What is DLC?

[politicasista]

I was just curious. I read the name DLC in GDP alot (yeah yuck!) and Kerry's (and occasionally Hillary) name in the same sentence mainly from Deaniacs and others. They talk about how they are "Pro-War" and Democratic party sellouts. So I was just wondering was Kerry or Gore affiliated with them or what's it all about.

[Mass]

1. Here is their website

It is very varied - Some of their members are fairly liberal (Dorgan, Kerry,...), other are conservative Democrats (Landrieu, Pryor,...).

For some people on GD and GDP, DLC is synonym of Bushlite, largely because the founders (From and Reed) have issues with Dean.

http://www.ndol.org/

About the Democratic Leadership Council

Who We Are:

THE NEW DEMOCRAT CREDO:
In keeping with our party's grand tradition, we reaffirm Jefferson's belief in individual liberty and capacity for self-government. We endorse Jackson's credo of equal opportunity for all, special privileges for none. We embrace Roosevelt's thirst for innovation and Kennedy's summons to civic duty. And we intend to carry on Clinton's insistence upon new means to achieve progressive ideals.... (More.)

The Democratic Leadership Council is an idea center, catalyst, and national voice for a reform movement that is reshaping American politics by moving it beyond the old left-right debate. Under the leadership of founder and CEO Al From, the DLC seeks to define and galvanize popular support for a new public philosophy built on progressive ideals, mainstream values, and innovative, non bureaucratic, market-based solutions. At its heart are three principles: promoting opportunity for all; demanding responsibility from everyone; and fostering a new sense of community.

Since its inception, the DLC has championed policies from spurring private sector economic growth, fiscal discipline and community policing to work based welfare reform, expanded international trade, and national service.

Throughout the 90's, innovative, New Democrat policies implemented by former DLC Chairman President Bill Clinton helped to produce the longest period of sustained economic growth in our history, the lowest unemployment in a generation, 22 million new jobs; and helped to cut the welfare rolls in half, reduce the crime rate for seven straight years, balance the budget and streamline the federal bureaucracy to its smallest size since the Kennedy administration.

Now, with the help of Chairman Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), the DLC is promoting new ideas -- such as a second generation of environmental protection and new economy and technology development strategies -- at the local, state, and national levels, working through a national network of reformers and practitioners, and offering an approach to governing that is distinctly different from traditional liberalism and conservatism to build the next generation of America's leaders.

The DLC publishes Blueprint: Ideas for a New Century, an innovative policy journal aimed at identifying the central ideas and policies that will guide American politics in the 21st century. The DLC also provides daily political commentary and analysis through its online newsletter, "The New Dem Daily," published every business day on NDOL.org and circulated by email to thousands of opinion leaders and policy makers in Washington and around the country.

The DLC was founded in 1985. The past chairs include former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, former Rep. Dave McCurdy of Oklahoma, Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana, former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia, former Sen. Charles Robb of Virginia and House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri.

[TayTay]

2. Democratic Leadership Council

Invented as a response to "Why are there Reagan Democrats?"

There must be Reagan Democrats because they want Republican ideas in Democratic clothing. So the DLC was formed to assure the voting public that Democrats can vote for tax cuts, just like Repubs do. And Democrats can cozy up to big business and abandon their wayward practice of being labor-friendly. And Democrats can vote to end welfare payments to the underserving poor just like Repubs do.

(Okay, I think I'm partisan here. At leat I'm honest about it.)

The DLC made Democrats look like Repubs, only with some left-over compassion and a little sprinkling of social justice concerns. They broke their long-standing ties to 'the little guy' in order to drink from the same big money fountains as the Repubs.

Which begs the question: If DLCers and Repubs believe pretty much the same things, then what difference is there between the parties. Well, the '94 election was one answer from the electorate, not much.

[politicasista]

3. Thanks Mass and Tay Tay

[Forever Free]

4. Hey I like the DLC

I agree with their platform 100%. All that "Repub lite" talk is just bullshit.

[saracat]

6. I despise them and AL From. I even told From That. I think this centrist

BS costs us elections. They can claim only one victory as far as I am concerned and that is Clinton in 92.And that had a lot to do with the candidate. They are really an excuse for Repug lite. Having said that there are people I personally like in it like Tom Vilsak, but I do NOT like anything about their philosophy.They are indeed Repug lite. And in many ways, so was Clinton, but he was able to camouflage it with charm. No offense, but I really distrust their policies but that is only my opinion.

[Forever Free]

8. We didn't lost past elections because of the DLC

We lost because we had weak campaigning and no clear message. In hindsight, that's really easy to say. But that's how the way it looks from my angle. Using that DLC excuse is just a knee-jerk cop-out.

[Mass]

11. I disagree

Kerry had a fairly good campaign, and did the best showing a non-incumbent did against a wartime president ( and considerably more votes than Clinton in 92, not speaking of 96).

But I would have happily avoided DLCers spending their time on TV telling us how Kerry was wrong, unlikeable, not connecting to people, and all this BS.

[Mass]

10. I tend to agree with you

but we should be careful not to mix Al From and Ralph Reed and some of the Dems that are affiliated to the DLC and are quite liberal.

Kerry and Dorgan are listed on the DLC caucus and they are among the most liberal Senators. Most other ones do not stand there though.

[saracat]

12. Exactly. There are even some moderates that are okay. It is the

message I don't like.I think much like the Dem Party itself, it has members that stand for different things. It is the organization itself I don't like.

[JohnKleeb]

5. Democratic Leadership Council

The DLC was formed in the 80's as an alternative to the public perception that Democrats were out of touch liberals. Kerry is indeed a member of it, but not all its members are warhawks or moderates, one name is Mark Udall, a nephew I believe of Morris Udall who was President Kennedy's secretary of the interior. The aim of the DLC is basically to move the party in a more moderate conservative. Gore was very instrumental in the early DLC actually, as was Bill Clinton. Their power is vastly overstated in GDP, neither of our four main leaders in the congress, I include Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Harry Reid, and Dick Durbin as those four. I am not a big fan of the DLC but I think people in GDP really do vastly overstate its influence and its just a wing of the party essentially. The DLC I admit is more hawkish than your average democrat but the cofounder of the hosue DLC, Jim Moran who is a local congressman here was a strong opponent of the war and was actually a big supporter of Dean in the primaries, so this junk that the DLC hates Dean is false. Jim Moran also is a big, big free trader, even supporting CAFTA. I have to say, I dont like the DLC since our ideas and principles differ, I am a traditional liberal and the DLC is to be honest not that. The DLC isnt the evil entity its portrayed as on the boards but I dont like their goals, too moderate for me but they are despite what people may say in GDP actually a lot better than they were when they first started. The early DLC was against abortion rights and had near NRA postiions on guns. The irony is that the early DLC was headed by Russell Long son of the famous Huey Long who is best known for his share the wealth program. I dont think too highly of the DLC but the way some people in GDP talk about it is a bit inaccurate IMO. Anyhow jsut sharing with you what I know from reading.

[Forever Free]

7. Yes the DLC are pro-corporate whores that plan to take over the world

and put women back into burkas and make them slaves in the home. I mean my GOD, how stupid could I have been? The DLC is simply a vast Republican infiltration operation! I mean they're worse than the terrorists! :eyes:

[saracat]

13. Many of its members are okay. I still think the centrist message sucks. It

weakens us and makes us stand for nothing. But hey, I voted for Kerry because he was a liberal and I think Dean is a moderatebased on his record.Each to his own.

[paulk]

9. the DLC is a good way to get into an argument

;)


I think, as individuals, they're a lot more diverse than the GDP crowd will acknowledge. As an organization they get blamed for every ill suffered by the Democratic Party. There are some good Dems who are DLC members. There are some Dems who barely can be called Democrats who are DLC members.

Some of their position papers are quite reasonable. Some make your teeth hurt.

A lot of the criticism of the DLC is legitimate. But, don't take GDP's word for it - a lot of the trashing over there is knee jerk.

[JohnKleeb]

14. most of those who are barely dems though are also blue dogs

An organization I found out not through GDP but through my political research, now theys conservative dems. Agree with what ya said though, there are some great dems who are DLC and some not so great. An odd thing I know is that Neil Ambercrombie who is a good dem from Hawaii is regarded as a member of the progressive caucus I believe, I believe I saw one opponent of Dan Akaka and Inoyve say we need him in their place, well to be fair to them, they did not vote for the tax cut but Ambercrombie did, strikes me as odd. Anyhow of Inoyve and Akaka, Inoyve is the more moderate but theyre both I think to the left of the senate