What's the best, most effective way of drop-kicking the DLC from this universe?

[brentspeak]

Suggest ways to strangle the DLC's influence and power within and over the Democratic Party. The same suggestions might also work in fighting the GOP (the DLC's significant other).

[ulysses]

1. organize the left across issue boundaries.

[leftstreet]

6. There ya go

:thumbsup:

[ulysses]

12. we need an ecumenical left.

Labor for gays and vice versa...enviros for the poor and vice versa...easier to say than to do of course, but still.

[NOW tense]

19. That is a great idea.

People need to stand together and start getting things done. All we as Democratic voters have done so far is that we voted in a sympathetic ear. It is up to the people to start standing up and participating in our country. I agree with the the post further down too. We organize and we find out who sucks and they get the boot at mid-terms (D) or (R).

[dpbrown]

33. You've got to organize the left...

... and you've got to make the policies of the left an essential component of a coalition government.

Right now the effective coalition in Washington is between the hard right and the DLC. Nothing good will happen until that coalition is broken up.

[Sebastian Doyle]

2. Vote 'em the fuck out in the Primaries

The media is also an obvious problem. They protect their own interests by pretending the DLC are actually "Democrats". I'm still trying to figure out how Dennis got on Tweety's show today.

[leftchick]

27. it will never happen

they control the campaign money and siphon it to their RW chosen candidates. We need a fresh start.

[bigwillq]

3. Don't vote for them.

[Individualist]

15. Ditto!

DLC's power is the result of voting for the "lesser of two evils". Vote progressive!

[blm]

4. Demand the BCCI books get opened - that should shame 2/3 of DC's worst into hiding.

.

[Dragonfli]

8. Good thought ! NT

[Dragonfli]

5. Excellent Question! Difficult answer....

The two suggestions previous to this post are to be followed enthusiastically, unfortunately, I believe their true power lies in the flow of money from corporate interests and lobbyists.

We need to combat the money influence as well, I had thought we did that with Obama, (all those small donations) and yet the DLC still gained power in the Cabinet as if all the money came in via their sponsors rather than what I thought to be less than half.

So how do we combat the money if our money is taken for granted while theirs is not?

[leftstreet]

11. Thanks for bringing that up

We need to combat the money influence as well, I had thought we did that with Obama, (all those small donations) and yet the DLC still gained power in the Cabinet as if all the money came in via their sponsors rather than what I thought to be less than half.

We were told repeatedly on the innerTubes and by the M$M that this was small donor money - the "people" have spoken money.

Yet...

:shrug:

[Dragonfli]

21. .

:shrug:


Sigh... When it comes to buying influence, only OUR money is no good.

It does appear that we will need to find a central organizing progressive voice that speaks to all of our liberal special interests in a large coalition with a voice that can purchase influence on our behalf.

A combo of all that is being discussed in this thread.

Maybe Dean can head it, it appears only we want and/or appreciate him anyway.

[anonymous171]

22. End corporate personhood?

Or at least strip corporations of 1st Amendment rights.

[Dragonfli]

23. Certainly, Corporations are not people and unless we can place one

in prison for a crime (awful big jail cell), it deserves no rights that can not be had by any other inanimate object.

[cascadiance]

28. Really demand questions be asked of future SCOTUS candidates on this!

I was hoping that the Democrats had cahones to ask them of Roberts and Alito. We also need to ask them of any that will be replacing those that will likely retire shortly after Obama takes office. This question needs to get as high visibility as their position on womens' rights to choose, etc. too.

In fact, it might help us get more votes to pass someone that will protect a woman's right to choose, as it will destroy and points the Rethugs have in trying to shoot them down as being not "following the constitution" and judical activists, when it can be pointed out that many Republicans have been even more "judicial activists" on this issue, and basically put them in a corner as just being "partisan" on which "judical activist" issues they choose to look at.

[Peace Patriot]

7. Throw Diebold, ES&S and all "trade secret" voting machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW! nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

16. Not a very eco friendly solution.

Put em all in a certain soon to be vacant house in Crawford Texas and park a Tim McVeigh equipped Ryder Truck in the living room. :nuke:

[Skidmore]

9. Quit jumping to validate the

Clintons when they demand recognition. The DLC is largely made up of people brought along by Bill's "Third Way" approach. Clinton = DLC

[ColbertWatcher]

10. DLC=GOP. n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Quit pretending that appealing DLC'ers are really progressives. n/t

[anonymous171]

14. Organize organize organize

[lurky]

17. Create an anti-DLC?

It could recruit progressive candidates, strategize on a national level, raise money from the netroots, etc. What we have learned from the Obama and Dean candidacies is that the left is an incredibly energetic force in which scattered individuals can outspend and out-organize the entrenched corporate interests. The problem is that we are being treated as just another cash cow to be exploited and thrown away. I think it's time to take the lead.

[ZombieHorde]

18. Zombie plague.

[OHdem10]

20. Every election, it is the same question.

It appears nothing will change until Liberals develop their own grassroots
amassing enough followers to pull out of the party.

It has become expected that the Liberals will acquiesce.

Otherwise, accept DLC is here to stay and work issue by issue, Iquess.

[burythehatchet]

24. easy, fix what they broke, labor. Organize coalitions of labor and we can regain power

get rid of right to work laws and you will see a shift in power.

[cascadiance]

25. Perhaps championing local instant runoff voting...

And that way, it will be harder for corporate America to "game" the system by buying off all running, if we can give third parties more of a chance against the two majors. Those that would be most likely to be thrown out would be those corporate sycophants of the GOP or the DLC...

Perhaps if we can get it passed at a state level through a proposition (if we start organizing such an effort right now for 2010), we can purge the state at least of the DLC folks and serve as a starting point of hopefully showing some success of more people serving pols getting elected.

Kinda like Arizona and some other states have public campaign financing in as well, which we should also push too.

[leftchick]

26. quit voting for them

Although in most cases that would exclude 90% or so of democrats.

[lib2DaBone]

30. Really.. I DID NOT VOTE FOR REPUBLICAN LITE...

[MannyGoldstein]

29. Education Of The Middle Class

Like Republicans, the DLC can only exist because of people's ignorance. If we can somehow educate We The People, the DLC will be voted off the island.

[bvar22]

31. Publicly Financed Elections and IRV.

AND, making it illegal for the DCCC and the DSCC to meddle in local Democratic Primaries.
If you don't know about the Dark Side of these corrupt organizations, STUDY UP.
If you Work for a Living do NOT EVER contribute to the DCCC or the DSCC.
They will use your money against you.


Organization and Education.


Unseating Lieberman was a nationally organized effort.
Despite the fact that Lieberman was able to end run with the help of his incumbent, establishment friends, his unseating was a show of power from The Left.

If The Left could target just TWO of the most blatant violators every two years, we could be effective at winning those seats for REAL Democrats, AND throw enough of a scare into those remaining that they would be forced to begin listening to us.

[1776Forever]

32. I am just learning about the DLC - Al From article follows - Who is Al From? He founded the DLC.

DLC | Bio | June 13, 2008
Al From - Founder & CEO, Democratic Leadership Council

http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=191&contentid=1131

Al From is founder and chief executive officer of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a dynamic idea action center of the "Third Way" governing philosophy that is reshaping progressive politics in the United States and around the globe. He is also chairman of the Third Way Foundation.

As a founder of the DLC -- birthplace of the New Democrat movement and the Third Way in America -- and its companion think tank, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), From leads a national movement that since the mid-1980s has provided both the action agenda and the ideas for New Democrats to successfully challenge the conventional political wisdom in America and, in the process, redefine the center of the Democratic Party.

President Bill Clinton, in his speech to the 1998 DLC Annual Conference, said, " are reviving center-left political parties throughout the industrialized world as people everywhere struggle to put a human face on the global economy. Today, less than 15 years after we started, the ideas pushed by the DLC are literally sweeping the world."

In April 1999, From hosted and moderated an historic conference, "The Third Way: Progressive Governance for the 21st Century," which brought together five of the world's most prominent leaders of Third Way governments -- including U.S. President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, and Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema -- and highlighted the new power and common values of center-left reform movements on both sides of the Atlantic.

A veteran Capitol Hill and White House aide, From helped form the DLC in 1985. Under his leadership, the organization has become the leading source of policy innovation within the Democratic Party. From played a prominent role in the 1992 election of President Bill Clinton, who campaigned as a New Democrat, prompting USA Today to write, "The ideas at the crux of the Clinton candidacy were largely drafted by the DLC." From was also Clinton's domestic policy advisor during the 1992 presidential transition.

.....

And this article written by From that makes little or no sense except to move to the middle:

After Election Day, Barack Obama and the Democrats Will Have to Reach Out to Wal-Mart Voters in the Forgotten Middle Class

Wal-Mart voters tend to swing more than any other group

By Al From
Posted November 3, 2008

http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/11/03/after-election-day-barack-obama-and-the-democrats-will-have-to-reach-out-to-wal-mart-voters-in-the-forgotten-middle-class.html

On Election Day, President Bush may pull off something progressives have been working to achieve for decades: usher in a sizable Democratic governing majority.

(snip)


But not every year will be like 2008. And not every Republican will be as inept as George W. Bush. As the 1950s advertising executives in Mad Men sometimes remind one another, "The day you sign a client is the day you start losing them."

So even if Bush's abysmal record in office makes this election an anomaly, subsequent elections will not be. And as we think about how to govern, we should remain focused on those who are most likely to shape elections to come.

Recently, the Democratic Leadership Council released a study identifying the core of voters who determine close elections. We found that white voters with a high school education—but no college degree—swung "an astonishing average of 6.7 percentage points between the elections that Democrats win and lose, respectively." In the midst of the economic crisis, they are likely to vote for Obama this year. But will they in years to come?

It all depends on how Obama governs. Tackling the big issues will require that he reach out beyond the Democratic base—as he has promised to do.

(snip)

The good news is the forgotten middle class—the swing voters who decide elections—aren't hard to find. This year, they're likely to break in surprising numbers for Obama.

Consider Obama's surprising success in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Virginia. If the latest polls in those states are right, Obama is making great strides in the epicenter of the forgotten middle class: Wal-Mart country.

According to an analysis of two recent elections, the list of counties in battleground states where voters are most likely to switch into the Democratic column tracks the list of counties where Wal-Mart is most saturated. Roughly half of the 468 counties that make up Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Virginia house at least one Wal-Mart. Those with the greatest saturation (the 120 counties with fewer than 20,000 residents per store) swung by an average of nearly 20 points from Clinton in 1996 to Bush in 2004. But the remainder—those counties where the ratio of Wal-Marts to residents is lower—swung by little more than half as much.

(snip)

The best time to go after swing voters is when they're up for grabs. So spending the next four years building a coalition that reaches into the heart of Wal-Mart country will serve as the foundation for election victories to come.

.........

What I got from this information and rhetoric was that Al From is telling PE Obama that he shouldn't stick to his "base" but move from the "base" to include more people who are considered by this Al From article as white non-college degreed people. This really sounds very much like what is happening. With Gov. Kaine in at the DNC and others like Rick Warren who would appeal to these white non-degreed people it looks like the base that got PE Obama in the White House is going to come begging in the future. How do we get the DLC out of the DNC? You must be kidding - Looks like the "Third Way" will have to have a "Fourth" Political Party in the future in order for the "base" to get what they thought they were voting for this time around. The future will tell if this is true or not. I will give PE Obama all my support until that time comes when Al From and the DLC is shown to be pulling the strings. Then.......

[deminks]

35. More Al From for your files

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64725-2005Feb4?language=printer

(snip)

The chamber has hired the Swiss Guard of paid consultants from both political parties. Several showed up at a recent dinner hosted by Donohue at the chamber,including Al From, chief executive of the Democratic Leadership Council; Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty, who was White House chief of staff in the Clinton administration; and Scott W. Reed, who was Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign manager.

Donohue is careful to say, "We're not an arm of the Republican Party. We need to engage the moderate Democrats." He also doesn't conceal his displeasure that Bush might want to overhaul the federal income tax. With the effective corporate tax rate so low, reshuffling the code could produce "a brawl" among his members, he reasoned, and increase levies on some of them.

(end snip)

That would be Tom Donohue the CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, that used to be a trade organization, now this (from same article):

The chamber also contributed more than $4 million to the November Fund, a group that attacked Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry for choosing a former trial lawyer, John Edwards, as his running mate. Today, the chamber is solidly in the black, its $150 million annual budget triple what it was when Donohue took over. It also is staunchly Republican in most of its legislative positions and played a pivotal role in cutting the tax on dividends and approving free-trade pacts, among many other Bush priorities. Whenever the president or his people called, the chamber assembled coalitions of like-minded groups and contacted its 3 million member firms to step up political pressure and donate lobbying-related funds.

More on Donohue here:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/12/13/14220/862

Thomas Donahue plays extreme hardball; he has called investigations by New York state Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer "the most egregious and unacceptable form of intimidation that we have seen in this country in modern time." He creates a climate of fear and intimidation in DC, and along with the 'Gang of Six' trade associations - the "Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Restaurant Association, NFIB and NAW" - pushes for extreme right-wing policies that don't make any sense unless you look through the lens of a greedy and unaccountable management class.

(snip)

Remember his threat against Edwards and anyone who smacked of populism:

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-chamber8jan08,0,4301350.story?coll=la-politics-campaign

WASHINGTON -- Alarmed at the increasingly populist tone of the 2008 political campaign, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is set to issue a fiery promise to spend millions of dollars to defeat candidates deemed to be anti-business.

"We plan to build a grass-roots business organization so strong that when it bites you in the butt, you bleed," chamber President Tom Donohue said.

[1776Forever]

36. Thank you - Needs watching.

It does take some of the "fun" out of it doesn't it.

[leftofthedial]

34. we have to stage an internal coup like the neocons did against nixon...

dedicate a couple of decades to the stealth infiltration of the DLC by actual Democrats and liberals who are just pretending to be corporate repuke-lites, then trap one or a few of the DLC leaders into crimes, provide a "deep throat" or two and make the case so cut and dried that even the idiots in Congress or crooked prosecutors like Fitzgerald can't blow it.

Unlike the neocons, though, we won't have the "national security" apparatus at our disposal to turn the national media into a disinformation system under our control, so we might not "win" an election and seize national power pretty much right away a la raygun. That's okay though, because we rarely "win" elections anyway.

[populistdriven]

37. This is a Down Economy - Attack their Donors. The Corporations will Yield to Boycotts. nt