Bill Clinton: “New Generation of Democrats” (1992)
Three years after the end of the Cold War, the 1992 presidential campaign focused primarily on the economy. But “Clinton did not depend on an economic message alone; rather, he decided to engage in his own racial pandering,” writes Haney López. Clinton campaigned as a ‘New Democrat’: “one resistant to black concerns, tough on crime and hostile to welfare.” Clinton distanced himself from African-American voters and politicians, publicly sparring with Rev. Jesse Jackson. “This ad shows the centrality of dog whistling to the Clinton campaign, putting front and center his promise to end welfare so that it’s no longer ‘a way of life,’ and also his commitment to cracking down on ‘criminals,'” Haney López told BillMoyers.com.
