Sen. Carper to be named vice chairman of DLC

[cyberpj]

By JENNIFER BROOKS / News Journal Washington Bureau
07/15/2005

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Tom Carper has been tapped for a top post in the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

He will be named vice chairman at the DLC's annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, later this month. The post could boost the national profile of Delaware's junior senator and give him a seat at the table as Democratic leaders work to draft a national strategy and message for the 2006 and 2008 elections.

"Democrats need to define ourselves by what we're for, not what we're against," Carper said Thursday. "We need to focus on what works to make us more secure as a nation, what works for job creation, what works to preserve and protect our environment."

Carper will introduce a few of his own ideas for the party when he addresses the DLC National Conversation on July 25.

The Democratic Leadership Council was founded in 1985 by Al From, an activist concerned that his party was losing touch with the mainstream.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050715/NEWS01/507150331/1006/NEWS

Unfortunately this is his PatrickHenry score:

Carper (D-DE)
-120 STRIKE H RUN STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE -170
http://patrickhenrythinktank.org/sen-scores.html

Wish I could be glad - but we need PROGRESSIVES not Moderates.

[God Almighty]

1. No surprise there.

[LynneSin]

2. This should bug me but it doesn't

Carper isn't a Lieberman or NE-Nelson who is constantly bucking the party on key issues. He's a safe win in our state and it should allow for some of us to help out in MD, NJ and PA where we have races that could make a difference