The "Blame the DLC" nonsense has to stop.

[LastNaturalist]

I read on so many posts about the "vile" DLC and how they're corrupting the party. They have zero power now.

I'm a former member. But last year was the first time they didn't have enough money to hold their annual convention. Al From stepped down. The Chair, Harold Ford Jr., does not hold a political position. The think tank arm, the Progressive Policy Institue, split off from them.

They have no power. They are obsolete. The probably will dissolve in 1 or 2 years. So enough with blaming them, alright? They gave us Clinton in the 1990's and I, personally, will forever thank them for Bill. Right now, they hold no sway at all. Find a new "centrist bogeyman."

[Forkboy]

1. LOL

[Dinger]

42. LOL Here Too

DLC=repukes, period.

[DJ13]

2. One need not be a member of the DLC to support the same goals

Look no further than our President for an example.

[Lord Helmet]

3. horseshit

[Vincardog]

4. They are like the Hydra. They may have changed the name but the corruption of Democratic ideals

persists. Are you really trying to say that Obama is not a "new democrat"?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Romulox]

5. Obama's right hand mand, Austan Goolsbee is the DLC's Senior Economist.

http://www.dlc.org/ppi/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=87&subsecID=112&contentID=254328

:hi:

[LastNaturalist]

6. So what? AS AN ORGANIZATION, they are done.

Their members will be successful in other regards. HFJr. has a ton of potential. Bruce Reed is very intelligent. But using the DLC as the omnipresent threat trying to corrupt Democratic Party ideals is just not a reasonable argument anymore.

[LastNaturalist]

8. Honestly, hating the DLC is like hating the Atari Democrats of the 1980's.

They were a group of reform-minded Democrats who believed in information technology and moderate social values. People like Gary Hart, Chuck Robb, and Mr. Al Gore, himself. Do you spew vile at them and blame them for Democratic Party disunity in the year 2009? No. It's the same with the DLC - some members you may like, some you may hate, but as an ORGANIZATION, they are as relevant as the Atari Democrats. So enough with the vitriole.

[Armstead]

26. Gore and Hart are considered "leftist raduicals" today by DLC standards

Once they left politics, Gore and Hart became much more inclined to follow their liberal instincts.

It's a shame that too many democrats feel they have to leave their core beliefs outside to play the game. That's largely due to the pressures imposed by elements like the DLC.

[Romulox]

10. Their economic policies are Obama's; that's an idiosyncratic defintion of "done". nt

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

11. "HFJr. has a ton of potential." I agree.

Those Snuggies and Sham Wows aren't gonna sell themselves. I don't think he could go into used car sales 'cause that takes serious skills.

[Sebastian Doyle]

47. Bruce Reed is a fucking moron

And so is his son Chad. No matter how many times he registers here under different names. And Harold Ford is a whore media Repuke suckup.

[tkmorris]

51. "HFJr. has a ton of potential. Bruce Reed is very intelligent."

That is some of the funniest stuff I have ever seen here at DU. Those two EPITOMIZE what is wrong with the Democratic party and here you are putting them on a pedestal. I love it.

[Ken Burch]

52. If Harold Ford got elected to something else, you wouldn't be able to tell

that he wasn't GOP.

Why would you still LIKE those guy?

They've never made a single positive contribution to this country.

It's thanks to them that the last Democratic administration was worthless. We beat the right and the DLC made us keep the right's policies in place on everything that mattered in the Clinton years, even in 1993-94. They attacked the morality of the poor and sneered at unions.

We never needed them.

[Zodiak]

7. "they are not that powerful"

Since you are relatively new, I would assume that you missed the years between 2004 and 2006 when this meme (that the DLC has no power) was floated here time and time again in an attempt to quell criticism of this group.

Not many activists listen to this argument, and so the DLC went more underground, not even publishing their member lists any more. But that did not stop them from derailing every single issue the Democrats placed their stake in. From 2006 onwards, DLC members helped completely derail the Democratic agenda against public opinion, even.

But the DLC did not go away, in fact, it is their members who are currently wielding the most power in Washington, demanding changes in the HCR bill based solely on ideology (too much goverment!!).

But it doesn't matter if they are the DLC, blue Dogs, New Democrats, or whatever they are calling themselves nowadays....these groups can very easily change names or just form a new group. DLC is short-hand for "corporate Dem" anyways, and only a great fool would argue that corporate Dems have no power any longer.

[LastNaturalist]

9. I'm not new to politics.

And I know the DLC held clout in 2004 and 2006.

But it is 2009 and they have imploded faster than Dick Cheney's heart.

[Zodiak]

13. I did not say you were new to politics

Strawmen do not help this conversation out at all.

The DLC issue was handled for YEARS on this site, and now that the Democrats have proven themselves to be beholden to corporate interests through DLC members (current,former, does it matter?), now you want the organization not mentioned.

Conrad, Lincoln, Landrieu, Leiberman, Nelson.......all working hard to stop reform, all DLC members (at least the last time they bothered publishing them).

And you still have ignored that the same Senators have already formed other groups, like Bayh's (also a DLC member) gang of 15. These are the same people trying to form the DLC under different names because they know the activists have targeted them. If you think that we should never mention the DLC again because they changed organizational names, then you are in for disappointment.

The activists of the party don't care what name they use, the short-hand is DLC, and we will hang that moniker on the necks of any of these cretins that want to stand in the way of reform in the name of conservative ideology. Whether you give us permission or not.

In fact, since you were a DLC member yourself, why should we not think that you have an agenda in trying to quell criticism of this group?

[LastNaturalist]

15. You're not listening to what I'm saying. Sigh.

Oh, but by the way:

"I am a New Democrat."
-- President Barack Obama, 3-18-09

However, he has never been a member of the organization, the DLC.

[Zodiak]

17. No, but he is governing like one

So his "new Democrat" line doesn't exactly inspire confidence here.

The fact that he is not DLC is precisely one of the reasons he got elected over Hillary. He pulled the wool over our eyes on that one because he immediately surrounded himself with the DLCers.

And look what we have now? Nothing but "hope" for "change".

And what do you mean I am not listening to you? You tried a strawman on me and then brought up an Obama quote without addressing ONE point I made. It is YOU who is not listening, and it is becoming clear from your sophistry that you only have an agenda to push......to please leave the nice Democrats selling us out alone.

It is not working.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

41. And he has surrounded himself with Clinton DLCers.

I don't support that, either.

[Dr.Phool]

67. Stealth DLC.

And I remember 27 "New Democrats" who sent a letter to Dennis Hastert, begging him to please hurry up and bring that gawd awful "Bankruptcy Reform" bill to the floor so they could vote for it.

New Democrats = Old Republicans.

No need to respond. I've seen enough of your drivel to not want to see anymore. And I won't.

[harkadog]

20. Very bad analogy.

Or maybe it isn't. Cheney's heart has been thru alot and is proving to be very resilient.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

40. Can you provide specific examples of exactly how the DLC has imploded!

I gotta hear this one.

[change_notfinetuning]

12. Their brain farts are still SBD, whatever they call themselves now.

[LastNaturalist]

14. Check out the website:

http://www.dlc.org/

On the front page, the best they can muster up are some editorial from various newspapers. You think that's power?

I know some will disagree with me, but I am talking ONLY about the organization the "Democratic Leadership Council." I'm not talking about the House Blue Dog Coalition, and I'm not talking about Democrats that receive major contributions from corporations. I'm not talking about Bayh's new little centrist caucus either. I'm only talking about the DLC (who folks love to blame), as an organization, and they are nearly done. So blaming the DLC now is like blaming the Atari Democrats from 1980.

[Zodiak]

16. We do not care

DLC is short-hand like I said.

They can call themselves whatever they want, we will still use "DLC" to stick to them. To us, changing the name is only an attempt to avoid the criticism, but it will follow them. We are on to their game that was once so easy for them to play in the past.

The Atari Democrats sound-byte you are trying to promulgate is cute, but it is not relevant to this discussion at all. Every member of that group you cite are out of politics.....the members of the DLC are all over the administration and nearly half of our members in the Senate. They are extant and doing damage as I write this post.

Gary Hart and Al Gore, politically, are extinct. However, you will find PLENTY of blame on this site about the "Reagan Democrats", who are equally politically extinct.

Face it, liberal activists do not like pro-business Democrats who sell out to corporate interests and spend all of their time working against their own party. We will call them all sorts of names, and DLC is one of the mildest. Fucking piece of shit DINOs is another good one.

[LastNaturalist]

19. It may be shorthand, but your usage then, is incorrect. They are an organization.

So do you have any problems with the Blue Dog Coalition? What about the New Democrat Coalition? Because they are not affiliated with the DLC, but are in many ways, more corporate and more conservative.

[Zodiak]

21. All of them are fucking DINOs

And the New Democrat coalition is associated with the DLC

From their website (the DLC):

"The New Democrat Coalition was formed in 1997 by Congressmen Cal Dooley (D-CA), Jim Moran (D-VA), and Tim Roemer (D-IN) to establish an ideological home in the U.S. House of Representatives for the New Democratic movement started by the Democratic Leadership Council in the late 1980's and led nationally by President Bill Clinton in the 1990's.

In the 110th Congress, the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) includes 60 members of Congress, and is chaired by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA). Reps. Ron Kind (WI), Adam Smith (WA), Artur Davis (AL), and Joe Crowley (NY) also serve as vice chairs of the organization. The NDC is committed to "enacting policies that maintain U.S. competitiveness, meet the challenges posed by globalization in the 21st century, and strengthen our national security."

The NDC has become a vibrant intellectual center for creating innovative, modern means to advance traditional Democratic values. New Democrats in the House have been instrumental in defining a policy framework to strengthen the foundations of America's technology and innovation-driven New Economy. "

It is stated that they are basically the same, just different houses. They both refer to themselves as the "New Democratic movement".

So yeah, the short-hand sticks and your attempts at making the DINOs not look like a big corporate voting bloc that deserves blame is failing.

[LastNaturalist]

30. Well said!!

"All of them are fucking DINO's"

Now that was a good argument. I did not know you were the Arbiter of the Democratic Party, but now that I do, I only hope I can please you so that I too may be worthy of being in the party whose candidates and officials I seem to support more than you. But then again, they probably did not meet your criteria, Mighty Arbiter! You're like a Democratic Sarah Palin!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

43. Notice that like the Repukes, they refer to themselves as "Democrat"

rather than "Democratic." :puke::puke:

[Arkana]

18. But don't you see they're like the Illuminati.

They just want you to THINK they're gone. :tinfoil:

[LastNaturalist]

22. Well hey, I got someone to agree with me.

That's something. I knew this would be an uphill battle. I was just trying to get my fellow progressives and liberals to focus on REAL political enemies like the RNC. The DLC is moot now. I wish they weren't (ahh, here comes the thrown vegetables!!) because I like groups that think outside the box and raise a ruckus with established thought. But they are.

Anyway, rock on everybody.

[Zodiak]

23. More appropriately, you have someone that already agrees with you

And that person is willing to call everyone who disagrees a "tinfoil" hatter, effectively replacing an actual argument with ridicule instead. Not a person I would consider an asset as a political ally.

But you can try to spin it like you convinced someone, I suppose.

[LastNaturalist]

27. My wording was incorrect.

Someone already agreed with me.
There, I apologize.

I know you progressives don't make mistakes, so thanks for pointing out my error, Bassist for Obama, who does not like Obama.

[Armstead]

24. Nah...The names may change but the power remains

I'm a moderate liberal progressive. I say moderate because I do believe in compromise, and I also recognize the good side of business.

But the DLC succeeded in marginalizing people like me as too far left.

Also, if the DLC hadn't consistently made "liberals" and "the fringe left" the bogeyman in the 90's and 00's, I mibght be a little mofre tolerant of philosophical differeences.

But the DLC decided to throw out the baby with the bathwater in its efforts to make DSemocrats become more "pro-business."

So screw 'em. I hope it does become defunct, but their pernicious influence remains.

[Hutzpa]

25. wow

grabbing the bull by the horn....whodatunkit.

[mkultra]

28. what needs to stop is this "Stop blaming the DLC" nonsense

thats what needs to stop now stop.

[LastNaturalist]

32. Absolutely.

While we're at it, how about we denounce the Americans for Democratic Action. Those Henry Wallace bashers are bringing down our party's purity level.

[burning rain]

36. DLC types would bash Harry Truman as too liberal.

Never mind Henry Wallace...

[mkultra]

66. well ok

but i don't know who they are.


I DENOUNCE THE Americans for Democratic Action!


ok, what else. im an activist.

[Clintonista2]

29. The DLC is the left's equivalent of ACORN or "communism"

It's that boogeyman who pops up everytime the so-called "progressives" need somebody to blame.

[Armstead]

34. Unfortunately they often are to blame

"New democrats" in the House fought hard to deny states from having any power to go after financial shenanagans by the banking industry in the recent reform package....Bogeymen yes. Imaginary, No.

http://www.financialreformwatch.com/2009/10/articles/financial-reform/can-new-dems-deliver-preemption/

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

45. You gotta explain this one to me because even Bill Clinton himself admitted

to his credit, that he was partly responsible for the economic collapse because he deregulated Wall Street too much. That's not a boogeyman; that's the truth. Many DLCers supported the Bush corporate agenda, did they not? That's not the boogeyman; that's the truth. Many DLCers supported the illegal invasion of Iraq, didn't they? Sure! That's not a boogeyman; that's the truth. And many DLCers, chief among them is their leader Harold Ford, Jr., who consistently bashes liberals and is praised and hailed when he does so, blame liberals for much that is wrong with the party. That's not a boogeyman; that's the unvarnished truth. It has been the DLC and Blue Dogs who have joined the Republicans in the demonization and vilification of liberals. Many of these DLCers are Dixicrats or from the Midwest; the only thing separating them from the Republicans is that they are more socially progressive, to their credit. But on everything else, these folks are corporatists who have marginalized the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, and have been doing so for several decades now, along with the Blue Dogs and the Republicans. Surely you cannot deny that. That's just the truth. The liberals/progressives in the Democratic Party are the most loyal. How many times have we sacrificed for the good of the party? How many times have we compromised and continue to do so, even while the door continues to be slammed in our faces?

Please don't act as if the DLC are the victims here. They had and continue to have a presence in the party, and their influence is NOT on the wane. I've yet to see any evidence to the contrary.

Instead of attacking liberals, you and the OP will have to demonstrate to the rest of us how the DLC is the victim and how it has lost power and influence. I'm all ears.

[Clintonista2]

55. I could care less about the DLC

Really, I could. But the DLC conspiracy theories have gone from hilariously moronic to boring and stale. Take a look at post #31 for example. It's also increasingly amazing how you're only a "DLCer" if "progressives" already hate you (i.e Clinton). The fact that Obama and Gore, for instance, have always had strong DLC ties seems to be something "progressives" choose to ignore.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

56. You say that progressives hate Clinton and Gore but you need to show me proof.

Most of us supported both men and stood by them during their most trying times.

You'll have to come back with something more concrete as examples.

And please be honest. Don't bash liberals; come back with something substantive.

[Clintonista2]

58. Take your time and read the post before replying

I didn't say "progressives" hate Gore. In fact, I said the opposite. "Progressives" hate Clinton for being DLC (not just Bill, but Hillary also), but love Gore despite his role in the creation of the DLC. I don't want to rehash the primaries but I can drag up plenty of examples from that era. People with Al Gore avatars calling you DLC is always funny.

And I wasn't bashing Liberals or Progressives, in fact I'd reckon that on an ideological level I'm more to the left than most of DU. I was specifically bashing "Progressives," the people who demand ideological purity and imply that those who don't conform to their views are "war-mongering-DLC-corporatists"

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

59. I read your post. And, NO!!! Liberals/progressive DO NOT HATE BILL CLINTON!!

We vehemently and passionately disagree with his deregulatory policies, and as I stated before, he even admitted that he deregulated and that he should not have signed the Glass-Steagall Act into law. This is not us hating Bill Clinton; it's hating his policies. Liberals don't demand purity; in fact, we have tolerated moderate and conservative Democrats who are always asking that we compromise our principles! We HAVE and DO compromise at every turn. This isn't about hatred; it is about opening the big tent of the Democratic Party and allowing diverging opinions in. You cannot honestly tell me that the liberals/progressives in the Democratic Party have power and influence. You are out of your mind if you think so. We have had many centrists Democratic presidents. Even LBJ and JFK were more moderate. The closest we have ever gotten to a liberal president is FDR. So, please do not come up in this thread and play the victim because you worship the Clintons. You are being incredibly dishonest, not to mention, rude. And you further lack credibility. So, until you can be honest about this debate, off to ignore you go...

[Clintonista2]

61. Riiiight

Enjoy your alternate reality :rofl::rofl:

[LoZoccolo]

31. A poll revealed 43% of DUers believing that the DLC fed the tape of the Dean scream to the media.

Despite the fact that it was carried live.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3349253

[Armstead]

33. They did the verbal equivalent on the talk circuit

Doesn;t matter whether they did or didn't.

So many of those lovable "centrist" Democrats made great amused sport of the Dean Scream on TV panels as proof that he was some out of control leftist crazyman, that they might as well have smuggled the tapes.

[Vinnie From Indy]

35. Centrist? LOL

Try "corporatist" it fits much better!

There are millions of Americans without jobs partially because of the DLC pushing through abominations like NAFTA.

[Sebastian Doyle]

37. FUCK the DLC

It doesn't matter if they call themselves PPI or NDOL or NDN or any of the other offshoots or mutations. They are what they are.

And what they are is REPUBLICANS posing as Democrats to undermine the Democratic party from within.

[Nite Owl]

38. They have done their

work, those who have been elected already are the ones obstructing for them. In the House they have 'the New Dems'. They haven't gone anywhere, they just realize that they are not popular with those who do the work of phone banking, mailings, walking etc. so they lay low on the name.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

39. The DLC has no power? What planet do you live on? Of course they do!

They are NOW yelling and screaming about the deficit and yet were silent during the Bush administration.

[SoxFan]

48. Don't let the facts get in the way of your paranoia, mmkay?

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=3189&kaid=103&subid=110
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=3120&kaid=103&subid=110
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=3107&kaid=131&subid=207
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=3479&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=3327&kaid=125&subid=162
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=3721&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=250330&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=250647&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=251376&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=251374&kaid=131&subid=207
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=251876&kaid=125&subid=162
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=251864&kaid=131&subid=207
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=252303&kaid=125&subid=162
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=252422&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253121&kaid=131&subid=207
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253095&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253241&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253632&kaid=450013&subid=900115
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253713&kaid=131&subid=192
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254285&kaid=125&subid=162
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254288&kaid=131&subid=207
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254284&kaid=125&subid=162

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

57. My paranoia? What are you talking about? I'm asking how it is that DLC has lost

influence over politics? No one's paranoid, well, at least not me.

Instead of trying to bash/flame me, answer the question.

[Clintonista2]

64. Careful. That one has his/her finger on the ignore button. They don't like it when you shatter their

preconcieved notions.

[Bluenorthwest]

44. A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose

and by any name would smell as foul. If they are so powerless, they why bother defending them? What does it matter if their name, like Dr Mudd's, comes to stand for ill deeds. The doctor is long dead, but his name is still Mudd.
When I look at their website, I see a group of people who are mostly transplanted from the Hill to the White House, so 'powerless' is one hell of a choice of words. Mostly engaged in a different form and branch of promoting their agenda is far from powerless. You do know that 'powerless' does not mean 'non Congressional' don't you? Powerless means 'without power' and can not be ascribed to say, the Sec. of State of the United States of America without some heavy heaping of spin sauce. I'd love to be so powerless as the Chief of Staff.
So you are using words in a strange way, as if they have no meanings, and yet you are seemingly very upset about the misuse of the acronym DLC. If 'powerless' can describe BEING the administration and cabinet of the President, then I think using DLC in a, pun intended, liberal way is a thing you need to get used to.

[tkmorris]

46. They have become the face of the Calculating Centrists.

Whenever that form of crass deal-making Centrist crap is pulled, it is labeled DLC, mainly because they are the poster child for that brand of politics.

It's kind of like how whenever a Middle-Eastern man commits a crime he automatically becomes Al Qaeda.

[jefferson_dem]

49. Agreed.

The minute one starts whining about the "DLC bogeyman" is the minute that person loses credibility. It's akin to Repukes screaming about "terrists" at every turn. When in doubt, create a non-existent bogeyman.

I recall arguing with an Edwards-supporting DUer during the primaries. He was saying how Obama was a DLC stooge. Thing is - Obama has never been a member while Edwards (his preferred candidate) was a card-carrying member for years.

[Ken Burch]

50. Their lackeys are STILL in the Senate, though.

And they're determined to do damage as long as they're there.

[AllentownJake]

53. You DLC shill we know what they are up to

They'll dissolve and create a new name...right now I think it is OFA.

[Warren Stupidity]

54. 'centrist' - one only wishes.

both parties are so far right of center that all this talk of left wing extremism is the only nonsense I know of.

[IndianaGreen]

60. Off to the gulag with the DLC!

That's where they belong!

[proud2BlibKansan]

62. Rahm isn't DLC anymore?

:rofl:

[ima_sinnic]

63. DLC, "New Democrats," DINOs, what's the difference?

whatever you want to call them, and whatever chameleon color they currently are, they are corrupt SOBs with no conscience, no principles, no innovative ideas, no commitment to Democratic Party ideals and visions. They are money-grubbing, war-monger ass-kissing, corrupt assholes represented by the likes of Max Baucus, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, and the rest of the soulless vampires who put a letter "D" after their names because it looks good.

So fuck you and anybody else who wants to defend greed, corruption, and republican democrats. Just join the republican party and quit faking it.

[mitchum]

65. They still breathe