Customer Reviews

Reinventing Democrats

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This intelligent and exhaustively researched book outlines -- in a style that both political junkies and normal readers alike will find engaging -- how Bill Clinton and like-minded Democrats, for all of their foibles, truly became the political "comeback kids" of the late twentieth century. George W. Bush and Bill Bradley would do well to stop ignoring the lessons Baer teaches, and aspiring leaders from around the world undoubtedly will turn to this book as an answer key for the tests voters put before them on election days.

Baer challenges you to think about politics in a way the media doesn't want you to -- a constructive way. With information that only an insider could love, and logic that even the most non-political of readers can enjoy, he moves beyond the accusations and division that sour our politics of today to the source of the changes in the Democratic Party over the past decade. He traces how the party that brought us Jefferson and Jackson re-invented itself(to use his wording) back into the party of mainstream values and progressive politics. Politicians and policy-wonks alike will use Baer's manifesto as a roadmap for how to reach voters and capture a message that will bring about both electoral success and the ability to govern for years to come.

Reinventing Democrats chronicles the efforts of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) to shift the Democratic Party from its liberal orientation to a more centrist position. It details the DLC's strategies, its successes and its failures up to the 2000 primaries, before the Democratic Party had selected a candidate. It makes a compelling case that the Democratic Party needs to (1) select public policies that are fiscally responsible, business friendly, and, in short, consonant with middle-class values and (2) eschew or de-emphasize policies that are attractive primarily to the party's issue-activists -- this being necessary to occupy the mainstream of American political thought and avoid becoming politically marginalized. This message is particularly relevant now (2003) that some Democrats are panicking over the 2002 mid-term election results and calling for a shift back to the left, effectively seeking to reverse the successful course set by Clinton after the disaster of the 1994 mid-term elections.

Clinton was elected on a New Democrat (i.e. DLC) platform, but he commenced to govern, or was perceived to govern, with a liberal agenda. This led to his plummeting popularity and the mid-term disaster of 1994, and at the time it appeared he would be retired after one term. Since a good scare is always more valuable than good advice, he embraced a New Democratic agenda in his second two years and, with a little help from the Republicans, he won a handy victory in 1996, vindicating the DLC in the process. In all likelihood the New Democratic philosophy (embodied in Al Gore) would have achieved further electoral vindication in 2000 but for unfortunate lapses in the Oval Office and mis-steps thereafter -- the 2000 election was close; Clinton-exhaustion seems to have been a factor.

This book narrates events in a Democratic evolution that is still taking place, and the success of which is not guaranteed. If you care about public policy and the future of the Democratic Party, or just like to look inside the political process, this book is worth a read.

A phenomenal history of the Clinton years. Full of important information for ayone who wants to understand the Clinton decade and the way in which the Democrats seized the governing intiatives from the Republicans.

Whether you have a passing interest or are a true political junky, this book is a must read to understand America's contemporary political landscape. Highly recommended.

A must read for anyone interested in our political system! At the dawn of the 21st century, the face of politics and parties is changing at an alarming rate. Reinventing Democrats takes an insightful look at the underlying truthes of government today. Baer is a thoughtful and intelligent writer who sheds light on what fuels the actions and decisions that affect the lives of all Americans. This book definetly can't be missed!

This book is a must read for anyone with even a passing interest in American politics. Baer tells the thrilling story of how a group of Democratic Party activists saved the party from itself and brought it back on the side of middle class values. This is the real "inside" story of how Bill Clinton became president and explains the politics of the 2000 campaign better than any other book I've read.

When you read this erudite tome (yet equally accessible as a summer beach read), it is hard to believe that Mr. Baer is merely an Oxford Ph.D, and is not, in fact, a weathered lecturer. Mr. Baer describes the ups and down and ins and outs (under the Clinton regime) of the Democratic party with such aplomb that you believe he must have been a veritable fly on thy wall for many insider "entre-nous." Well, at least we know he's not a WASP. Mr. Baer's knowledge of the subject is great, and his passion for the subject matter is contagious, which makes me glad I got vaccinated - I have enough diseases already, do I really need a love of politics? The book was definitely a GOOD read!