Schoen: Can Gavin Newsom be Bill Clinton 2.0?

With their political party directionless a charismatic media savvy governor who works to balance progressive leanings with a practical centrist approach emerges as a probable contender Former President Bill Clinton may first come to mind as someone who meets that description However it is also coming to resemble Governor Gavin Newsom Put another way as Democrats attempt to find their way forward Newsom appears to be attempting to position himself as Bill Clinton reincarnate Having served as an advisor to former President Clinton from - there are noticeable similarities between his methods and what Newsom is presently trying to emulate Indeed Newsom like the former president has shown himself to be a strong communicator a collaborative leader a desire to pull the Democratic Party towards the middle and an ability to shake off disagreement to remain a political force Moreover assuming Newsom does run for president in both men will have made their political moves at a time when the Democratic party was rudderless and in need of a new standard bearer The overarching question that remains to be seen is whether or not this will work for Newsom as it did for Clinton To be sure the political climate Clinton and Newsom are living in are considerably different potentially hurting Newsom s attempts to recreate chosen of Clinton s successes Bill Clinton rose to prominence as a Southern Democrat and took over a post-Reagan era Democratic party that understood the need to adopt more centrist policies Conversely Newsom represents the bluest of blue states at a time when the Democratic party has moved further to the left and during a period of deep polarization in our politics Of discipline there are also personal differences between the two Whereas Clinton had a down-to-earth almost folksy appeal Newsom has been called an elitist and he often seems like a scripted candidate right out of central casting That being revealed there are notable similarities and if Newsom does succeed in winning the Democratic primary in it very well may because he followed Clinton s roadmap Above all else Clinton s emphasis on third way moderate liberalism dragged the Democratic party towards the middle particularly on the business activity and fiscal procedures As President Clinton passed welfare overhaul defanging Republican attacks on Democrats as supportive of handouts and expansive governing body safety nets He also brought fiscal conservativism to the Democratic party producing a budget surplus and overseeing the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in the country s history For his part Newsom has been making an obvious push to the center in new months He s broken with California liberals over divisive social issues such as transgender athletes and cited the need for fiscal conservatism as a reason for wanting to block illegal immigrants from using California s taxpayer-funded healthcare system Further Newsom has become more forceful in pushing back on the defund the police movement he called it lunacy on a podcast with Republican commentator Charlie Kirk and in calling for California cities to take efforts to clear homeless encampments To that end the centrist-Democratic group Third Way named for the political theory Clinton made popular has praised Newsom s efforts to move to the center and attempt to redefine the Democratic party Matt Bennett an Executive Vice President at Third Way went as far as to say that while Democratic voters claim to want a liberal we marry the moderate every time He continued calling Newsom s move to the middle smart However despite Newsom s best efforts there are legitimate questions as to whether or not running as a Bill Clinton-type politician will work in at present s situation Unlike the former president Newsom has a long history of political positions further to the left than he now espouses opening him up to attacks that he s only moderating for political reasons Similarly having led a state which has long struggled with an excessively bloated authorities nobody would mistake Newsom for a true fiscal conservative in Clinton s mold In that same vein the polling evidenced that Democrats are struggling with working class voters a group Clinton excelled at speaking to but may be turned off by Newsom s extremely polished elitist persona Completely in the present day s Democratic party is not the one Clinton rose to prominence in then led throughout the s and s Then Democrats understood the need to move to the middle on certain key issues but in the present several in the party are doubling down on the need to move further to the left Now the growing influence of progressives leaves little room for moderate candidates assuming Newsom even is a true moderate to make it out of the party s primary A few progressive groups have already come out in opposition to Newsom due to his shifting policies and its likely that they d mount fierce opposition during the primary Far-left outrage aside Newsom is ultimately correct that Democrats need to rediscover moderate third-way liberalism particularly on social and economic issues The California governor will likely struggle to overcome challenges from both the political right and left over his record and more current initiative shifts and it remains to be seen just how effective he will be at trying to emulate former President Clinton If he can do so successfully however Newsom may very well end up as the next Democratic nominee for president Douglas Schoen is a longtime Democratic political consultant