ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the results of the 1994 elections stemmed from three interrelated factors that combined together in 1994 to hand the Democratic Party its worst defeat since the New Deal and to raise serious questions about its future prospects. The three interrelated factors are: the rise of a "Court-versus-Country" dynamic in contemporary American politics, the decline of the Democratic Party, and the political and policy failures of the Clinton administration. The position of the Democratic Party appeared to be uncommonly healthy. These Court-versus-Country themes are readily discernible in contemporary American politics. To a large extent, with its emphasis on a powerful federal government to provide direction and leadership on a range of issues, from macroeconomic management to civil rights to environmental protection, modern liberal ideology reflects the Court tradition of earlier times. The impact of the 1994 elections on the Democratic Party goes beyond just the number of seats lost or even the loss of control of Congress.
