Article illustrates why the party will remain status quo.

[madfloridian]

I don't agree with all of this, but the parts about the party core are pretty much right on. Change in the party will not come easy at all. This is a fairly thoughtful article. I agree with parts, not all..but it shows that politics is not for the people anymore.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/17/opinion/meyer/main656325.shtml
SNIP.."The team that got Bush elected in 2000 was Texan: Karl Rove, Joe Allbaugh, Karen Hughes, Don Evans, and Mark McKinnon. Washingtonians made fun of them and now live off them. The same basic team ran the 2004 campaign; they didn't cede control to K Street and Massachusetts Avenue think tanks.

The Clinton team did. The '92 campaign had some old DC hands but was dominated by out-of-towners: Betsy Wright, James Carville, Paul Begala, Eli Segal, Bruce Lindsey, and David Wilhelm. Carville is now too famous to be inside.

The people who have run every Democratic campaign since '92 are now a revolving door of established Beltwayistas (even if a few actually live in New York): Bob ("0-8") Shrum, Terry McAuliffe, Harold Ickes, Doug Sosnik, Joe Lockhart, Mike McCurry, Mary Beth Cahill, Jamie Rubin, Stan Greenberg, Carville and Begala.

SNIP.."And they aren't going to give up control of the party, the DNC and fundraising apparatus. They ate Howard Dean's lunch. And they lost the general election.

And now they're going to try to find a Southern governor to remake in Clinton's image, give him a chain saw and teach him how to say special moral values words like "God, pray, faith, sin and 'ppreciate your vote."

[ElectroPrincess]

1. THEY will lose ... when they represent average working

and middle class Americans, I'll return. Even if it means rebuilding from the ground up.

Now the present DNC can continue to ride off the cliff without me.

[madfloridian]

5. Since they are not listening, I agree.

:hi:

[NYCGirl]

2. Interesting article.

Clinton did not leave the party with a strong bench of nationally known Democrats. He did, however, enable a takeover of the party by a Washington-based insider network of FOBs, administration alumnae, lobbyists, lawyers, consultants and think tankers. Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, concierge of the Lincoln bedroom, is an apt symbol of this, but just one of many.

There is, obviously and lucratively, a parallel Republican universe in Washington. But they don't run the Republican presidential campaigns; they just profit from Republican government.

[Walt Starr]

3. I've already taken a different strategy to the DLC bullshit

If presented with several third party candidates, a Rightwing Nutball Republican, or a Republican in Democratic clothing, I'll be taking the Rightwing Nutball Republican route and embrace the full horror.

Bettter to get the full rightwing nutball agenda in one lump that's hard for everybody to swallow than to get it in drips and drabs from my own party.

[denverbill]

4. I'm more likely to take the 3rd party route myself.

Although I must say I'm pleased with the Colorado Democratic Party. Although Bush won here, we won both houses of the state legislature back from Republicans including a solid majority in the house, and sent a Democrat to the Senate to replace turncoat Ben 'Nightmare' Campbell.

[madfloridian]

6. I had a post up about the funding of the DLC.

I asked a DLC defender to tell me why that is good for us. It keeps dropping and dropping and dropping.....

[madfloridian]

7. Special value words: "God, pray, faith, sin and 'ppreciate your vote."

From the article.