2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I'm not a NEW DEMOCRAT-are you? Some history about the NEW DEMOCRATS is needed. [View all]JCMach1
(27,555 posts)National Level in a more Conservative environment (their ideas, not mine)...
Even a lot of lefties threw their hands up and said, "we have to try something..."
That's the environment Clintonism was born in... not 'solely' New Democrat, or DLC but 'Pragmatic'...
A more negative way to think of it is starting out left and triangulating your way out from there.
This proved very effective in the beginning era of the 24hr news cycle and instant data feedback (polling).
But fast forward the the present: The multiplication of the media has led to a massive fracturing of the media. Like taking a hammer to a lens, or a crystal each tiny piece not focuses on the world. Often, that view can be warped, or distorted.
Media and public opinion have sped up even more. Who needs political parties when you can share your instant opinion on DU, Free Republic, Facebook, or Twitter? Also, political parties now cannot control access to cash $$$. Obama '08, '12, Dean '04 and even Sanders '16 have shown how powerful 'crowdsourcing' campaigns can be.
Big Data continues to make the world of poltics more binary. With the 2000 and 2010 censuses, reapportionment has led to a level of gerrymandering never experienced before in our history. Literally if you want a Mickey Mouse shaped district centered on Orlando that X% majority Republican, the software can make it so. Consequently, in Congress and as a country we have become more and more polarized. No one has to speak, or persuade as they don't need that side to get elected.
There, quite literally, is NO MIDDLE THERE anymore. Welcome to the world of binary politics...