The AP buys completely into the framing (incorrectly) of the DLC as the “moderate” wing of the party and sends out this whinefest for the DLC.
Not a single one of the eight presidential candidates plans to attend the Democratic Leadership Council’s summer meeting, a snub that says less about the centrist DLC than it does about a nomination process that rewards candidates who pander to their parties’ hardened cores while ignoring everybody else.
”They have tunnel vision,” DLC founder Al From said of his fellow Democrats.
In fact, Democrats have begun learning since 2004 that the play it safe right-leaning rhetoric of the DLC does not work in America. The DLC’s main claim to fame is that it was connected to Bill Clinton, but in fact Clinton is about the only national candidate connected to the DLC with any success. I would attribute that more to Bill Clinton’s superb political skill than to anything the DLC has done. The DLC’s reputation, especially in 2000, 2002 and 2004 was to tell Democrats that they weren’t being conservative enough – no matter how much Dems went pro-war and pro-stupid. It’s no mistake that the first election, 2006, where Democrats didn’t toe the conservative line is the one where they took back the House and Senate by advocating a moderate, mainstream point of view advocated by blogs and other grassroots activists.
The type of candidate loved by the DLC is a guy like Joe Lieberman, who left the Democratic party and raises money for Republicans while cheerleading the Iraq war. Somehow that doesn’t seem to be the right way to help the Democratic party.
What Lieberman is doing is called tough love.
Well it’s pretty clear that Karl Rove’s blastfax has been going into overdrive.
Besides Oliver’s point that the DLC represents no actual constituency besides beltway insiders, I had the following basic question that I posted on that youtube video of William “the Bloody” Kristol:
The media always frame the “center” as, “Whatever is between the Democrats and Republicans.” Thus, the DLC, a group of Democrats who act like Republicans, is, to the media, “centrist,” never mind just how far to the right the area between the two parties is.
Writing this, I just had a thought — the DLC is for Democrats who act, talk and vote like Republicans. Metrosexuals are straight guys who act like stereotypical gays. Maybe instead of “Democratic Leadership Council” we should call it them the “Metrodems” or something like that.
ANYBODY can sign on to Dailykos for FREE and talk with thousands of other activists
Well… not ANYBODY. Cindy Sheehan, for one.
“ANYBODY can sign on to Dailykos for FREE and talk with thousands of other activists”
“Well… not ANYBODY. Cindy Sheehan, for one.”
Right, you have to be a Democratic activist, not running against the Democrats. Hardly a scandal.
Hahahahaha! That’s a good one Farris.
Now pretend that if Cindy Sheehan were to post anything on DKos, you wouldn’t be joining in all over the rest of the wingnutosphere deriding her, demanding she shut the hell up, and deriding kos for permitting her to spread her “BDS” dementia…
What Joe Lieberman is doing is called “Joe First”.
He is neither a Dem or a Republican nor an Independent, he’s a little cottage industry all about what’s best for Joe.
Since he could not have won in CT without Karl Rove and full-bore GOP money and resources thrown his way, he is all about “Support for the President”, all about “We Democrats have to get behind our Commander-in-Chief”.
Let’s see hw much that helps him next time around.
I don’t believe Harry Reid should cut this opportunist any slack; he is a cheap blackmailer and should be exposed and kneecapped, not given plum Committee posts.
As to the DLC, what can you say? The DLC has proven time and again how their “Third Way” Strategies and Tactics demoralize and weaken our party. They call Michael Moore and other AntiWar activists “Anti-American” and “Loony Left”, they said not to filibuster the nomination of Alito, they promote the views of people like Marshall Wittmann who says he’s a McCainiac who hopes for a rebirth of Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose tradition.
They are the kind of men who would encourage a girl whose date raped her to get a new dress for next time.