Democratic Underground - ''The D.L.C. has saved the Democratic Party once, and we're bound to do it again,''

The words in the subject line were said in 2003 by Al From, a leader of the DLC. They had a conference of their group, with no presidential candidates invited.

''There are some in our party who would take us back to our pre-Clinton days, who refuse to learn the lessons of President Clinton's success,'' Mr. From, the group's chief executive, said after being introduced as ''the man who led our party out of the wilderness once before.''

''The D.L.C. has saved the Democratic Party once, and we're bound to do it again,'' Mr. From said, his voice intense with emotion. ''We can't afford to do anything less because the stakes are so high.''

Centrist Democrats Warn Party Not to Present Itself as 'Far Left'

Here is more about what was said. They made it clear that Howard Dean was a concern, but that they feared the entire Democratic field was rejecting their policies.

It is our belief that the Democratic Party has an important choice to make: Do we want to vent or do we want to govern?'' said Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, chairman of the organization. ''The administration is being run by the far right. The Democratic Party is in danger of being taken over by the far left.'

When a reporter asked a panel of council leaders whether Democratic woes were a result of Republican attacks or Democratic mistakes, Senator Bayh responded with a curt two-word answer that silenced the room.

''Assisted suicide,'' he said.

Here is more on the founding, which reiterates what we have talked about before here.

The council was started in 1985 by elected officials mostly from the South and the West to make the point that the influence of labor unions and what they called ''special interest groups'' on the party had resulted in Republicans' being elected to the White House.

Take in the full meaning of that. They blamed the labor unions and "special interests" (hmmm..wonder which ones they could be)...for losing the White House. That is a ridiculous statement, and a very arrogant one.

There is a lot more at the link, but it is Select and in the archives.

There has been a lot of discussion here about the Democratic Leadership Council, the DLC. I am one who finds the leaders of the group are the ones I will write about and critique. There has been discussion this week especially with Harold Ford trying to reach out at TPM Cafe. It is good he is trying. I wrote this though, because I don't think any of them understand the depth of what has gone on.

Perhaps it is good the discussion is going on. Maybe the realization will come that you can't go around insulting and putting down the very people you need for your party to succeed.

I don't think Ford and others in the DLC realize there are many issues left unhealed.

It is time to reach out, but it will take both sides. I honestly believe Governor Dean in his role as DNC chairman is trying to bridge that gap the best he can. I and others give him lots of wiggle space on stances at times because he must satisfy those who are very diverse.

Al From and others need to realize that they were 100% wrong when they made fun of us about being anti-Iraq-war. But From as recently as November made reference to bending knee to "noisy activists."

That is not going to play any longer.

''The D.L.C. has saved the Democratic Party once, and we're bound to do it again,'' [View All]