Here's a couple of write-ups from the DLC leadership about this yearly conference which sets the policy for the Democratic Party.
America Needs a Fresh Dose of Optimism to Get Herself GoingBy Harold Ford, Jr. and Al From
After six years of stagnant incomes, increasing inequality, rising debt and declining confidence, many Americans are rightly anxious about their economic futures.
But the last thing they need is an old populism that plays to their fear, anger and pessimism, and, in the end, will only make matters worse. Yet, there are unmistakable signs of a growing "populist" revolt against globalization, especially immigration and trade.
Yes, they are right. People are not happy about the globalization and free trade. They must not have been happy reading what Jim Webb said about getting away from the Rubin wing of the party.
Webb wants to move away from the Robert Rubin policies"He criticized what he called 'the Rubin wing of the Democratic Party,' after Robert E. Rubin, former President Bill Clinton's Treasury secretary, saying those Democrats share the same problem as many Republicans: 'We're not paying attention to what has happened to basic working people in the country.' He said of the freshman Senate Democrats, six of them take a 'populist' view, and said they are bringing needed reinforcements to the Senate: 'We've got a number of us that pretty well see the economic issues the same way. I think that's the Democratic Party of the future."
Al From started the "we must continue on a centrist course" right after the election last year, while warning not to give in to activists.
Democrats Must Adopt A Centrist CourseIf Democrats are smart, they can make these new and "returned" Democratic voters part of an expanded party and an enduring national majority. That's why we should all be wary of intra-party arguments that Democrats did well simply by "fighting" or maximizing partisan differentiation from Republicans, or that they can paste together a majority by insisting on ideological unity and ignoring parts of the country or parts of the party -- e.g., "red states" -- that call for a more diverse and inclusive message.
That's an especially important message for the large number of potential Democratic presidential candidates. There's a perception in some media and political circles that Democratic White House wannabes, like their Republican counterparts, must systematically bend the knee to ideologically inflexible and noisy party activists to have any prayer of nomination or election. They should pay attention to what happened in Connecticut on Nov. 7, where even in a strongly anti-war blue state, voters rejected a high-profile effort to exclude Joe Lieberman from the Democratic Party. The reality is that, unlike the Republicans who are a much more homogenous party, Democrats can only win with a broad coalition. An expanded party base depends on a spirit of inclusiveness; certainly the House Democratic caucus is more ideologically diverse than it was before Election Day. To remain in the majority, it will need to stay that way.
Al From is not living in reality. He is making his own reality, and it is not the same as ours. I can not hear the good ideas because he keeps putting the people of the party "in their place". He refuses to "bend knee to noisy activists."
Here's the National Conversation next week.
National ConversationNot much about who is going. But I think we should be paying attention. My main gripes right now are the DLC's drive for charter schools and their continued push to change the nature of Social Security. (More on that later). Charter schools are not public schools, and could end up replacing the public school system. Here's a description of charter schools, which is one of the main agenda items for them. As Al From said, it is a complete transformation of the school system.
Charter School FAQ"What is a charter school?
A charter school is a new form of public school that may be started and
operated by individuals or organizations from outside of the traditional
school district system. Successful charter school developers are granted a
charter to operate a public school for a fixed period of time (in California
usually for 5 years).
Charter schools are generally exempt from most laws
that apply to regular public schools, so administrators, faculty, staff and
parents have considerable autonomy in designing an educational program,
facilities and budget that meet the needs of their students. In exchange for
this increased autonomy, charter schools are held much more strictly
accountable than most non-charter public schools. Charter schools must meet
all of the student performance and operational goals listed in their
charter, or their charter may be revoked. The first charter school law was
passed in Minnesota in 1992. California was the second state to enact
charter legislation in 1992, authored by then Senator Gary K. Hart. There
are now 40 states, plus Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and
Washington, D.C., with charter schools.
The charter school reform concept is part of a larger policy effort to
fundamentally alter the structure of the public education system in an
effort to (1) provide quality public education choices for families, (2)
enable change-oriented educators to establish and operate new, innovative
schools, and (3) provide increased competition within the public education
sector. It's the competitive aspect of the charter concept that makes it
controversial and also powerful. The charter school reform concept was
largely developed by Ted Kolderie, a public policy expert at the Center for
Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota."
They want to fundamentally alter the nature of our schools.
Public schools ARE held accountable, and there is more in the FAQ I disagree with. Later on that. But apparently that is the school of the future. There's something in this retired teacher, in me, that grieves the loss of our public schools. Our nation became great on such a school system. But the corporate nature of the DLC has been presenting public schools as failures for years.
Here's the agenda for Democrats nationwide that they will be covering.
State & Local PlaybookSo who's going? This is the group that will be the "policy shop" for the 08 nominee according to Harold Ford. I think they should list all the candidates who are going, just so we can take part in keeping up with our policy-making wing of the party.
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