Some of the invective hurled at Mr. Ford was embarrassing. I hope the haters take his latest message to heart. The Democratic Party is a big tent. We need to get past labeling others according to a narrow ideological interpretation. Mr. Ford has been a strong and articulate advocate for his beliefs, and he is very impressive in person. The party could use a lot more inciteful leaders like him.

"But we should all remember that the DLC played an instrumental role in giving Bill Clinton - then an Arkansas governor - a policy platform to campaign on and from in 1991."

I wouldn't brag too much about that one if I were you. Not everyone is impressed with our former Republicratic president's triangular policies.

But we should all remember that the DLC played an instrumental role in giving Bill Clinton ...

Yes. Let's also remember that today's Republican party gave us Abraham Lincoln. Hence, we should forgive and forget all its current transgressions. You are making a fool of yourself!

Sure. But many are. Clinton took a party that had lost focus and forced it rightward. Many on the left hated him for that (and still do), but the effect was making the party relevant.

It would help me if I understood the general meaning of "progressive", which I perceive as different from both "liberal" and "centrist".

--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" [George Santayana]

He didn't say military fight. Maybe the reason you are having such trouble here is that you insist up taking his words the wrong way.

We have an ideological fight for sure.

Where does the DLC stand on Senator Chris Dodd's Restore the Constitution Act of 2007?

The other key point being that Bill Clinton ran for President fifteen years ago. The electorate has changed, the issues have changed, perceptions of right, left and center have changed. And the Republican party has gone right off the rails.

The effect was to make the party irrelevant for its core. The effect was to kill the very thing the party stands for. The effect was to affirm the conservative notion that liberalism is a dirty word. And, as we've seen in recent days, as the party pushes back to the left, the party regains its power. We already have Republicans. We need less of them--not more with a different name.

Nice that you now oppose the escalation. After the Republicans got their asses handed to them in the election it suddenly got a lot easier to support Democratic policy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you're on the right side of this issue. It would be more believable if you acknowledged your previous mistakes, and gave us some reason to believe that you've actually learned something. As it is, it looks like you're simply trying to switch to the winning team.

And speaking of switching teams, DLC poster boy Holy Joe doesn't really help your credibility.

i 2nd hc's post -- if we get into these hair-splitting arguments over what a "true progressive" is, it helps no one.

I'm sure you realize sp, that if you were to boot all the "non-progressive Democrats" out of Congress, you would have a tiny minority party that represents about 1/4 of the country. How much of your policy agenda would you get passed with that?

The party could use a lot more inciteful leaders like him.

Your typo is a lot more insightful than it was meant to be, I think.

The real issue here is the disdain with which much of the netroots feels it's being treated, as if we're the rich, crazy relatives the DLC has to visit every once in a while to hit up for money. They nod, smile, and stick that hand out for the check. As other commenters have noted, this recent engagment comes on the heels of Obama's fund-raising numbers; 100,000 donors, most of whom donated in small amounts and consequently will be able to donate again and again instead of hitting the cap on the first donation. This is, potentially, a source of political funds that dwarfs anything that's ever come before.

The fundamental question here is one of good or bad faith and I've seen little in Ed Kilgore's or Harold Ford's posts to indicate the approach is in good faith, given the back-handed comments that inevitably creep into what should have been simple, inoffensive comments like

And I appreciate the passionate - even if off-based - criticism of the DLC.
He appreciates the passion of the comments but, well, they're just wrong? And consequently, beneath either notice or consideration.

This is the attitude that chafes. If Mr. Ford wants to engage us, he needs to engage in the debate and respond to comments directly, something even Ed Kilgore has been doing in bits and pieces here and there. But even apart from acknowledging a difference in opinions, they need to acknowledge that these differing opinions actually have merit and may be worth listening to. Not that they're "passionate" but misguided. If you want a big, fat check from the crazy cousins in the netroots, you need to consider the fact that they're not all that crazy after all.

Stop using the word "hate."

Save that for real hatred. What you saw here is harsh criticism at best. Maybe not your style, but it wasn't hate speech.

Dissent Protects Democracy.

And maybe, just maybe, Kurita didn't like having her chances to prove herself via the primary process torpedoed by the DLC, who prefers to pick candidates.

After all, if the DLC had been able to pick candidates in Virginia, we wouldn't have a Senate majority today.

The thing is, Ford didn't want a primary battle with Kurita because he knew he stood a good chance of losing it. Having Harold Ford run against a Republican was more important to Harold and the DLC than letting the best candidate, the proven candidate whose message has been tested in the primaries, run for the seat.

(edited for clarity)

You second hc's post, and then engage in exactly the sort of definitionless labeling (to use your term) that he's arguing against.

Could you name an issue or two and some polling that backs up your "1/4 of the country" statistic? Concern trolling doesn't really advance the debate.

None of those words have or can have real definitions I think. Generally speaking I think of progressive as meaning the same thing liberal did in the post-1950 era (with the exception of 1965-1975 which was an anomaly) before the Radical Right's spin machine (very cleverly) took it and transformed it into a dirty word. Plus perhaps some additional empahsis on network-centric grassroots awareness and participation and other modern methods of communication and awareness of propaganda/spin.

sPh

There must be good definitions out there, but the gist of it I take to be:

- "centrist" means just about nothing, since the center is a relative space defined by the extremes, and the Neocons and Bible Thumpers are so extreme that the middle ground between their position and just about anywhere is half way to hell

- "liberal" is a good term, but has been compromised not just by pejorative use but by economic "neo-liberalism" (i.e. unlimited globalism), and by the failure of liberals, even in control, to allow gays in the military, or to legalize soft drugs, or maintain the legal grounding of unions, or keep higher education fully available, &c. A liberal as such doesn't necessarily see anything wrong with the current corporate order, or the current prison industry, or the massive overspending on our military.

- "progressive" goes back through the two Roosevelts, and specifically connotes a strong commitment to keep the monied sector in check while aggressively moving forward towards a well-visualized and better future. Progressives still buy into the notion that social progress is possible, rather than just maintaining a status quo matching the conservative, centrist, or liberal models. A progressive is a pragmatic, well-informed populist (as compared to the many other kinds). Edwards is a progressive; the Clintons are centrists; Obama is a liberal - afaik.

Wrong analysis.  Clinton was the pretty boy with deep pocket connections.  The real candidate (although also a liar since he claimed to have kicked the health condition that soon killed him) that year was Paul Tsongas.   He, however, didn't have the deep pockets.

I am tired of the Banker Democrats pretending that their access to money makes them the voice of the party. 

I would suggest you throw this up in a Reader Blog - perhaps we can Rec it to the front page.

sPh

Conspicuously absent from his post was a statement of agreement with even one or two of the points made in response to his first post. A skilled politician will let you know that he's heard you and agrees on at least a few of your points, and then give a principled example of why he disagrees on a point or two. Otherwise we have to assume that he just disagrees with every constructive idea put forward. For all we know he does. He could have avoided this result so easily, by saying for instance, "Yes we should restore the Constitution as an urgent priority," or "Yes we should get children out of poverty even if their parents don't work." Since he didn't, we must presume he neither fears the loss of the Constitution, nor the results of children raised in poverty - at least not enough to commit political capital.

please explain/support your accusation of concern trolling. minor self-contradiction does not in my mind amount to concern trolling.

There was no primary in Tennessee. Kurita's campaign was undermined by the DLC. She withdrew before she really got off the ground because she saw the writing on the wall.

no, it isn't. that is merely an inference on your part and an inference that i believe is inaccurate.

Unfortuneately Mr. Ford, you missed the crux of the criticism, which basically was that the DLC strategy no longer works. Once Democrats realized this and stopped trying to adhere to the DLCs principles, they crushed the Republicans last November.

What really grates me about the DLC is the elitist attitude and feeling that you are doing us a favor simply by talking to us progressive Democrats. What you need to realize, and your two posts here have yet to demostrate, is that you need to use some contrition and admit the DLCs past serious blunders. Just read the info on Wikipedia about the DLC: The DLC was for partial privatization of social security, the DLC opposes single payer universal health care, the DLC badmouthed Howard Dean when he suggested pursuing Osama Bin Laden, instead of invading Iraq.

After reading that we are supposed to listen to your suggestions and ideas for the party? With a batting average like that, one would think you and your group would keep quiet and allow the netroots, progressives and liberals to continue to pursue the current strategy WHICH IS WORKING!!!

My .02.

That usually happens when you mix the use of the mouse, scroll bars, scroll wheel, down arrow, and pageup/pagedown keys. At some point you get the focus into the rating window without meaning to do so, hit the down arrow, and accidently give a 5 (or 1!).

sPh

Mr. Ford, you're on the wrong website. You should visit the DLC's website, www.ndol.org, and read some of the columns that your mentor Al From has posted over the past year or so. Read what he says about those of us who were smarter than you guys about invading Iraq and about the course of the occupation (there is no sense in pretending about Iraq--we on the Left were correct, and you and the DLC was flat-out wrong).

Go read what Al From, the man you spent the first paragraph of your "common ground" speech effusively praising, has said about our movement. See how many times he's been wrong. See how many times he sided with Joe Lieberman over Democratic primary voters, veterans like Jack Murtha, and sensible leaders on national security. See how many times he has been wrong, and how angry he has been at those of us who have been right.

Then come back here and apologize for all the mistakes the DLC has made, and for every time you have promoted the words of a man like From who seemingly has no greater joy in life than attacking Democrats. Then we can talk unity.

As long as the DLC sees fit to impugn the majority of my party, attack my candidates, and dismiss my position on the war as "unserious," I have absolutely no interest in finding "common ground" with you or your organization. It's simply not worth my time to work with those that have consistently and frequently shown no respect for me or others like me, and Al From fits that description to a T.

I pledge my good-faith efforts to show respect for the views of those who sincerely disagree with the DLC's approach

As others have pointed out, one can not so easily live down the past. While I appreciate the policy objectives you have delineated here, they seem somewhat dissonant with positions that the DLC has held as recently as, say, October. Correct me if I'm wrong, but was not the DLC on record as favoring free trade, voting for the AUMF, unopposed to the Bankruptcy bill or the Patriot Act, etc. etc.? This, along with denegrating Dr. Dean's 50 state strategy and being dismissive of, if not hostile towards, the netroots and genuine, non-corporate political participation and fundraising.

One thing that you, and the DLC must come to understand is that criticizing fellow Democrats because they offer solutions that you may consider, (often wrongly) as too liberal or progressive for the country as a whole is really counter-productive. Really.

I hope your post signals a major course correction for the DLC. It is sorely needed.

While it's great that four years after the Iraq war started the DLC has decided not to support the "surge", as I pointed out in a comment on Ed Kilgore's post, only 40% of Congressional Democrats supported giving Bush the authority to invade Iraq in the first place. In the Senate, that number was 60%. For the DLC members of the Senate, it was 85%. The Republican support level was 98%. In essence, the Democrats in the Senate who were members of the DLC voted closer to the Republican senators on the Iraq war resolution than they did to the Democrats in Congress as a whole or even just the Democratic senators.

I can understand why the Republicans got it wrong: they tend to be uninformed about the world, to prefer the use of military power over diplomacy, and love to make threats. Plus, the president was from their party. But how did the members of the DLC -- whp positions themselves knowledgable voices on national defense -- get it soooo wrong? That's a major credibility problem, in my mind.

"Unfortuneately Mr. Ford, you missed the crux of the criticism, which basically was that the DLC strategy no longer works. Once Democrats realized this and stopped trying to adhere to the DLCs principles, they crushed the Republicans last November."

Yes, yes and more yes, and you get a recommendation of a million. The DLC approach is old and dusty and it needs to die. We're Democrats, dammit, and liberals too. And we're damn proud of it. And we're going to save this country from the Republicans AND from the Moderates. Remember Joe Scarborough's pre-election email to Daily Kos? Well, Joe was right. Ford and the DLC are wrong.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/8/19145/77283

I think the reason the netroots is so hostile to the DLC can be summed up by 3 men: Marshall Wittman, Al From and Joe Lieberman.

While many in the DLC have had moderate positions, these three have been active and out of touch critics of the netroots movement, the Iraq war and every other policy. Keeping them away from blogs and podiums would go a long way towards healing any rift the DLC has with lefty bloggers, et all. Until they are gone from power, the DLC will continue to be mistrusted in the community.

Hi there,

I have a huge problem with these DLC/Clinton era laws/policies:

1) Free trade agreements that make it impossible for local communities to affect the whole. For instance, some company wanted to buy water from canada to ship it to santa barbara. The local community in Canada wanted to say no. The company, under the free trade agreement, the company is able to sue the local community for the potential lost profits of the sale of the water, even though they never made a dime. And once the company wins, it sets precedent, so no other local community is able to self-govern. People 225 years ago had a problem with "taxation without representation." I have a similar problem with this today, if true. If the above claim is not true, the DLC should educate the far left about the reality of the situation, as this is one talking point that fuels WTO/G8 protests.

2) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 eliminated most media ownership regulations. I think we can see the effect of that today, and while the internets has taken up some of the slack, it's astonishing at how well large, monied interests are able to repeat the talking points of one party, without balance, or critique. I thought there used to be a law....

3) The two above are examples of the commodification of US society, one that sees us as consumers, not citizens. And the focus of DLC types on "It's the economy, stupid" helps promote this, as does most of the republican policies. I would think that it's this association that bothers many people - while there are clear differences between democrats and republicans, the effects of monetary policies are not as differentiated. Many DLC and/or established, incumbent democrats seem beholden to corporations against the little guy. Please refute.

And explain why copyright law keeps getting expanded to protect Disney's Mickey Mouse franchise at the expense of the public domain, while you're at it :-)

4) You're not Hillary, but seem to be in the same camp. Why does she repeat the Bush administration's warmongering rhetoric against Venezuela and Iran? Chavez tried to be our friend after 9/11, and help out with the whole oil thing.

5) Why did the DLC establishment not respect the will of the democratic primaries in Connecticut? We can see how well that is working out.

I would really love to see a discussion of these points, and if they are misguided, a debate on why you see it as such, not merely an assertion that they are.

Thanks for being here and engaging in dialog.

Hey, folks, we are wasting our breath on Ford.  Kilgore actually visits his site. Ford has some flack, probably an intern, summarizing this site and writing the first draft of the post.  Ford isn't paying any attention to us at all.

This comment is so bizarre to me. Kurita voted for Republican leadership rather than the Democratic alternative. This is much more than a legislative vote.

You don't have to like Ford or the DLC, but it's absurd to equate voting for a bill supported by the GOP with voting for GOP leadership.

Point of personal privilege: I'd throw in Ken Salazar, who has a post on their website (eight months old) about how his "authenticity" helped him win a red state. He doesn't mention that he lied through his damn teeth to get my money and my vote, promising to hold the Bush administion accountable on Iraq, and as soon as he got in morphing into a rubber-stamp Liebercrat. Of special pride and joy to me at the moment is his role in supporting Alberto Gonzalez (post-torture memo, post-"quaint", post-Abu Grahib) for Attorney General. He still refuses to right that wrong by calling for Gonazales to resign.
Other members of the Lieberman Torture Caucus prominently featured on their website: Carper, the Nelson twins and Landrieu. And, of course, our Special Guest today.

One way for you people to prove your "leadership" would be to start working to undo the damage you helped Bush do, starting with supporting Dodd's efforts to overturn the odious Military Commissions Act, and publicly--and loudly--calling out your boy Lieberman for his refusal to use the position the Democrats gave him to hold the administration accountable for the lack of response to Katrina, both short and long-term.

Mr Ford, since you bear some of the blame for both Lieberman and the MCA, this would be a smart thing for you to take the lead on. To say nothing of it being the right thing to do.

Catalyst,

Excellent points, along with the summary in point 3. If I may, I'd like to extend you point 1 to consider the broader aspects of internationalization, and point 2 to other aspects of telecommunications policy.

With respect to internationalization, we cannot be isolationist, but we also need to avoid the commodification. Some of the issues here include the conditions that make employers, sometimes questionably, seek H1B workers. What is the DLC policy on rebuilding the science and technology worker base with US citizens, who have reasonable job security producing a true national asset? What is the DLC policy on offshoring operations that include protected health and financial information into countries where US privacy laws cannot be enforced? What is the DLC policy on corporate moves of headquarters operations that, in part, remove tax liability (e.g., Halliburton HQ moving to Dubai)? Is there a policy of trusting critical infrastructure developed outside the US?

As to telecommunications policy, there is a legitimate capital requirement for buildout of broadband networks. The Communications Workers of America have suggested that cable television content sales might be the appropriate incentive for investment in broadband plant, although supporting network neutrality also allows for the competitive delivery of television over Internet. What is the DLC overall telecommunications policy, including the source of capital for buildout, broadband availability, and the balances among capitalization, network neutrality, and monopoly ownership?
--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" [George Santayana]

or, what sPh said. 

Dissent Protects Democracy.

It's not the DLC's "perspectives and ideas" that I have a problem with--I've worked for more centrist Democratic candidates than liberal ones over the years, including one of the charter Congressional "New Democrats." It's the DLC's, and particularly Al From's, consistent and virulent attacks against the Progressive movement, not to mention their support of Joe Lieberman over the Democratic nominee.

They shat in the water and want us to drink. They've been the problem, and we're solving that problem--until it realizes what it's done is wrong, the DLC can sit in time-out.

Well yeah, I didn't really expect them to. I doubt most politicians who post to Dkos write those either. That's what you pay ghost writers for.

Pointing out the Nader connection is pretty ballsy. Written another way "we worked closely with the guy who soon after left the party in complete disgust over its lack of true progressive credentials."

So whatever you contributed to Ralph bolting the roost and giving Bush the presidency, thanks for that.

Perhaps an unfair statement, but jesus you literally put it on a tee and handed me a big burtha.

For the rest of your response, the majority of the policy positions of the DLC are not the problem. No serious writer can accuse the DLC of being actual Republicans, the charge is more that you're quislings. For the last 13 years the GOP has been charging at windmills and failing, but in the process they've moved the debate so far to the right that I barely know this country at times.

Time and time again we saw the DLC plead for reason and comity in the face of a voracious Hobbesian conservative horde. Time and time again we got our asses kicked. Bill Clinton served as a firewall for as long as he could, but once the ringer was gone what the hell did the DLC give us? Rearguard action, retreat, and endless "compromise" that steadily eroded the modern welfare state and, worse yet, our freedoms.

I think the DLC is too enamored with the clearly flawed prospect of post Doha unfettered free trade. But that's not its real problem. It was the last significant power bloc in charge before Bush, it got steam rolled, and alot of people hate it and will distrust it as long as they live because of that. The DLC has become to much of the left what "Liberals" have become to the right.

You brand is broken, honestly you'd do better disbanding and re establishing some fresh new organization in a couple years under a new banner.

You're right one exchange isn't going fix the problem, I don't think any amount will. The DLC is simply associated with cowardice, failure, and timidity.

Not to mention the whole silliness trying to kneecap dean after he was party chair. I'm not a Deaniac by far, but jesus talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Thanks for the measured response though, it takes alot of courage to keep writing, or perhaps ghost writing (heh) in the face of so much rage.

Oh, come on--Lieberman's not a Democrat. Why do foul our day by mentioning his name unnecessarily?

The DLC did a lot to move the conversation to the right.  The more they chased the middle, the more easily the Republicans moved further and further to the right, signaling a completely changed landscape.  Don't let the DLC off the hook.

These triangulaters might have some mild policy preferences for what real Democrats passionately desire, but what they most want is to play footsie with Bankers to get more money for their campaigns.

It is also absurd to equate voting for the GOP leadership with "changing parties."

Harold Ford is either an idiot, or a liar, or both.

If he's a liar, he's not a very good one. Didn't he think anyone would check his BS?

Give it up, Congressman Ford. 

The netroots think they're going to conquer the world and have no interest in finding common ground and building coalitions across ideological and institutional lines. They hate you and the DLC because they think they don't need moderates to win.  They take the results of one election and extrapolate in a straight line the idea that they represent a majority of Americans.  An election, by the way, that was won just as much by moderate and conservative Democrats as it was by netroots-supported ones.

They have no interest in conciliatory gestures from you and you should expect none in return.  They want the DLC dead.  Period.

Your best move is to forget about outreach for the time building and keep doing what you are doing: build support for an approach to politics that combines a realistic view of economics, eschews populist quick fixes and is fundamentally optimistic about America and its place in the world and is in touch with core American values.  For the considerable future, the fact that the DLC and moderate Democrats in general got the Iraq War wrong will obscure everything else you try to talk about.  Only time can heal that wound.  But the Iraq War won't be as salient as it is now forever.  And once the American people move on from that issue, we will still need fiscal discipline, free trade, a smart solution to health care and much else that the DLC stands for.  That's where you should continue to focus.

I removed my negative rating so I could respond to you Brad (I do not both rate negatively and comment).

Your remark (which will never get to the former Congressman) is offensive because you have failed to consider the nature of the comments here.

The DLC is faulted for roughly 4 things:

1. Supporting rightwingers (not moderates) some of whom had lost primaries to actual Democrats.

2. Supporting the illegitmate war in Iraq and its use as an attack on civil liberties.

3. Moving the overall political conversation far to the right of where it was in the 70s, essentially erasing many of the gains of the Great Society, the in between years, and the New Deal, largely at the bidding of their banker backers.

and

4. Triangulating for votes.

So far, nobody in the DLC has so much as acknowledged these complaints.

An olive branch is an offer to sit down and discuss, it isn't a disguised camel nose under the tent to force your opponents to convert to your side.

So far, the DLC says, "let's be friends" so when the hell are they gonna actually address why we have trouble with that idea?

And as an aside, your remark is about as arrogant as Ford's.