A question for the DLC

[Fight_n_back]

When the Repubs started their long and seemingly insurmountable struggle to wrest control of the nation from the thinking people of this country, did they do it by moving to the left?

Did they try to win the center?

Did they run more moderate candidates?

Yeah, I didn't think they did either.

Anyone saying that they are moving to the center or the right in order to win over the center is either ignorant or lying and it is probably the latter. If you are "moving to the center" it is because that is where you are most comfortable. The first bush LOST because he was seen as someone "moveing" in a direction where he was not at home.

Clinton didn't move to the center, that is where he always was.

The Repubs won by dividing and conquering not being concilliatory. It would be hard to say that the budget battle and government shutdown, the judge fights and the Clinton impeachment were net losse for the Repub party given where they sit now.

What we can learn from them is be who you are and be willing to kick ass, stand firm and lose a battle to win a war.

How we should be different is by telling the truth even if its hard.

[ulysses]

1. recommended

:thumbsup:

[bryant69]

2. It is an interesting argument

I am a moderate liberal - but i see what you are saying about being who you are and fighting for that, as opposed to being a phoney.

I will say along with this, the Republican party has offered seats at the table to some pretty extreme people, while the Democratic Party shuts out anybody who goes to far to the left. That's not a winning strategy, nor is it the right thing to do.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Ysolde]

3. And it gives the Right more ammo to hammer us with.

I mean, if we're not willing to support ALL Dems, then it validates their attacks against us. Just look how quickly so many of the National Dems scramble and run when Dean points out the truth (rethugs ARE a white, Christian party) or how many of them do anything they can to avoid being labeled a Liberal? Like that's a bad thing to be?

Obviously, that strategy has not won us anything. I know it's alienated a lot of liberals and hasn't given average folks an alternative to vote for. I think we also need to quit running from confrontation, too. Instead of appeasing (and coming up with pablum that won't offend anyone), we need to fight for what's right and what we believe in. Being the "pissed off at everything" Party hasn't hurt the rethugs, why are we so afraid? I should qualify that "we" -- I think it's the DLC'ers who are afraid. They fear that the Corp's won't fund them anymore if they offend. Don't know why they fear that, since it hasn't stopped the Corp's from funding the nutjob, whackos of the Right. But I do think that's their problem. And why they constantly want us to "move to the right".

[ConservativeDemocrat]

4. Insurmountable?

My, that is an interesting take on history.

Let me point out a few small facts. The old Democratic dynasty: Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, died with Johnson. After that, Democrats won only once - after Nixon disgraced the nation with Watergate and lost Vietnam - and even then, Ford nearly beat Carter.

The reason was quite simple. With the voting rights act of 1964, Democrats made a moral choice to abandon the southern white racist voters. Dixiecrats are nauseating, but they are numerous. And those numbers mean power. Republicans can count on racists to reliably swing southern elections every time Democrats don't run a Southern candidate (who gets a 20% "he's one of us" electoral boost).

Even today, the power of racists is such, that 20 Republican Senators didn't dare vote in favor of apologizing for keeping lynching legal. Had Democrats not made that moral choice back in the 1960s, had those 20 panderers to racism still been Democratic, instead of there being a 55/45 Senate in favor of the GOP, we would have a 65/35 Democratic majority.

That is why the Democratic party is in the minority. Not "because we're too leftist" (as some centrists claim) or "because we don't fight for our values" (as some liberals claim).

So what should we do?

The good news is that history is on our side. Racism is waning in the country. The bad news is that, while racist voters know deep in their hearts that racism is wrong, they're still angry at the people who forced them to confront their ugly evil psychology. So they talk around the issue, finding dozens of other reasons to be angry at Democrats. I don't want to list them all - we know the GOP platform too well - but if you look closely, they all have one thing in common: they're all trying to make Democrats look as bad as (in their heart-of-hearts) they know they are.

We can counter this with the appropriate rhetoric. And in fact, this is largely what Clinton did. He took away the convenient scapegoats racists use as substitutes for their hate: "welfare mothers" (forget the words - the actual money and aid is often better now for ADFC recipients, albeit time-limited), "socialists" (you want "free trade" Red state America? Ok, we'll give you "free trade"), and "blame America first hippies" (strong Defense was Clinton's strong point). All served to - if not get these people to vote for Democrats - at least convince them to just stay home. And it worked.

Of course there are other substitutes the GOP is using for race that the Democrats can't de-fang (because it would be immoral to do so): anti-gay bigotry is one, separation of church and state is another.

Curiously though, I think there is an opportunity we're missing. Probably the biggest one of all. Abortion.

No, I'm not saying Democrats should become "pro-life". Rather, we need to point out that the nations with the lowest abortion rates are ones that have strong social-welfare programs. Many nations in which abortions are illegal have abortion rates many times that of the U.S.
Those are facts that should flip a lot of social-conservative votes.

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[tommcintyre]

5. Some links on the DLC

How the DLC Does It
http://www.prospect.org/print-friendly/print/V12/7/dreyfuss-r.html

Political Ideas: DINOs Outshining RINOs
http://www.davidswanson.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=263

Missing Link: How Right-Wing Neo-Cons Created `Democratic Leadership Council'
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2003/3028neocon_dems.html