The Nation: De-Bunking "Centrism"

[Carolab]

Debunking 'Centrism'
by David Sirota


Looking out over Washington, DC, from his plush office, Al From is once again foaming at the mouth. The CEO of the corporate-sponsored Democratic Leadership Council and his wealthy cronies are in their regular postelection attack mode. Despite wins by economic populists in red states like Colorado and Montana this year, the DLC is claiming like a broken record that progressive policies are hurting the Democratic Party.

From's group is funded by huge contributions from multinationals like Philip Morris, Texaco, Enron and Merck, which have all, at one point or another, slathered the DLC with cash. Those resources have been used to push a nakedly corporate agenda under the guise of "centrism" while allowing the DLC to parrot GOP criticism of populist Democrats as far-left extremists. Worse, the mainstream media follow suit, characterizing progressive positions on everything from trade to healthcare to taxes as ultra-liberal. As the AP recently claimed, "party liberals argue that the party must energize its base by moving to the left" while "the DLC and other centrist groups argue that the party must court moderates and find a way to compete in the Midwest and South."

Is this really true? Is a corporate agenda really "centrism"? Or is it only "centrist" among Washington's media elite, influence peddlers and out-of-touch political class?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "centrism" as "the political philosophy of avoiding the extremes of right and left by taking a moderate position." So to find out what is really "mainstream," the best place to look is public polling data.

(more) http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050103&s=sirota

[acmavm]

1. Please read this article. It totally debunks the crap Al From * Co. are

trying to ram down our throats. Thanks for posting!!

<snip>

The "centrists" tell Democrats not to hammer corporations for their misbehavior and not to push for a serious crackdown on corporate excess, for fear the party will be hurt by an "anti-business" image. Yet such a posture, pioneered by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, is mainstream: A 2002 Washington Post poll taken during the height of the corporate accounting scandals found that 88 percent of Americans distrust corporate executives, 90 percent want new corporate regulations/tougher enforcement of existing laws and more than half think the Bush Administration is "not tough enough" in fighting corporate crime.

On taxes, self-described "centrists" like Senator Joe Lieberman, a senior DLC leader, attacked proposals to repeal the Bush tax cuts to pay down the deficit. Yet even the DLC's pollster found in 2001 that a majority of Americans support such a policy, and that a strong plurality of voters would actually be more likely to vote for a Democrat who endorsed this proposal. Lieberman caricatured those in favor of repeal as extreme, claiming a repeal would alienate millions of voters who supposedly feel the tax cut helped them. Yet a September 2004 CBS News poll found that 72 percent of Americans say they have either not been affected by the Bush tax cuts or that their taxes have actually gone up.

<snip>

[Maple]

2. Canada is centrist

So are most European countries. The 'third way'.

Somehow the meaning of it has been mangled in the US.

[w4rma]

3. The DLC is a 5th column. They are traitors and backstabbers.

If you are a moderate, support the NDN, instead. Their leadership appears to be genuinely moderate Democrats.

[Hippo_Tron]

5. Isn't the New Democratic Network a new name for the DLC?

Or am I mistaken?

[w4rma]

9. No. They have different leadership. Also, the NDN is a newer org. (nt)

[wyldwolf]

4. Debunking "Debunking Centrism" and other responses

Debunking "Debunking Centrism"

It seems to me that David Sirota's latest attack on the DLC and other "centrists" is in need of a response. The problem here is not that the things he says are popular are not, in fact, popular. Rather, the problem is that he's gone off and created a straw man here, attacking the nefarious DLC for positions it doesn't hold... there are some real disagreements about policy and tactics here, but they deserve to be debated calmly and, above all, honestly. Sirota's attacks are growing increasingly vitriolic and wind up having increasingly little to do with the actually existing DLC and its real merits and flaws.


more...

http://yglesias.typepad.com/matthew/2004/12/debunking_debun.html

Ready... Aim... Fire

I can think of a million better things for Democrats to engage in this political off-season, but allow me to highlight what a complete horses-ass David Sirota is. Since he wishes to engage in not a mere crank on the DLC, I think it's incumbent upon me to inflict as much damage as possible.

Source Doc: Debunking 'Centrism'

CLAIM: The CEO of the corporate-sponsored Democratic Leadership Council and his wealthy cronies are in their regular postelection attack mode.

FACT: Here's a challenge for Dave ... identify one segment of the party the DLC has frothingly attacked after November's loss. Secondly, as one who is ideologically predisposed towards more than a handful of policies pushed by the DLC/PPI, I have to seriously take offense at the phrase "wealthy cronies." I'll offer a dare to Sirota to compare tax returns in a few weeks and then we can see who the wealthy crony of whom is. Up for it, Dave?

CLAIM: From's group is funded by huge contributions from multinationals like Philip Morris, Texaco, Enron and Merck, which have all, at one point or another, slathered the DLC with cash.

FACT: David Sirota is coming off a stint with Center for American Progress, where he started the daily email notices. Actually, better than average fare for the ideological among us. But for anyone to hail from a Soros-funded think tank to call another group into question for large contributions is utterly ridiculous. Still, here's a few contributor-to-candidate pairings I'll offer as a counterpoint to this silly point (all from a quick scan of OpenSecrets.org):



Nancy Pelosi - Edison International, PG&E, Charles Schwab, UBS Americas, Nat'l. Assn. of Realtors
Barbara Lee (California's most liberal Representative) - Clear Channel, PG&E, Nat'l. Assn. of Realtors
Jesse Jackson, Jr. - Nat'l. Assn. of Realtors
Sheila Jackson Lee - Ken Lay's personal choice to overtake then-incumbent Craig Washington over a decade ago.
Want more? Send me a check for my time. Oh, and if you really want an eye-opener, check the DCCC's contributor list.

more...

http://www.gregsopinion.com/archives/005332.html

The Sound And The Fury

Matt's debunking of Sirota's article on the DLC's irrelevance and wrongheadedness is almost cruelly efficient. But Sirota doesn't really mean what he argues, he means what he says. To say it in a form that's not a zen koan, Sirota's aim is clear and honest, but his facts and argument far less so. He, along with many on the left, hates the DLC. He thinks they represent what is wrong and what's been wrong with the party. That's all fine. But in order to prove the point, he's accusing the DLC of being too far right and actively hostile towards progressive policies. And there Sirota's analysis falls apart as, generally speaking, the DLC's policies are in the mainstream of progressive politics.

more...

http://www.pandagon.net/mtarchives/004249.html

Sirota's editorial, on careful examination and exploration of the links provided to actual DLC statements in the three above responses, shows Sirota to actually be a little off in his claims. Of course, that won't stop people from believing him because some people need confirmation of their beliefs, whether that confirmation is exaggerated or made up.

[bushclipper]

6. thanks for this. I've grown so accustomed to seeing only one side of

the DLC debate here it is nice to see some sourced response.

You will no doubt be attacked for it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Ah yes, we all know how popular

outsourcing, "free" trade, and "market solutions" for the health care crisis are among average voters.

[Carolab]

10. Thanks, Lydia n/t

[cire4]

8. This is my favorite article of 2005

bookmarked for later