Democratic Leadership Council will fold

[NJMaverick]

Who will be the professional left's next boogie man?

Quote:The Democratic Leadership Council, the iconic centrist organization of the Clinton years, is out of money and could close its doors as soon as next week, a person familiar with the plans said Monday.

The DLC, a network of Democratic elected officials and policy intellectuals had long been fading from its mid-'90s political relevance, tarred by the left as a symbol of "triangulation" at a moment when there's little appetite for intra-party warfare on the center-right. The group tried -- but has failed -- to remake itself in the summer of 2009, when its founder, Al From, stepped down as president. Its new leader, former Clinton aide Bruce Reed, sought to remake the group as a think tank, and the DLC split from its associated think tank, the Progressive Policy Institute.

But Reed left the DLC last year himself to serve as Vice President Joe Biden's chief of staff, leaving Ed Gresser, a trade expert, to lead the group in the interim. Since then the board "hasn't been able to find someone who wanted to come on in a permanent capacity," a person familiar with the group's woes said, with the central problem the difficulty of raising money for a Democratic group that isn't seen as an ally of the White House.

Gresser declined to comment on the DLC's future, and referred a call to From, who didn't immediately respond to a message left with an assistant.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0...fold.html#

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

Oh, they've already shifted the finger-pointing to No Labels.

The DLC helped make AmericCorps, charter schools, and community policing a reality. Now the Pro Left will think it has the field all to itself. No room for new ideas or innovation, just sticking to the tired talking points spit out by Kos or Hamsher or Moore or whichever egomaniac has the upper hand on a given day.

[sandnsea]

This is good. The DLC was too far right and didn't really represent too many Democrats anyway. They need to get small business and unions together to fight the influence of Wall Street and big corporations.

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

(02-07-2011 04:39 PM)sandnsea Wrote:  This is good. The DLC was too far right and didn't really represent too many Democrats anyway. They need to get small business and unions together to fight the influence of Wall Street and big corporations.

Sorry, Sandy, but you're off-base here.

This is a myth. The notion of the DLC as a right-wing entity was spawned by Howard Dean's supporters when Al From dared to speak ill of Dean in the 2004 cycle.

The truth of the matter is that the DLC had a good relationship with several labor organizations, particularly the Firefighters and the Sheet Metal Workers.

The DLC produced an array of smart, practical, and quite progressive policy proposals on issues such as education reform, national service (they basically invented AmeriCorps), tax policy, and budget reform. The group was a refreshing counterbalance to the screechy, brain-dead bloviating of interest group acolytes who put litmus tests ahead of the greater good.

The DLC was promoting Barack Obama as a future star long before any of us. They were singing his praises as far back as 2002. At DLC conferences, I met a good chunk of the Obama/Biden cabinet and senior staff: Clinton, Napolitano, Vilsack, Duncan, and others all were active participants in the DLC during our years in the GWB wilderness.

Now, there's no one to present an alternative to the braying of the litmus test lunatics on FDL and DU. We are a lesser party for that.

[Hekate]

I also wonder who the next boogie man will be.

I'm a bit sorry that while the RW and the Far-RW seem to have no difficulty founding, funding, and maintaining think tanks, and getting their think tanks' speakers and writers into the MSM, that the Left in all its chaotic glory seems to not be able to do likewise.

Other than that, adios DLC and thanks for the effort.

[Willinois]

(02-07-2011 04:28 PM)NJMaverick Wrote:  Who will be the professional left's next boogie man?

Chad.

[There Is No Spoon]

Yawn.

[Ikonoklast]

We need to re-form the political alliance of the left without letting the big corporate players be the only voices heard.

Money talks in a loud voice.

[Cha]

Wow! Those who used those three letters D-L-C for whatever whine they had about President Obama will have to find some other scary initials to spam.

[There Is No Spoon]

Thing is, we've been pointing out that the DLC has been dead for years, but that didn't stop the drooling dimwits on the Professional Left sites from drooling over themselves about how Obama et al were "DLCers."

Yeah you fucking piece of shit cretins on sites like Huffpo, DKoss, DU etc. know who you are. Now what stupid name are you fucking ingrates going to call people you disagree with?

[jaxx]

The DLC had better morph into something similar very soon because the professional left will be frothing at the mouth over getting rid of it. The far left is equivalent to the far right when it comes to crazy demands. Like them or not, the DLC was sane. And they spoke for the average liberal and brought good people to represent us.

The far left doesn't speak for me. Who will?