[…] Glen Dean has a question for all you moonbat lefties out there regarding the Democratic Leadership Council’s “National Conversation” coming to Nashville: So what do all of you extremist liberals, what I call “Democrats Who Enjoy Losing”, think of the DLC? Does the organization make you want to puke? Are they just too far right for you? Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]

Actually, “democrats Who Want To Win” are the ones that took the Hill back last year. Clinton won in 1992 simply because he was a force to be reckoned with, and the DLC fell all over themselves to take credit. They led us from 1994-2004 when we lost everything but the 1996 presidency (Again, that force to be reckoned with).

Last year, we marginalized the DLC, and we took the Hill. We’re in prime position to pick up a minimum of five Senate seats next year, and I haven’t even tallied up what we’ll pick up in the House.

Think about it— The Chairman of the DLC is Harold Ford Jr. How did it turn out for him when he ran as Republican Lite last year?

These guys should be handing out electoral advice about like Rudy Giuliani should be a marriage counselor.

I don’t necessarily have a problem with the DLC. I agree with them on some issues, and disagree with them on others; just like just about every other Democratic special interest group out there.

Where I disagree with the DLC, or at least some of the DLC members, is when they advocate pandering to the right on social issues (God, gays, etc). At some point, there is an issue about whether or not a victory is worth it if you lose yourself in the process of the contest.

But I generally don’t have a problem with some of their more free-trade oriented policies, as I sometimes prefer it to some of the Left’s protectionism.

“at some point, there is an issue about whether or not a victory is worth it if you lose yourself in the process of the contest.”
-
Thats true.
-
Rick, I don’t know. A lot of those guys who won in 2006, won in conservative districts. They weren’t exactly the moveon.org crowd.

Glen,

Actually, they were somewhat from the Moveon.org crowd, in the sense that they were anti-war. They just may have been more socially or fiscally Conservative than the classic “liberal” Democrat.

If those guys were dancing to the tune that the DLC calls, they would have taken on a more nuanced, triangulated view of the war a la Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, et al. The DLC is about never taking a strong position on anything. Some of those guys had views I disagreed with. But 1) They weren’t Harold Ford Jr running around bashing Democrats on Fox News and 2) They were bold enough to state those positions, which is very un-DLC.

Yeah, I’ll give you that, but like you said, they were pretty conservative socially and fiscally. At least they ran that way.

Sean,

It’s not so much that they were not traditional Democrats. We’ve always been a big tent, a bigger one than I like at times, truth be told.
What they were not is the traditional caricature of Democrats that conservatives have mythologized.

Some of them were, Glen. There’s no doubt about that.

Take my own congresman. I’m very proud of Steve Cohen. He’s a terrific congressman and, for the first time in a long time, we actually have a Democrat who votes with Democrats. Ten years of Harold Ford (Particularly the last 4) got us to the point where we saw that as a novelty.
We don’t walk in lockstep. I favor gun control. He does not. I oppose the death penalty. He does not.
All you’ve got to do to make most us happy is vote the way we want most of the time and not undermine the party every chance you get. The DLC leaves us out in the cold well over half the time. The rhetoric never matches the vote. And it’s always some overtriangulated position where they try so hard to be everything to everyone that they end up being nothing to anyone.
THAT is what we were trying so hard to be ridof. The Democratic Part of 2002 and 2004 in particular were just Republicans with longer catchphrases. We now have a party willing to stand up for what it believes, whatever it may be. And that’s a massive improvement.
Where I’m concerned, we cannot get the DLC far enough from the center of power for my taste. Exile them to Siberia, and I’m happy.

Thanks for the link, Glen. I just saw that.

what I call “Democrats Who Enjoy Losing”

This is the idea I wish to see perpetuated throughout the GOP faithful, really. It’ll maybe take a few election cycles before they realize that it’s a whole new ballgame.
.

Ssssssh! Don’t tell them!

Ssssssh! Don’t tell them!

Why not? They’re convinced how wrong we are, it can’t hurt a thang.
.

Heh. If you are right and the majority of the country is farther to the left than I perceive, then time will prove it, just like JP said.

I guess we’ll see. Btw, this discussion has been pretty interesting. I actually respect you fringe wacko types (no disrespect) more than I do the DLC. At least you all have principles. The “triangulators” may have some core beliefs, but they seem to be more into poll watching. I think Hillary would sell out her own mother to get elected. You would never hear anybody say something like that about Kucinich.

The “triangulators” may have some core beliefs, but they seem to be more into poll watching.

What do the polls tell you on July 26. 2007, Glen? Is the DLC looking at them, do you think? Or are they looking at polls from 1994?
.

I think if any of us are experts on polls and which way the wind is blowing, it would be somebody with the last name of Clinton.

This is a really good discussion!

I can’t add much to it, except to say the DLC tends to be too conservative for me, but for once, but looking at who is attending, I’d say Democrats are pretty much joining together to win.

Maybe we [Dems] finally learned how to do that from the Republicans, who manage to come together at election time.

I think all Dems, from the most conservative to the most liberal, are ready to unite to see a Dem elected in 08.

Show me a DLC’er who thinks they know how to win elections and I’ll show you a former member of the Clinton administration.

The DLC only know how to do one thing: triangulation. Their brand of centrism depends on beating the crap out of the people who vote for them. Well, if you soil your own nest for a long enough time, something will eventually jump up and bite you.

Not only that, but these are the same people who brought us NAFTA, CAFTA, and a host of other “free trade” deals that have gutted what was left of our manufacturing sector. We have the largest consumer economy in the world, and these people want to trade our bargaining power for a bag of magic beans.