong side of a cultural issue, nobody hears your economics. Doesn't matter how many chips, programs and how much money you've put into education or whatever, nobody hears it. And that, I think was true back then, and I think it's true now.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

The issues have changed, but I don't think the disconnect has, because in the intervening nearly four decades, we witnessed the rise of identity politics as one of the central organizing principles, not only of politics but of how people and groups think of themselves. And Democrats have had a very hard time, I think, distinguishing between the kernel of truth and importance and morality in identity politics on the one hand, and its excesses on the other. So I think a lot of ordinary Americans are asking themselves, do the Democrats know how to draw lines anymore, or are they just pushed into extremes?

[Patrick Healy]

When you say draw lines, you mean.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

To stop between what makes sense culturally and what doesn't. What represents a reasonable response to a problem as opposed to an excessive response that defies common sense and just deeply annoys people. And look, you saw one of those issues figure pretty centrally, you know, in the 2024 election, one of the most devastating taglines in the history of American political advertising.

[Patrick Healy]

And Kamala is for they them. President Trump is for you.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

I'm Donald J. Trump, and I approve this message. A lot of Democrats are pretending that that ad didn't make any difference so much.

[Patrick Healy]

Bill. I keep being told and being given data that that ad didn't matter, and maybe it didn't.

[Unnamed Participant 1]

Oh, come on.

[Patrick Healy]

Look to Bill, Elaine, and Will. Transgender rights is one of the cultural issues Democrats have to figure out soon. And Democrats need to address these issues with the right message, they say, even the right slogan. And Bill Clinton, he was a master at this.

[Unnamed Participant 1]

Let me give you a perfect example. His most frequently run commercial was End Welfare as we Know It. It was a bumper sticker, and it did two things simultaneously. It spoke to the people in the country and said, yeah, we heard you. We got it. This welfare system is a mess. But then he. We know it. So in other words, he wasn't doing a Reagan imitation. He was not throwing the whole thing out. He was saying, let's change it. That was such a brilliant combination, and I think we need that. Again, the new emergent issue is the transgender rights issue. And I think there, the party needs to look for a way of doing both things that Clinton did with welfare. On the one hand, saying, we get it public. You think this is very strange. You think this is frightening. Okay. You think that people, maybe children are gonna be hurt. We understand your worries. And yet at the same time, they have to say, look, there are people out there who are really hurting because they're born gender dysphoric. And we understand that there's got to be a way to combine that into a end welfare as we know it. I'm not a good enough wordsmith, but I wish we could just rent one of the Republic guys because they're so good at this, to figure that out, because you cannot abandon your base. You can't stick a needle in the eye of your base. You have to say, we get it, we get it. But you also have to say to the broader public, we understand your fears.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

I think people in the party are gonna have to take a deep breath and be willing to say things that previously were regarded as unsayable.

[Unnamed Participant 2]

And I think that one thing I really want to emphasize about the Clinton phenomenon is just the appetite for new ideas. In 1991, it was palpable and out there in the country, people responded to it. Something fresh and ending welfare, as we know, instead of futzing around with it and a little tweak here, whatever the liberals would give us by way of a kind of a stronger work requirement. You know, when we got away from that and had wholesale and structurally different ideas, voluntary national service, public school choice, reinventing government, all that generated energy and excitement. And it helped that we had a next generation team in Clinton and Gore. So that's the key, you know, to redefine a failing party. You need to capture imagination, and it's got to be with a new offer, and it's got to be with creative ideas.

[Patrick Healy]

Elaine, what are the ideas now that you think would either speak to voters who might be skeptical or at least make them a little more open to hearing a message if the Democrats could find the right leader for it?

[Unnamed Participant 1]

Well, the first thing is immigration. I mean, we were simply on the wrong side of this issue. The country was being overrun and the interest groups were saying something that was easily translatable into open borders. So Democrats have to get right on immigration and then inflation. They just didn't get it. It goes to the class basis. And I think this is why the Democrats at this point in time are so completely screwed up, which is that we are now the party of well to do people. Look at that billion dollars Kamala Harris raised, right? Why? Because there's lots of upper middle class people in the Democratic Party. And so when you're upper middle class, you miss the, the impact of inflation because you are not the person who's going through the grocery store counting up the cost of what's going into your cart.

[Patrick Healy]

That's lesson number two from these Clinton strategists. A winning party needs a message that says, america, we hear you, without abandoning its base. The third lesson, don't be afraid of an intra party fight. Duke it out. It'll help the party get where it needs to go. That's what happened in 1992.

[Unnamed Participant 4]

The Democratic Party didn't just wrap its arms in new ideas. It was a fight within the party, and it was by no means clear that the new would win and the old would lose. And you don't have to be Frederick Douglass to believe that power never concedes without a struggle and that change is always a fight. You may win it, but that means that somebody else has to lose.

[Unnamed Participant 1]

It's the fight that breaks through to the public and says, oh, that party's still alive. They're not as brain dead as I thought they were.

[Patrick Healy]

What are some of the concrete lessons from your experience from 88 to 92 that apply to today?

[Unnamed Participant 4]

FDR sparked a revolution inside the Democratic Party that lasted for three generations. Ronald Reagan sparked a revolution inside the Republican Party that lasted for two generations. We gained, at best, an incomplete victory. And after Bill Clinton, it became clear that the party had accepted only some of the change that he stood for. We have to think bigger this time, you know, a larger and more enduring majority. And that will require, you know, whoever will carry the torch for the next generation of Democrats because we're too old to do that, which doesn't mean we've left the field, will have to be, I think, even bolder than we were.

[Patrick Healy]

Bill Clinton's moderate third way politics really withered once he left the White House. Elaine, Will and Bill believe a new generation of Democrats should pick up Clinton's mantle and run with it. Tacking to the center worked in 1992 after Democratic losses with liberal candidates. Progressives are going to sharply disagree with that advice. These Clinton strategists, they haven't run presidential campaigns in years. And running them and winning them is different in the 2000 and twenties than it was in 1992. But there's one thing that hasn't changed, and that's that the most critical ingredient in successful presidential politics is having the right leader in the right moment with the right message to enough Americans. Who is that person for the Democrats? I asked our panel. A lot of governors. Names came up.

[Unnamed Participant 2]

Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, Josh Stein in North Carolina.

[Unnamed Participant 1]

I have a soft spot for Wes Moore. Look, we have a deep bench. The good news is. Good news is a deep bench. The next generation of Democrats, there's a lot of good people, and who knows, right, which one of them will emerge.

[Patrick Healy]

As Elaine said to me, this is why political parties need open and competitive presidential primaries, to find and to hone new talent. And 2028 isn't that far away.

[Unnamed Participant 3]

If you like this show, follow it on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Opinions is produced by Derek Arthur, Sophia Alvarez, Boyd Vishaka Darba, Christina Samulewski and Gillian Weinberger. It's edited by Kari Pitkin, Allison Bruzek and Annie Rose Strasser. Engineering, mixing and original music by Isaac Jones, sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Carol Sabaro and Afim Shapiro. Additional music by Amin Sohota. The Fact Check team is Kate Sinclair, Mary, Marge Locker and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Christina Samulewski. The executive producer of Times Opinion Audio is Annie Rose Strasser.

[Patrick Healy]

Sam.