Triangulation (politics)
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Triangulation is the name given to the act of a political candidate presenting his or her ideology as being "above" and "between" the "left" and "right" sides (or "wings") of a traditional (e.g. UK or US) democratic "political spectrum". It involves adopting for oneself some of the ideas of one's political opponent (or apparent opponent). The logic behind it is that it both takes credit for the opponent's ideas, and insulates the triangulator from attacks on that particular issue. Opponents of triangulation[who?], who believe in a fundamental "left" and "right", consider the dynamic a deviation from its "reality" and dismiss those that strive for it as whimsical.
Origins during the Clinton years
The term was first used by President of the United States Bill Clinton's chief political advisor Dick Morris as a way to describe his strategy for getting Clinton reelected in the 1996 presidential election. It is often referred to as "Clintonian triangulation". Morris advocated a set of policies that were different from the traditional policies of the Democratic Party. The idea Clinton used behind some of these policies was to be "more Republican than the Republicans." These policies included welfare reform, tax cuts for the middle class and balanced budgets. One of the most widely cited capstones of Clinton's triangulation strategy was when, in his 1996 State of the Union Address, Clinton declared that the "Era of Big Government is over."
Use after Bill Clinton
Triangulation was emulated during the 2000 presidential election in the Bush campaign's use of the term "compassionate conservative".
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has been referred to as "Mrs. Triangulation"[1] for her call for dramatic increases in the military budget[2] and for receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from corporate lobbyists.[3]
Other politicians who are linked to Triangulation include Tony Blair with "New Labour" in the United Kingdom, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin with the Liberal Party of Canada, Fredrik Reinfeldt with "The New Moderates" in Sweden, and Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, and Kevin Rudd of the Australian Labor Party. In France, the Parti Socialiste candidate in the 2007 presidential election, Ségolène Royal, advocated “military supervision” (encadrement militaire) for first offenders.
Criticism
Many members of the U.S. Democratic Party, in particular the rank and file, insist that triangulation is "dead." They cite the attempted uses of triangulation by Democrats in the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections. In the 2000 election, Al Gore's call for larger tax cuts than those of opponent George W. Bush was seen more as an admission that Bush was correct on the issue. The use of triangulation by John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, in such areas as the War in Iraq, resulted in flip-flopping charges. It also forced Kerry to defend positions that he took which he may or may not have actually had.
Many rank-and-file Democrats use the term "triangulation" as a pejorative, sometimes in reference to the Democratic Leadership Council. They believe that triangulation has led to multiple electoral defeats and eroded the principles of those who use the strategy.