Kos blogs on it and the name is removed by the end of the day.

I wonder who will be next.

It seems strange to me that the animosity is escalating.  Even if there are policy differences, the blog community and the DLC are both working for a Democratic majority.

Surely it's better to deal with these things tactfully, as if everyone was on the same side, rather than openly attacking each other?

What's one more.

Thanks, it looks as if I finally found the right group of people.  I'm very opposed to neo-liberals and wish very hard that the rest of the Dems would stand up and slap these morons down.

Hillary Clinton has never had to do hard labor in here life.  Hand her a shovel for a month and tell her she only gets 5 bucks an hour and see if she's still a neo-liberal after that.  

Please don't tell me that this means that someone referred to Obama as a "new Democratic Senator," and this was mistaken for his being a "New Democrat" Senator.

Just another reason, albeit minor, why the brand name needs to be reclaimed by the Party, and doled out only for limited and officially approved use.

I believe the authority exists under the Party's Charter and Bylaws to do this. And if it's supposedly the quality of the DLC's thinking that keeps them relevant, then they ought to be able to survive just as well under some new name that doesn't cause confusion, dilute the Democratic brand, or serve to make them a too-convenient foil for lazy reporters seeking to root out conflict.

http://www.ndol.org/

Brown will likely run in a Democratic Primary against Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), who polls show has the only real shot of beating Sen. Lincoln Chafee.  And outside of Rhode Island, Brown is pitching his candidacy as the anti-Democratic establishment candidacy because Langevin is anti-choice.  The truth is that Langevin is 100% on all other progressive issues while Brown is pro-choice and floats down the middle on all other progressive issues.  Brown being on the DLC list only serves to prove this.    

Senator Diane Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Re:  Senate New Democrat Coalition

Dear Senator Feinstein:

I agree with your leadership and votes on certain matters like the assault weapons band,  opposition to some of  Bush's right wing judge nominations and others.   I strongly disagree with some of your votes like the privatization of Medicare in the prescription drug bill and support for the war in Iraq.    I am a Democrat who can support someone with whom I do not agree all the time and I have supported you and voted for you in the past.  

However, at a time when it is imperative that the Democratic Party unify as much as possible I can no longer support anyone who remains a member of the Senate New Democrat Coalition.   That Coalition is supported by the Democratic Leadership Council, which is almost wholly financed by big business.    That Coalition is exclusionary of millions of Democrats and creates an official schism and factionalism in the Party that is unnecessary and unhealthy.    If I am not a New Democrat, what kind of Democrat am I?
Am I an old Democrat, a semi-Democrat, a wrongheaded Democrat, or what?

I am well aware of the history of the DLC and the Senate New Democrat Coalition.   But frankly the approach of formally dividing the Party in the way they have has proven to be a failure, and I believe will no longer be tolerated by millions of Democrats.   The DLC has a right to exist and lobby for their positions all they want, but I do not believe it is appropriate for our elected officials to form an organized faction.   Do you think it would be healthy for the grassroots progressives in the Party to pressure the progressive Senators to form an official faction?   Would that kind of a formal split be healthy for the Party?    I think not.    Parenthetically, I would note that you never hear of any such official factionalism in the Republican Party even though they encompass a lot of different views in their Party also.

In my opinion it is time for Democrats to come together and to articulate the values of the Party as Democratic values, period.   Disagreements can be discussed and hopefully resolved within a more unified context and not by organized factions of Democrats in the Senate, the House, and in state and local governments.    This is an opportune time to change the situation.    It is well before the next elections in 2006.   It is a time when the Party apparatus is being reformed to use more grassroots organizing and to emphasize a 50 state strategy.  

Therefore,  I respectfully request that you resign from the Senate New Democrat Coalition, hopefully sooner rather than later.   In addition to resigning yourself, it would be even better if you could get other Senators to resign for the same reasons, or even dissolve the New Democrat Coalition as an organization.  This can certainly be explained as an effort, not to change your views necessarily, but to end any remnants of official factionalism in the Party and to encourage all officials to come together to articulate our common Democratic values.  

Thank you for listening and for your consideration of my request.

Sincerely,