chapter 40 // BOLDED Flashcards
Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)
Nonprofit organization of centrist Democrats founded in the mid-1980s. The group attempted to push the Democratic party toward pro-growth, strong defense, and anti-crime policies. Among its most influential early members was Bill Clinton, whom it held up as an example of “third way” politics.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
From 1993 to 2010, the policy affecting homosexuals in the military. It emerged as a compromise between the standing prohibition against homosexuals in the armed forces and President Clinton’s push to allow all citizens to serve regardless of sexual orientation. Military authorities were forbidden to ask about a service member’s orientation, and gay service personnel could be discharged if they publicly revealed their homosexuality. At President Obama’s urging, Congress repealed DADT in 2010, permitting gays to serve openly in uniform.
Oklahoma City bombing (1995)
Truck-bomb explosion that killed 168 people in a federal office building on April 19, 1995. The attack was perpetrated by right-wing and antigovernment militant Timothy McVeigh, who was later executed by the U.S. government for the crime.
Contract with America (1944)
Multipoint program offered by Republican candidates and sitting politicians in the 1994 midterm election. The platform proposed smaller government, congressional ethics reform, term limits, greater emphasis on personal responsibility, and a general repudiation of the Democratic party. This articulation of dissent was a significant blow to the Clinton administration and led to the Republican party’s takeover of both houses of Congress for the first time in half a century.
Welfare Reform Bill (1996)
Legislation that made deep cuts in welfare grants and required able-bodied welfare recipients to find employment. Part of Bill Clinton’s campaign platform in 1992, the reforms were widely seen by liberals as an abandonment of key New Deal/Great Society provisions to care for the impoverished.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1993)
Free-trade zone encompassing Mexico, Canada, and the United States. A symbol of the increased reality of a globalized marketplace, the treaty passed despite opposition from protectionists and labor leaders.
