TURNING THE CENTURY

POLITICS AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY Nation had become divided between parties –Midwest and Sunbelt=Rep. (Red), West Coast and N.E.= Dem. (Blue)

Conservatives: reduce size of gov, lower taxes, strong military, traditional social values –Political Base=Blue collar, small towners, Christians, upper class George H.W. Bush (1988) and George W. Bush (2000) both elected as Republican presidents Republican moderates: –Softened language on anti-gov. conservative viewpoint –Promote more social policies –Lighter stance on traditional values

Liberals: strong gov. to support people, social welfare, increased taxes among upper class –Party Base= African Americans, immigrants, union members, poor/lower-class, young people Democrat moderates: –Attracted to Dem. by Bill Clinton’s presidency –Embraced welfare reform –Promote balancing budget –Expand trade –Tough stance on crime

Independents: –35% of voters in 2000 election –Both parties must appeal to the independent voters of America –These people led to both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush adopting more independent or moderate Dem. and Rep. viewpoints Appealed to 3 rd party candidates –Ross Perot-1992 earned 19% of vote –Ralph Nader % of vote and helped steal Democratic votes to ensure Republican victory

GEORGE H.W. BUSH Had been Reagan’s VP “Read my lips, no new taxes!” Americans with Disabilities Act: banned discrimination against people with disabilities in employment –Must provide accommodations to help disabled employees Continued trend of increasing budget deficit –Curbed this in 1990 by increasing taxes

BILL CLINTON Nominated as moderate fresh face to combat recent conservative policies He was a New Democrat –Not as liberal as past Dem. Won 1992 election with Ross Perot stealing votes from George H.W. Bush Tried to pass universal health care –First Lady Hillary Clinton led this charge –Congress rejected the plan Lost control of both the House and Senate to Republicans in midterm election

Republican Congress tried to balance budget –Gov. went into shutdown in Nov until early 1996 Republican Congress tried to reform welfare –Argued families had become solely dependent on welfare –Passed Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Limited amount of time families could receive welfare to 5 years Single mother employment rose and child poverty rate actually decreased

Clinton became first Dem. to win reelection since FDR Balanced Budget Act: –Worked with Rep. Congress to balance budget –Federal budget ran first surplus in 30 years Dot-Com Boom: –Economy was booming due to new opportunities online –Helped balance budget as people spent and invested more money  more tax revenue –Economy moved more towards technological and service sectors

Scandals: –Rumored affairs abound –Sexual harassment lawsuits –Evidence showed he may have lied under oath aka perjury –Impeachment hearings commenced but fell far short of the 2/3’s necessary for removal Despite scandals Clinton remained popular

ELECTION OF 2000 Clinton built strong Dem. Party Al Gore was Clinton’s VP and got D. nomination for president Republican party was divided between conservatives and moderate Republicans George Bush got the nod for the Rep. to try to appeal to moderates from both parties Gore had upper hand as a popular VP for 8 years Bush was a “compassionate conservative” –Use gov. to implement fair conservative values and aid the people

Bush’s personality and third party candidate Ralph Nader helped narrow the gap with Gore Election day was the closest in American history –Gore led popular vote by.5% –Electoral college: 270 votes needed to win Gore had 266 and Bush 246 before all votes were counted in Florida (25 votes) –Bush led vote by 1,784 and a recount showed that number to only be 327 –Gore demanded a recount of confusing ballots –Bush filed a lawsuit known as Bush v. Gore to block another recount

Florida courts ruled against Bush and he appealed to the Supreme Court Supreme Court voted 5-4 to block another recount Supreme Court effectively ended the election process giving Bush the 25 votes from Florida needed to win the election

BUSH’S PRESIDENCY: No Child Left Behind: made public schools accountable for their achievement –Test students progress to determine funding for schools Tried to reform Social Security but failed Economy: –Dot-Com bubble burst just before he took office –9/11 led to Americans not traveling or spending which hurt the economy –With new security measures receiving funding our budget deficit resurfaced –Bush’s tax cuts helped get the economy back on track soon after 9/11 Approval Ratings: –90% after 9/11  under 40% after War on Terror and Hurricane Katrina