On policy matters, Clinton’s notion of the center involved pushing both major parties against old natural instincts. For Democrats, that meant going against the grain on spending and trade, among other issues. For Republicans, it meant if they would surrender their instinctual hostility to government in general, Clinton would work with them in practical ways to create a society in which a robust, technology-driven public sector would work with an efficient future-oriented government to create more opportunities for average Americans. [...]
A year later, these high-minded ambitions collided with the scandal surrounding his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Once the battle began, Clinton lost all leverage to push his own party—he needed every vote, including those of liberals who had scant interest in his centrist vision—and he had zero pathway to engage even with sympathetic Republicans, whose party leaders brooked no opposition to their plan to evict Clinton from power. The new political and cultural center Clinton tried to create in the 1990s died during impeachment and is still dead. [...]
Lastly, most Republicans do not face a high cost within their own party for defending Trump. But, in a country becoming younger and more diverse, there’s little chance even these internal GOP politics remain static. The isolationists of the 1930s had the popular position at the time, but had considerable explaining to do for years after. So did the McCarthy backers of the 1950s. So did the civil rights opponents of the 1960s.
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