Democratic Leadership Council Documents added to Clinton Archives

I am pleased to report that the historical records of the
Democratic Leadership Council will become part of the
Clinton Foundation.

In 1985, the Democratic Party was out of ideas and out of power.
A small group of reform-minded governors - including Arkansas
Governor Bill Clinton - senators and house members and I formed
the DLC to change both. And over the last quarter century, I
believe the record will show that we did just that.

With then-Governor Clinton as chairman, the DLC championed bold
and innovative reform ideas that challenged old orthodoxies.
National service (AmeriCorps), an expanded Earned Income Tax
Credit, welfare reform, charter schools, community policing,
expanded trade and re-inventing government - all DLC ideas put
into action during the Clinton Presidency - have changed America
for the better.

Our nation and our politics have changed significantly since
1985. The DLC has accomplished much of what we first set out
to achieve. As a result, the DLC itself ceased operations earlier
this year, but the records and materials prepared and formulated
by the DLC over the years have significant historical value.

Because many of these materials show and explain the growth and
development of President Clinton's policies, passions and
legacy, the William J. Clinton Foundation has purchased all
of the records and materials of the DLC. The Clinton
Presidential Center is an important location for telling the
story not just of the Clinton administration but also of the
world at the latter part of the 20th century. We believe these
records are an important part of that history, and believe the
Clinton Foundation is an appropriate and fitting repository.

In addition to being an important part of America's historical
narrative, the DLC was a transformative organization for the
political landscape of the country. It was founded on the belief
that if we held firmly to the first principles of the
Democratic Party but furthered them with fresh ideas and
modern means, the American people would once again turn to
us for national leadership.

Running on ideas shaped during his DLC chairmanship, President
Clinton became the first Democrat to be elected and re-elected
president in six decades. Most important, the DLC ideas he put
into action restored the American Dream for tens of millions of
Americans and became the model for resurgent progressive parties
in countries across the globe.

The New Democrat model is as powerful today as ever. Statehouses,
state legislatures, and local governments across America are led
by a new generation of leaders whose political philosophies were
shaped by President Clinton and the DLC. We are thankful these
documents and ideas will live on, and the new generation of
leaders can learn from the politics that President Clinton and
the DLC forged.

Al From