Atari Democrat

In 1980s and 1990s American politics, "Atari Democrat" referred to Democratic legislators who suggested that the support and development of high tech and related businesses would stimulate the economy and create jobs. The term refers to the Atari brand of video game consoles and arcade machines, which was prominent in the 1980s.

The term was initially used in 1982 for Democratic politicians' focus on investing in high tech industries over sunset industries, primarily Gary Hart, Bill Bradley, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, Paul Tsongas, and Tim Wirth. The New York Times discussed a generation gap that developed during the 1980s between older liberals who maintained an interest in traditional visions of social liberalism, and the Atari Democrats who attempted to find a middle ground. The Atari Democrats advocated for free markets, neo-liberalism, and for market forces being better able to offer solutions to environmental problems than actual regulations. The older liberals viewed them as advocates for Reaganomics.

Although rarely applied to Bill Clinton, the cohort’s tech-friendly, neo-liberal/market-oriented outlook fed into the New Democrat synthesis of the 1990s, and several figures linked with the label—most prominently his Vice President, Al Gore, and administration ally Tim Wirth—were influential during Clinton’s presidency.