"Today we are taking an historic chance to make welfare what it was meant to be—a second chance, not a way of life… A long time ago I concluded that the current welfare system undermines the basic values of work, responsibility, and family." — President Bill Clinton, signing PRWORA, August 22, 1996
Clinton's signing of PRWORA exemplified the political strategy advisers labeled
- A
rollback, attempting to reverse Soviet gains in Eastern Europe
- B
containment, limiting communist expansion abroad
- Ccheck_circle
triangulation, positioning between traditional Democratic liberalism and Republican conservatism
- D
massive resistance, mobilizing southern Democrats against federal authority
Explanation
Adviser Dick Morris's "triangulation" strategy had Clinton co-opt Republican issues like welfare reform after the GOP's 1994 midterm victory, alienating some liberals but securing reelection.