Jim Hightower 2002 and 2000: A few caustic comments about the DLC.

[madfloridian]

A few totally irreverent and very applicable statements from Jim Hightower in 2002 in The Nation.

A Six-Pack Program for Democratic Recovery

He speaks of Bush and an ad that appeared on election day in the NYT for a waving flag brooch that cost $8,000.

SNIP..."It was the perfect pitch to rally the privileged to the polls for their President--a fellow who, after all, had provided a generous tax cut that makes trifles like this $8,000 brooch so easily affordable for those at the top. The ad said to me that the comfortable set was feeling its oats and would be turning out in droves to support their precious W. And why wouldn't they turn out? Their flag-bearer had been energetically crisscrossing the country, proudly holding the conservative banner aloft, promising to make that tax cut permanent, and saying in no uncertain terms: "I'm on your side, and I'll deliver for you."

But where was the flag of the once proud and mightily progressive Democratic Party? For most Americans, it was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the party of Daschle, McAuliffe, the DLC and their clique of overpaid and clueless consultants was campaigning on the slogan: "We-back-tax-cuts-for-the-rich-too-and-we-support-Bush's-Iraq-attack-and-his-Big-Honking-Homeland-Security-Act-though-
we're-not-quite-as-sure-about-it-all-as-the-Republicans-are." Some bumper sticker. It's hard to rally to a flag that's not waving."

Hightower: "CLUE: This year's lame campaign shows, yet again, that you can't beat Republicans with corporate money and political minimalism. The DLC game of positioning Democrats as the moderate wing of the GOP, hoping to siphon off a point or two of its 17 percent plurality, is a loser. Instead, here's a wacky idea: Let's go where the Democratic votes are--out among the 67 percent of folks who are not voting. That's 121 million people; if we add even 10 percent of them, we start winning."

And Jim from a comment in 2000:

Behind the DLC Takeover

"With the DLC in a position to influence the Democratic Party, Wall Street wins either way," says populist Jim Hightower, who has abandoned his lifelong loyalty to the Democratic Party this year in order to back Nader's candidacy. "If the Republicans win, the corporations have a party in power that will do their bidding. And if the Democrats win, Wall Street knows the DLC will keep them in line."

Jim Hightower with his white hat at Democracy Fest.

[Totally Committed]

1. I love Hightower! n/t

[Moochy]

2. When I think of Texans...

I like to think of Jim Hightower and his battle with Rove. Also the fine texans who post here at DU give me alot of hope! :)

It's good to know that honest people are fighting the good fight. Unlike the conneticut carpetbagger who is currently hiding out in Crawford. Keep up the good fight!! :toast:

(edited to remove stupidity!)

[OzarkDem]

3. Bingo!

Particularly this quote:

"If the Republicans win, the corporations have a party in power that will do their bidding. And if the Democrats win, Wall Street knows the DLC will keep them in line."

During the last two years, corporate America has become increasingly concerned about loss of power in the Dem party due to increasing financial support from grassroots, issue oriented Dems. I'm convinced they're trying to frighten Dem leaders into thinking corporate money is the only reliable source of support for them.

Any elected Dem who falls for that argument isn't in touch with his constituents.

[jobycom]

4. It should be noted that Hightower LOST using his formula, and PERRY's

political career was made, at the same time.

Hightower was a Texas Railroad commissioner running against the unknown Rick Perry. Hightower had the lead, the incumbency, the name recognition, and Perry had nothing. Hightower started campaigning AGAINST his own party, and Perry won, and you know the rest. Hightower was out of politics, and Perry was on the fast track to governor.

Believe me, the populists in Texas were not very happy with Jim HighonhisownEgo. He threw that election away.

And he backed Nader in 2000. America thanks you, Jim.

And Texas thanks you for Perry, who could have been easily defeated before he rose.

Listening to political advice from Hightower is like listening to business advice from George W Bush or listening to Paul Prudhomme for weight loss recipes.

[rainy]

5. I thought Rove's dirty tricks had all to do with Hightower's loss

[jobycom]

9. Yeah, some. Not all.

Rove played dirty against Hightower, accusing his office of corruption and running commercials claiming Hightower supported flag burning. The usual stuff in Texas.

But Hightower alienated a lot of moderate Dems by attacking the Dems as much as, sometimes more than, the Repubs. He campaigned against everybody, hoping his plain talk would win over Republicans and Dems alike, and only alienate the moderate, money people of both parties.

Didn't work. He angered the Dems as much as the Repubs. It was a close race, but considering his previous edge, it shouldn't have been close.

I didn't watch that campaign very closely, since I was fairly new to Texas at the time. All I remember was a guy who sounded like an extremist and a guy who sounded fairly moderate. The moderate, of course, was Perry. I voted for the extremist, but obviously, I was in the minority. But that's the way people perceived the race--in basic terms, not as specialists. Hightower's wonderful goals and ideology weren't what people noticed--there were other races going on, and the average person didn't have the time to become political specialists.

A few years after that I started meeting some big political names in Austin, and learned that Hightower was not well thought of. These were liberal Dems and populists, the type you'd expect to like Hightower. They all felt he had thrown the election away, and then, rather than run again, he had thrown his political career away and turned even more on the Democrats. It was no suprise when he went to Nader. And I'm not talking about Ben Barnes types, I'm talking about Ralph Yarborough types.

There are things I love about Hightower. His leftie fundamentalism when it come to running for office is not one of them. He's an example of how to throw away a campaign, not how to run one.

[madfloridian]

16. Here is what Rove did:

http://www.dystopical.com/W2/b.arovin.html

"In 1977, Rove went to Texas to work for George H. W. Bush's PAC. He later moved to Austin, where he became an almost legendary figure, transforming Texas from a majority Democratic to a majority Republican state in only ten years. When he arrived, only one Republican held an elected state office. When he left, Republicans held every one of the 29 statewide positions.

In 1990, Rove was credited with having engineered an ultimately ruinous whispering campaign against then Democratic Texas agriculture commissioner Jim Hightower. The charges concerned alleged corruption and kickbacks. In a related investigative hearing before the Texas Senate, Mr. Rove gave answers that were remarkably Clintonian, some surpassing even the former President's famous "what is is". Hightower was never charged with any crime.

In 1992 Rove was instrumental in providing the press with information to the effect that Democratic State Railroad Commissioner Lena Guerrero had lied about graduating from college. The information was, apparently correct, but of very old vintage. Nonetheless, Ms. Guerrero's promising political career came to an immediate halt.

The on-going bad blood existing between the current President Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain stems from McCain's belief that Rove engineered a disinformation campaign to convince press and public that McCain's Vietnamese war experiences and long-term POW confinement had rendered him mentally unstable. The belief in Rove's part in this is apparently shared by many if not all of the major contenders in the 2000 Republican Primary.

Mr. Rove is presently serving as chief advisor and mentor to the President."

And remember the whisper campaign about Ann Richards being a lesbian? Well, that was not true either. And now Hillary being a lesbian?

[jobycom]

22. Yes, that's some of what Rove did

But that's an article about Rove and what he did, not about the race in its entirety.

[madfloridian]

6. I think you know there was a lot more to his losing than being populist.

You know, like Ann Richards lost. That way.

A lot of people backed Nader in 2000. That does not make what the DLC has done in selling us out to corporations ok.

I think if you do some research, you will find Jim got screwed bigtime. Try Buzzflash, etc. I have seen a lot on it.

I do not believe you are blaming Jim Hightower for Perry. That is just unbelievable.

[jobycom]

12. Richards wasn't a populist

And that was a different campaign, in a different political era. Richards won the year Hightower lost. Texas was teetering then, with the state trying to decide which way it would go. In that year, W was seen as a Yankee, and Bush Daddy as a New Englander with a hotel room in Houston for a residence.

Four years later, Richards lost in a Texas that had already slid over the edge to conservatism.

As for Nader versus the DLC--the DLC campaigned against Bush, Nader for him. I trust the DLC not much, but I trust it more than Nader.

I've done research. I worked in politics shortly after Hightower's loss. There has been some revisionism since then, too, because Hightower is a huge presence in the liberal movement in Texas. He's funny, clever, and almost effective at times, so people don't want to think he lost on his own. It had to be dirty pool.

But he lost because he attacked his own party as much as the other, and he rolled over instead of running again. he was at the crux of the political shift, and his unwillingness to work with the Democrats cost us a popular figure, and helped the Repubs to paint us as extremists. He couldn't get everything he wanted, so he took his ball and went home.

He's a funny guy, very clever, perceptive, and has good politics. But if you really think one commercial about flag burning turned the whole state against him, you don't quite get Texas politics.

[madfloridian]

14. When our own party is screwing us over, we need to say so.

I don't live in TX, but I see what you are doing here. I posted what Jim said about the DLC, and it is true. I have more of it, too.

What you did was blame him for your getting Governor Goodhair. You went on the attack against Hightower because he was critical of the DLC tactics. I will continue to be critical of them now, since they are obviously once again setting the agenda for us to suit big business.

[jobycom]

18. Search the archives.

I've been critical of Hightower in the past, going on many years here, and as far as I know, this is the first time it's had anything to do with the DLC. I'm critical anytime someone's entire goal is to start a fight within the party, even if they claim they are really doing it for ideological reasons.

We have to destroy the party to save the party, eh? yeah, that works.

[bvar22]

23. Hightower consistently attacks Corporate Corruption and

Corporate influence in Government, so the DLC HATES him.

Do you find it odd that someone who attacks Jim Hightower for criticizing Democrats is HIMSELF attacking Democrats.

I TRUST someone who attacks corruption in the Democratic Party. I DON'T trust someone who attacks those who attack corruption in the Democratic Party.

[madfloridian]

25. Ok, I read that twice, and I most surely agree. Thumbs up.

:hi:

[rainy]

7. Article from common dreams says different:

Texas voters loved Hightower. They re-elected him in 1986, and he appeared to be headed for a bright political future. Until the Bush family intervened. When Hightower sought re-election in 1990, President George Bush was determined to destroy Hightower's political future -- as it posed a genuine threat to the advancement of his son, George W.

The Bush camp used federal agencies to launch a dirty tricks campaign against the ag commissioner, and they dispatched their chief mudslinger, Karl Rove, to coordinate the ''Get Hightower'' initiative.

In his rip-roaring new book, ''If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote, They Would Have Given Us Candidates'' (HarperCollins), Hightower recounts, ''Running for re-election as state ag commish in 1990, a last-minute negative ad smeared me ... and hurt me. It came from my GOP challenger, whose campaign was being coordinated by Karl Rove, a fellow who now is consultant-in-chief on the George W. Bush presidential bandwagon. The ad showed a flag burner torching Old Glory and tossing it on the ground to burn. The camera panned in on the flag, them, arising out of the flames came my picture, along with the somber voice of a narrator declaring that Jim Hightower supports flag burners. I did not, but the impact on voters, though, was visceral and damaging -- 'My God,' I could hear the viewers muttering to themselves, 'I kind of liked ol' Hightower, but I had no idea he was a flag burner.' ''

On Election Day, Hightower was narrowly defeated.
link:
www.commondreams.org/views/050400-104.htm

[jobycom]

10. Yeah. I read it.

It's not the full picture.

[madfloridian]

11. The same kind of tactics they use today nationwide...they still work.

Attack and smear.

[jobycom]

21. Age old political tactic

The Bushes are worse at it than others. Not just Rove. They've been running filthy campaigns since the 60s, at least.

[wyldwolf]

30. well, of course Hightower isn't going to say...

...he lost for any other reason.

[Elidor]

13. Railroad commisioner?

You really don't know what you're talking about, do you?

[jobycom]

15. Sorry, meant Ag.

[madfloridian]

17. And why did you blame Hightower for your getting Perry?

I am waiting on that answer, please.

[jobycom]

20. Done explained it

Read the previous posts.

[madfloridian]

24. No, I get your drift. Take the heat off the DLC by blaming Hightower.

And blame Hightower for Perry for good measure.

I presented statements made a good man. You attacked that man.

[wyldwolf]

31. well, he did run for railroad commisioner once

[wyldwolf]

29. I agree there, and what's more...

But where was the flag of the once proud and mightily progressive Democratic Party? For most Americans, it was nowhere to be seen.

Why? Did the evil DLC hide you in a Big-Honking-fringe-lefty closet?

This year's lame campaign shows, yet again, that you can't beat Republicans with corporate money and political minimalism.

As opposed to Hightower's "stellar" (ahem!) winning formula?

[flpoljunkie]

8. Karl Rove used Hightower's "wacky idea" to win in '04--whip up your base!

Instead, here's a wacky idea: Let's go where the Democratic votes are--out among the 67 percent of folks who are not voting. That's 121 million people; if we add even 10 percent of them, we start winning."

[SeanQuinn]

19. Jim hit it on the money, nt.

[dsc]

26. I love Hightower, I really do

but he must get his numbers more in line with reality. Turnout was low in 2004 but it wasn't 33% (it was around 50%, slightly lower but not much). To go around talking about 67% of people not voting is just plain foolish.

He may well be right on the broader point, though he may not, I honestly have seen little evidence that non voters would be more likely to vote Democratic as a block.

[mod mom]

27. Jim Hightower was my guest speaker at a True Majority fundraiser I held

last summer. I even got to host a dinner afterward. What a down to earth interesting guy. My dream ticket is :

JOHN CONYERS + JIM HIGHTOWER
COMMONSENSE AND STRAIGHT SHOOTING '08!

[bvar22]

28. I would sooooo love to vote for that ticket!!!!

*

[madfloridian]

32. Attack the guy who called it like it was. Thieves in High Places.

Let's have a little of Thieves in High Places.

http://www.sentienttimes.com/03/oct_nov_03/print_thieves.html

"Our democracy is being dismantled right in front of our eyes not by crazed foreign terrorists, but by our own ruling elites. This is a crucial moment when America desperately needs you and me to stand as full citizens, asserting the bold and proud radicalism of America’s democratic ideals."

"The group now controlling the party apparatus calls itself the Democratic Leadership Council. It’s corporate-funded, has a Republican-lite agenda, and practices political minimalism. Forget the party’s base, is the DLC’s message—instead appeal to a narrow strata of conservative-tilting Soccer Moms and Office Park Dads. The strategy is to appear not to be scruffy, working-family Democrats, but to dress up as the moderate wing of the Republican party, hoping to siphon away two or three points from the GOP’s 17 percent plurality. It’s a loser, as was forcefully demonstrated in the ‘02 elections, but it’s also a cowardly strategy that’s unworthy of a party that has been known in the past as The People’s Party.

"Nothing’s more fun than winning, and winning in politics requires getting more people (not more money) than the other side gets. To get people, there has to be a long-term strategy of listening to them, appealing to them, enlisting them, and trusting them. As the fighting populist Fred Harris puts it: “You can’t have a mass movement without the masses.”

[JetCityLiberal]

33. I love Jim Hightower

thanks for this info madfloridian.

I agree that 'forget the party's base' is what the DLC is all about anymore. Ruling elites...seen enough of those to last a lifetime.

Not surprised at some of the attacks. Same old, same old.

You are aces madfloridian. This is great reading and great information.

Hightower is right on.

Thanks for all you do on these forums.