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Clintonism
Founder	Bill andHillary Clinton
Ideology	Cultural liberalism[1][2][3] Bipartisanship[4][5][6] Fiscal conservatism[7] (Clintonomics andneoliberalism[8]) Third Way[9](Triangulation[10]) Liberal internationalism
Political position	Center tocenter-right
National affiliation	Democratic Party
Colors	Blue
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

Clintonism refers to thepolitical andeconomic policies ofBill andHillary Clinton, as well as the era ofhis presidency in theUnited States. Members of theDemocratic Party who are aligned with these political policies and practices are calledClinton Democrats.

TheDemocratic Leadership Council (DLC), a pro-Democratic Party establishment, argues that Clintonism "stands foreconomic growth andopportunity; forfiscal responsibility; forwork, notwelfare; forpreventing crime andpunishing criminals; and for non-bureaucratic, empowering government" and further says that "these policies are key to the successes in the beginning of the 21st century."^[11]

On the other hand, some critics of Clinton associate Clintonism with "coddlingbig money (except guns and tobacco), financial scandals, winning at any cost,flip-flopping and prevaricating".^[12]

Clintonism refers to thecentrist orneoliberal wing of the United StatesDemocratic Party centered on former President Bill Clinton and his wife, formerFirst Lady,Senator,Secretary of State and2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, both in their times in office and subsequently. It is also thought to encompass many other prominent people, including campaign consultantDick Morris, journalistSidney Blumenthal,Democratic National Committee ChairmanSteven Grossman, politician and governorBill Richardson,Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentHenry Cisneros,Treasury DepartmentSecretaryRobert Rubin and Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright.

While the primary qualification is being aligned with or part of the inner circle associated with the Clintons, the ideology can be said in broad outline to favor certain policies:

• Free trade: an essential component ofhis economic policy, Clinton worked to pass theNAFTA and create theWorld Trade Organization.
• Balanced budget: Clintonism is associated withrestraining the growth of federal spending in order to allow lower interest rates and freermonetary policy.
• Greater willingness to use and fund the military
• A willingness to compromise on social issues such as abortion andLGBT rights. Bill Clinton signed the 1996Defense of Marriage Act, although it was struck down by the Supreme Court and repealed by the 2022Respect for Marriage Act.
• Reform or reduction of some government programs, exemplified by the ending ofAid to Families with Dependent Children as part ofwelfare reform.
• Internationalism, particularly the expansion ofNATO.

The ideology is sometimes thought of as part of theThird Way, a brand of politics that is said to include (at the time or since)Prime MinisterTony Blair'sNew Labour in the United Kingdom, theLiberal Party in Canada underJean Chrétien andPaul Martin, and theSocial Democratic Party in Germany underChancellorGerhard Schröder. According toVanity Fair, Clintonism is foundationally "based on thebaby boomer credo that you truly can have it all".^[13]

• Blairism
• Hillaryland
• Political positions of Hillary Clinton
• Third Way
• New Democrats

• The New York Times cover story on Clintonism

• Bill Clinton
• Hillary Clinton
• Presidency of Bill Clinton
• American political neologisms
• Democratic Party (United States)
• Liberalism in the United States
• Centrism in the United States
• Eponymous political ideologies
• Political positions of presidents of the United States
• Political positions of state governors of the United States
• Hillary Clinton's tenure as First Lady of the United States
• Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State
• Third Way
• Political terminology of the United States

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