« Answer the man! | Main | OH-2: GOP candidate/blogger lying about association? »

July 28, 2005

DLC hurts Democrats

I'm a liberal. As such I have a very specific set of values and morals that I consider to be part of my political fiber. I vote for candidates and issues that reflect these values.

I'm often castigated and debased by conservatives for being a liberal. I've often wondered if those who debase my liberalism have ever bothered to look past the steaming pile of festering conservative punditry to get to the truth of what it means to be a liberal.

Unfortunately it's evident that there's a fetid, putrid heap to wade through on the Democratic side as well. It's known as the DLC.

Sirota takes note of the stench eminating from the wholly owned subsidiary that is the DLC:

Let's just look at the cold, hard facts about the DLC and its record. The DLC has pushed, among other things, the war in Iraq and "free" trade policies, using bags of corporate money to buy enough Democratic votes to help Republicans make those policies a reality. They have chastised anyone who has opposed those policies as either unpatriotic or anti-business—even as a majority of Americans now , oppose the DLC's business-written trade deals, and are sick of watching America's economy sold out to the highest corporate bidder. Additionally, in Orwellian fashion, the DLC has also called its extremist agenda "centrist," even though polls show the American public opposes most of their agenda, and supports much of the progressive agenda.

The DLC isn't an organization that represents anything but GOP-lite. It's an organization that takes in cash and sells out to whoever will give them the most. If that was my set of values I'd vote Republican.

The big DLC claim to fame is the presidency of Bill Clinton. Except that Clinton didn't run as a soft Republican. He won on a populist message that was founded on the progressive values of fundamental fairness and equal opportunity for all citizens. Those values have nothing to do with the DLC.

One of the main raps against the Democrats is the idea that they don't articulate what they stand for. The responsibility for this rap lays, in my opinion, squarely at the feet of the DLC. They muddy the waters with their mushy conservative rhetoric in an effort to pander for votes.

The Republican Party has moved hard to the right in the last decade. This has pushed the "center" far to the right as well. The DLC claims to aim for the center..but no such thing exists. It's an offering to the public of "we don't suck quite as bad as the real Republicans do".

Americans want a viable alternative to corporate shills, Wall Street hackery, big oil corruption and the Christian conservative mockery of civil rights. They want an alternative to the Iraq War, undermining labor and workers, anti-choice screeds and politicians who've sold out to the highest bidder.

They want advocates for the enviornment. They want regulation of corporations and people willing to stand up for workers. Americans want to vote for candidates willing to be honest brokers of peace and liberty. Voters need to see that liberals will stand up for the progressive values of choice, locally controlled education and justice for all.

Hillary Clinton says that there ought to be a "ceasefire" between factions of the Democratic Party. I say to Hillary...get stuffed, woman. Until you're ready to stop pandering to those who pretend they represent the rightwing disguised as "moderate/centrists" you can forget about winning anything.

Especially my support.

Posted by Carla at July 28, 2005 11:34 AM