Davis Sweet (Huffington Post): Does "DLC" Stand for "Damned Little Cojones

[Jack Rabbit]

From the Huffington Post
Dated Tuesday May 2

Does "DLC" Stand for "Damned Little Cojones?"
By Davis Sweet

"(In online political conversation) I don't see a lot of useful dialogue on how to get winning coalitions together that can win more than 50% in closely contested elections... ('Huffing and puffing that will get you exactly 38% of the electorate' is) why we have lots of feel-good rants on the web and not enough dialogue about how to win close elections... (S)ome newcomers in politics will need to get knocked around and lose a few before they understand that winning politics is not as easy as they think."
-Mike McCurry, 5/1/06

Some folks around here are piling on Democratic wise man Mike McCurry for his surprisingly silly "Net Neutrality" spin, but missing that in the same set of posts he's pulling a finger-wagging Bill Cosby on us whippersnapper, idealistic, feel-good (?!) bloggers. His gripe seems to be that by being pissed off and refusing to stay silent like good little precinct captains, we're making politics something other than the hand-holding blue-sky strategy session it would be in a perfect world. And if we don't start think-tanking about coalition-building, we're doomed to minority status until the cows come home. Or something.

Quick! Everybody hide and don't make any noise! That'll win the elections! You may remember how Anne Frank was elected Chancellor of Germany with that strategy. (I know. I know. Save it.)

I think McCurry may have a point, if not a correct diagnosis. His point: people aren't choosing Dems frequently enough at the polling place, therefore something's wrong. His diagnosis, and that of the DLC ("Damned Little Cojones"): we on the Left are just too ballsy! I admit I'm only a citizen, therefore unqualified to judge anything more significant than a chili cook-off, but I can't buy Mike's white bread prescription.

Read more.

[chaumont58]

1. My guess is that the DLC types, the Steny Hoyer types, the.....

Richard Cohen types are going find going a little tougher. There are plain speaking blogs, read by a lot of people, that are going to remind the afore mention fools how Dems have been treated in the past, and are not going to forget.
Hoyer thinks Bush got his feelings hurt. Clinton suffered that for 8 years. Maybe the office of the Presidency deserves some respect. Bush by his actions forfeits all respect from anyone.
The 'good folks,' dlc types, dinos and repukes, on the beltway cocktail and diner circuit may kiss each other, and do mutual fellatio, but the days of no one noticing are gone, forever. The repukes have sown the wind, now they must reap the whirlwind.

[Jack Rabbit]

2. Hoyer really mystified me this morning

Mr. Hoyer's remarks this morning really mystified me. Why should a Democratic leader be so civil at this time to Bush or the Republican Congressional leadership?

It's the Republicans who don't play "politics as usual" in Washington, if what is meant by that is making an effort to reach across party lines to get legislation moving. It was Tom DeLay's style to shut the Democrats out of the legislative process and, if necessary, rewrite legislation in the conference committee. Failing that, the Republican commandeer-in-thief just ignores the law.

As far I am concerned, the idea that Bush deserves respect simply because he is the president is a non sequitur. He lost the election in 2000 and has never been president. He is a low person born to a high place. The only reason I favor impeachment is to humor the Bush Bubbahs and others who delude themselves into thinking there is something legitimate in the authority wielded by His Imperial Incompetency. Otherwise, it should suffice to throw the squatter out of the White House face first onto the lawn and tell him to walk back to Texas. Impeachment is more respect than he deserves.

Normally, there would be a point to Congressmen on one side of the aisle playing nice with those on the other. They have to work together to get their work done. For the time being, those days are over. Tom DeLay found ways around working with the opposition. The question, once the Democrats take back power, should not be how to get revenge on Republicans, but how to restore a balance.

Consequently, at this time it is futile to be so civil. The Republican leadership seeks nor desire compromise. Bush has "won" two elections as president, both narrowly and even then questionably (and in at least the first case, to call that questionable is to be far too charitable), yet he claims mandates to do what he pleases, which includes wiretapping without a warrant and indefinite detention without charge.

Bush is dangerous. It's long past time to stop sucking up to him.

[ShortnFiery]

3. I'd like to know if Hoyer has any money invested in the ...

Military Industrial Complex or OIL (black gold, Texas tea).

Perhaps him and Georgie are kindred spirits when we're discussing personal wealth and greedy interests?

[Jack Rabbit]

4. I don't know.

I wouldn't make assumptions about it either way.

If he does, you are entitled to be cynical about it. But even if he does, I think the thing that's motivating him to say the kind of thing he did is a deluded belief that politics still works like it did forty or fifty years ago, or even twenty. President Reagan, ideologue that he was, knew better how to work with the opposition, to say nothing of Ike or LBJ. It works best that way, but it isn't working that way right now. There is no point in pretending that it does. To pretend that is does serves neither the Democratic Party, the people nor the principles of American democracy well.

[MaryBear]

6. Civility is not necessarily the same as "sucking up."

Regardless of who holds the office of President, the office deserves respect and practicing a modicum of civility never hurt anyone.

Telling the truth as one sees it can be done quite well within a framework of respect and civility. Usually I prefer it.

In this case, Colbert chose a different frame, and I very much enjoyed watching his performance -- found the whole thing entertaining.

However, I would not say someone who didn't think it appropriate was necessarily "sucking up" to Bush.

-MB

[Demeter]

5. Thanks! I Needed That!

Things were pretty grim around here until I read that Headline and chuckled.

[benfranklin1776]

7. Rightio Mike as if yours is anything but a prescription for disaster

As if you can magically build a coaliton of greater than fifty percent by selling out the majority of ordinary people to the interests of the giant telecoms. That is certainly a "winning" prescription to appeal to the hearts and minds of an electoral majority. :eyes: Sucking up to large corporate interests by supporting things like this and the odious bankruptcy deform bill is not in any way shape or form "mainstream" or "moderate" it is flatly a sellout of the average voter. They know it and it drives them further away from you. David Sirota has it right, only by standing up passionately loudly and fervently for the interests of ordinary people and not the haves and the have mores do you build electoral majorities by winning people to your cause.