Transcript RAH Day 38 `09 Agenda clinton and contract w america

RAH Day 39 Agenda
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Goal – understand why Clinton was elected and reelected, what his
administration attempted to do domestically and internationally and
why there was so much political opposition to Clinton
Complete p 1 boxes 1-5 to review Clinton’s Presidency
Questions from homework
Read p 5 about the Republican Contract with America. Complete P 1
Box 6 and 7 to understand the conservative policy positions
Read p 6 - Clinton’s “Bridge to the Future” to understand how
Clinton presented his view of the problems and solutions
1. answer the attached questions
5. How is this Contract with America similar to and different from Nixon
and Reagan’s policies? How is it different from Clinton’s ideas?
The 1992 Presidential Election
Pres. George H.W. Bush H. Ross Perot was the
was the Republican
billionaire independent
candidate
William Jefferson Clinton
was the Democrat
The economy, his tax
cut pledge, his seeming
disconnectedness from
the American people,
apparent absence of
future vision
Clinton focused on the
messages of improving
infrastructure, helping
the middle class with tax
cuts and child care help,
and to shrink the size of
the fed. Gov’t and
balance the budget (stole
the idea from Perot)
Both parties did not look
capable of helping
America deal with the
economy, the budget
deficit and the public debt.
Perot made the gov’t’s
financial situation the key
issue
Clinton’s First Term
Domestic achievements: smaller fed.
Gov’t, diverse cabinet, economic
growth, welfare reform,
environment protection, balanced
budget, low unemployment, gun
control, more police,
Foreign achievements: peace talks b/t
PLO and Israel, NAFTA approved,
trade w/ China, no fly zones in Iraq,
arms limits on North Korea
2nd term – Kosovo, missile strikes on
Afghanistan, Sudan and Iraq
The Republican Congress and the Contract with America
Republican Goals:
1. balanced budget
2. Cut entitlement growth leading to
ending the entitlement programs
3. Morality laws like ending abortion,
cutting funding for family planning
programs, regulating porn and
spending money on religious
schools
4. Helping families
5. Strengthening the military
6. Helping businesses
7. Welfare reform
8. Tough on crime and increase
penalties
9. Immigration reform to slow
immigration
Clinton’s response to C w A:
vetoed 15 different laws
Allowed the government to shut down
due to no money and blamed Gingrich
and the Congress
Helped to defeat the balanced budget
amendment
Stole the welfare reform ideas and
made them his own
Clinton Administration Domestic Policies
Health Care Early in first term proposed a national health plan (spearheaded by
wife Hillary), but it failed in Congress due to a heavy ad campaign
(Harry and Louise) put out by the health insurance and hospital
industry who saw the plan as hurting their profits and businesses.
Welfare
1996 Welfare Reform Act – like Nixon sent block grants to states to
develop their own programs but they must require work or work
related activities in order to be eligible for government help. Set 2
year consec max and 5 yr lifetime maximum for getting money help.
Offered Earned Income Tax Credit – workers could receive up to $4k
for work
Federal
Budget
Raised taxes 8.6% on very rich and 5% on top 10% of income
earners. Cut federal spending on defense and on other government
activities, especially cutting federal employees in defense, HHS, labor
depts. 1998 –2001 were budget surpluses for first time since 1969
Economic
issues
Expand free trade throughout world with WTO, expand free trade
here in US by supporting NAFTA, deregulating industries like
Telecommunications Act
Crime
Brady handgun bill, community policing – 100K more local cops,
increased penalties for gun crimes, assault weapons ban, icnreased
funding for war on drugs
Clinton Administration Foreign Policies
Former
USSR
1. Clinton worked with Boris Yeltsin to help turn Russia into a
capitalist and democratic country.
2. Helped prop up Russian economy with $4.5billion in aid
3. Continued to implemented START obligations to dismantle
nuclear weapons and helped Russia pay for dismantling their
nukes.
4. Helped to bring Russia into cooperation with NATO
Eastern
Europe
1. Yugoslavia fell apart into warring countries. US got involved
in stopping the war in the Bosnian part of Yugo. Using NATO
airpower and then NATO peace-keeping troops Through the
Dayton Peace Accords.
2. Kosovo, another part of former Yugo was then in civil war –
US got NATO to use air power to stop the violence there.
3. In each case, the US helped protect Muslims.
Global
trade
1. NAFTA united Canada, US and Mexico in one free-trade block,
which ended up benefiting all three countries in terms of GDP
2. WTO replaced the GATT as the overseer of global trade and
further increased global trade, including with former enemy
commie countries like China and Vietnam
Clinton’s Foreign Policies 1993-2001
Event
How did Clinton
address the issue?
Results of Clinton Policies?
End of Cold War –
USSR is gone, E. Eur
wants capitalism and
Democracy
Save money on
defense, worked with
Yeltsin, but no Grand
Strategy
Russia began to prosper by
2000, Russia brought west
into partnership w. NATO,
defense $ down
Conflict b/t Arabs and
Israelis
Clinton worked on Oslo
peace process –
Arafat and Rabin shake
hands leading to
cooperation
Somalia warlords
Clinton continued Bush
plan for humanitarian
aid and expanded into
fighting warlords
Blackhawk down. Hurt
US/UN and White
House/congress relations,
Clinton looks weak
Haiti – Aristide elected
then overthrown
US mobilized forces and Aristide was put back into
called on the UN to act power.
to protect Aristide
Clinton’s Foreign Policies 1993-2001
Event
How did Clinton address
the issue?
Results of Clinton
Policies?
NAFTA – North American Tough ratification fight
Free Trade Agreement b/t in Senate – Clinton
US, Mexico, Canada
pushed hard
Treaty was narrowly
ratified – all three
countries saw significant
economic growth
Russia – economic,
military and nuclear
problems
$4.5b, in econ aid,
advisers sent, $ for
disarmament, START II
implemented
Less nukes, remaining
nukes detargeted,
Russian economy
imporves. No nukes in
Ukraine or Kazahkstan
Yugoslavia – balkanized
into Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia, Serbia and civil
war b/t Croats and Serbs
in Bosnia w/ Muslims
Bosnians in the middle
92 – civil war begins
94 – NATO air strikes
95 – Clinton-led Dayton
peace accords ends war
96-98 Kosovo civil war
98 – Serb ethnic
cleansing of Muslims
99 NATO air strikes
Bosnia becomes separate
country with powersharing and stable
environment.
Kosovo stays part of
Yugoslavia (greater
Serbia) but civil war ends
and bad guys go on trial
Clinton’s Foreign Policies 1993-2001
Event
How did Clinton address
the issue?
Results of Clinton
Policies?
Iraq – ’91 - end of first
Persian Gulf War –
’94 – Iraq makes moves
against Kuwait – US
sends 54k troops to
Kuwait in show of
support and defense
Iraq backs off
- Iraqi planes are
prohibited from flying
over southern and
northern Iraq
’96 – US airstrikes
against Iraqi air
defenses and air forces
sites for violating no-fly
zones and targeting US
air craft patrols
Iraqi anti-aircraft
batteries continue to
intermittently light up US
planes. Iraqi air forces
violate no-fly zones and
are shot down
Iraq required to open to
weapons inspections
-’92 – UN weapons
inspectors go into Iraq
’92-98 inspectors are
messed with, then
finally kicked out
’98 US responds with air
and missile strikes
2000 – inspectors
allowed back in to make
sure weapons programs
were not restarted