A New Covenant was the theme of a series of speeches given by Clinton in late 1991 at his alma mater,
Georgetown University, to outline his
Third Way political philosophy at the start of his campaign for the presidency, intended to be between the
laissez-faire approach at the economy of the Republicans and the
welfare state economics of the
New Deal coalition that had dominated half of the 20th century. In these talks, the "New Covenant" referred to both domestic and foreign policy. The titles of the speeches were "The New Covenant: Responsibility and Rebuilding the American Community" (October 23, 1991), "A New Covenant for Economic Change" (November 20, 1991), and "A New Covenant for American Security" (December 12, 1991). Galstone introduced the "New Covenant" wording that Clinton used to define his interest in
public–private partnerships, as well as his call for responsibility within the context of citizens and elected representatives being colleagues in actions rather than adversaries. The wording also recalled
American Puritanism and had overtones with the
social contract tradition. As part of his New Covenant, Clinton used the "
Make America Great Again" slogan that been used by
Ronald Reagan at the
1980 Republican National Convention. At the climax to his announcement address in 1991, Clinton stated: "Together we can make America great again and build a community of hope that will inspire the world." Like Reagan in 1980 and
Donald Trump in 2016, Clinton successfully won disaffected voters, including "left behind" or "forgotten"
white American working-class voters, whose support helped him to win the election. In 1992, Clinton's strategy of courting
blue-collar workers included a pledge to forge "a New Covenant of change that will honor middle-class values, restore the public trust, create a sense of community, and make America work again". This pledge was first made in "The New Covenant: Responsibility and Rebuilding the American Community". In contrast to Trump, Clinton's campaign rejected the notion that isolationism was a solution to the American economy but made it clear that he intended to fight for American workers, including using the threat of foreign economic competition as a political leverage. In "A New Covenant for Economic Change", Clinton stated that
protectionism was "a fancy word for giving up; we want to compete and win. That's why our New Covenant must include a new trade policy that says to Europe, Japan, and our other trading partners: we favour an open trading system, but if you won't play by those rules, we'll play by yours." In his October 23 speech, Clinton promised to balance the budget, rebuild the American economy, and reduce unemployment. As part of his plans to shrink the size of the government and in his own words "make work pay", he promised to "end welfare as we know it". In his November 20 speech, presenting himself as a man of the people and citing his record as
governor of Arkansas, Clinton presented a platform that targeted what he saw as the often forgotten middle class. Clinton argued that the government had grown too large and was not responsive to the needs of Americans; he proposed a solution that would not be "liberal or conservative" but rather "new, and both, and different". He also tried to present a broad vision and a specific plan that he called "A New Covenant for Economic Change". In the speech, he spoke at length about his ideas promoting investment, and also proposed a middle-class tax cut that would be paid for with higher taxes on the rich. Clinton stated: "In a Clinton Administration, we'll cut income tax rates on the middle class: an average family's tax bill will go down 10%, a savings of $350 a year. And the deficit won't go up—instead those earning over $200,000 a year will pay more." Clinton presented such middle-class themes not only as wise social policy or smart political choice but raised them to the spiritual level. He said: "These are not just economic proposals, they are the way to save the very soul of our nation." In his December 12 speech, which was focused on foreign policy, Clinton argued that the United States should not "try to remake the world in its image" but at the same time said that the democratic reforms in the
Soviet Union were inspired by American ideals about democracy and the
American Dream. In calling for a "New Covenant for American Security", he based it on the crucial assumption that the American definition of security "must include common threats to all people". During the 1992 campaign, Clinton also called for a "pro-democracy foreign policy" and faulted his challenger, the incumbent United States president
George H. W. Bush, for his "eagerness to befriend potentates and dictators". == Acceptance speech to the 1992 Democratic National Convention ==