MyDD :: Who Speaks forthe Reform Democrats?

Who Speaks forthe Reform Democrats?

by rich kolker, Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 09:13:03 AM EST

In this piece on myDD janfrel discusses how the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) has become the default think tank for "Democratic" views because it has offices in Washington and the money to staff them with "experts" that the press can reference in stories.

But they don't speak for me.

Who speaks for me?

Who speaks for the left of center, reform Democrats for whom it's less about left and right than supporting candidates that say what they believe, and understand the system itself is broken and needs fixing. In the 2004 Presidential cycled that was Howard Dean, and after the disappointment of his loss, I hoped Democracy for America (DFA) could become that voice that spoke for me. After all, DFA 2.0 had a good sized fundraising base, and in Governor Dean, a voice on the national stage that demanded attention. But the Governor went off to run the Democratic National Committee, and DFA seems uninterested in being an issue voice in counterpoint to the DLC, so again I ask for myself an the others like me, who speaks for me?

Where is the national Democratic voice that's not on the corporate right like the DLC but neither on the corporate left (where many of the traditional elected liberals seem to reside these days), or the "so far left". Someone who understands that change is necessary and understands that good politics will be necessary to implement that change. Someone who rather than moving to where they think the people are today, works to move the people to where we think the nation should be.

This is what Howard Dean is apparently failing to see in using the model of how Newt and the right took over the GOP. It wasn't all about bottom-up grassroots organizing within the party, it also included "education" of the voters on the direction Newt wanted to take them. He gave them a reason to vote for Republicans. If we as Democrats, or Progressives, or Reformers, or whatever want people to vote our way, we need to give them ideas to vote for. We need to sell those ideas in the media and news outlets and by direct mail and advertising. We're doing almost none of that and what little we're doing is ineffective.

So who will step up? Who or what group will take the lead in creating the "reform Democrat" think tank that will show up on Capital Gang and Hardball and Meet the Press?

Or am I going to have to do it myself?

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The Vision Vacuum (none / 0)

You put your finger on a fundamental problem of the Democratic party Rich. The DLC has no vision for America and the Democratic party has no voice. Immediately following Howard Dean's selection as DNC Chair, Senators Reid and Pelosi made it very clear that Howard Dean would not speak for or represent the Democratic party on issues. Because the DLC has become the center of political power in the Democratic party, Dean pragmatically agreed. I made this comment in another diary yesterday:

The problem as I see it is that as an organization completely outside of the Democratic party structure, there is no way to remove them from power. The DLC should not have any power in the Democratic party. There is no similar structure in the Republican party.

An analogy would be if the Club for Growth exercised more power inside the Republcan party than the RNC did. The Club for Growth and the DLC both have independent financial bases. Their executive decision making processes and their decisions are both immune from reform. They both serve corporate masters. Neither group is concerned about the welfare of the party as a whole. Both groups have narrow interests and narrow agendas that cannot be influenced.

I also raised the question yesterday of where all the liberal, far left Democracts are hiding:

The so called centrist/moderate DLC types keep complaining about how far left the Democratic party is. They never state a specific issue that the party is too far "left" on.

There is no centrist vision. There is no centrist platform. There are no centrist issues. Centrisim is a myth the DLC uses to maintain control over the grassroots. They bring out the left wing boogeyman and scare moderates into thinking Michael Moore is threatening to take over the Democratic party unless we leave them in charge.

How many "liberal" Democratic Senators are there? This is my list of liberal Democratic Senators:

1.) Boxer

2.) Harkin

3.) Kennedy

4.) Feingold

Did I miss any? Where are all of these "liberal" Democrats that have the centrist/moderate voters petrified?

Is the Democratic party that far left on even gun control and abortion? Exactly what are the "far left" elements and issues of the Democratic party?

DFA is still in its infancy. To the best of my knowledge, each state has a loosely organized executive decision making body, with no real authority or voice. I don't think Howard Dean is failing to use the Gingrich model. The DLC has prohibited Dean from doing anything outside his job description as DNC Chair.

To be fair, Terry McAuliffe never had any real power or authority either. McAuliffe raised tons of money, implemented some organizational changes, and would occasionally go on a cable talking bonehead show.

Compare the power that Ken Mehlman has over party strategy and message, with Dean's limited job description as fund raiser and party organizer. I think it is very clear which model is more effective. I just don't think the DLC cares. They have the power and we will have to pry it from their cold dead hands.

by Gary Boatwright on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 09:56:35 AM EST

from a reform Democrat in PA- my 2 cents... (none / 0)

I'm involved in both local Dem politics and DFA. We have the local primary here in May and of course we have the 2006 Senate race. On the local Dem side, we have seen a change in demographics as "city" democrats are moving to the suburbs.Case in point, our incredible slate of Dem school board candidates is running unopposed.Unheard of 10 years ago.

On the DFA side we have a statewide gathering in 2 weeks of DFA chapters. It's our first and we have high hopes of becoming a force to be reckoned with here in Pa.

I'll post after the gathering.

by cybermome1207 on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 12:15:58 PM EST

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