The Triumph of the Republicrats & The Democratic Leadership Council

[How We Got Here I, an occasional series which looks at what brought us Donald Trump.]

The Problem of Teflon Ron

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Democrats were in despair.

Ronald Reagan had been a “Teflon President” whose popularity buoyed him above trifling concerns like obedience to law or to the constitution. Big Bush had coasted into office on Ronnie’s coattails — with an assist from Willie Horton. Michael Dukakis had been crushed as an “eat your peas” Liberal, the former Massachusetts governor also tagged as a “card carrying member of the ACLU,” you may recall — Red baiting, anyone?

By 1992, Jimmy Carter, the last Democrat to occupy the Oval Office, was well on the way to becoming The Best Ex-President We’ve Ever Had. But his time in office was primarily remembered for malaise, stagflation, and the Iran hostage crisis.

The way some people saw it, the Democratic Party had a “brand problem.”

What to do?

Democrats had been pondering this question since Reagan’s re-election.

In 1985, political strategist Al From founded the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Other founders included Democratic Governors Chuck Robb (Virginia), Bruce Babbitt…