Clintonian

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A Clintonian is member of the faction of the United States Democratic Party centered around former President Bill Clinton and his wife current New York Senator Hillary Clinton. This faction is thought to include Sidney Blumenthal, former DNC Chair Steve Grossman, current New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

While the primary qualification is being aligned with, or part of the web of political and donor connections associated with the Clintons, the ideology of the faction can be said in broad outline to favor certain policies:

  • Free Trade. Bill Clinton supported and worked to pass NAFTA and the creation of the World Trade Organization. Free Trade was an essential component of his economic policy.
  • Balanced budget. The Clintonians are associated with restraining the growth of federal spending, in order to allow lower interest rates and freer monetary policy.
  • Greater willingness to use and fund the military. Senator Clinton voted for, and still supports the Iraq War.
  • Greater willingness to reach compromise on social issues such as abortion.
  • Reform or reduction of some government programs, exemplified by the ending of AFDC as part of Welfare reform.
  • Internationalism, particularly the expansion of NATO.

The ideology is sometimes thought of as part of the Third Way, a brand of politics that is said to include Tony Blair's New Labour in Britain, the Liberal Party in Canada, and the SDP in Germany under former chancellor Gerhard Schröder.