Reply #36: Because they are the ones who turned the Ds into a corporate party

[bobweaver]

The Rs were once a minority party, a wealthy one but fewer in numbers. They began pouring huge amounts of money into their campaigns and started winning big elections (the so-called "new right", "sagebrush rebellion," "Reagan revolution", what have you.) The D's started losing and pinned the loss on being outspent.

The Ds decided they needed to get big money behind them to "stay in the game" The D's traditional constituency simply didn't have that kind of money, so the D's sold out to corporations, who gladly donated to both parties, ensuring them special access to power no matter which party won a particular election. By hooking onto the corporate gravy train, this created unseen but very real ties between the Ds and business interests (corporations). This also forced the Ds to abandon, to some extent, their traditional base of labor, minorites, and anyone else not locked into corporate America.

This decision was largely made by the DLC, and for a short time, it worked (Clinton won twice, but that's about all they can hang their hat on). In the meantime, Ds began to lose elections beginning in 1994 with the R's "takeover" of the House of Republicans (oops, the House of Representatives). And they have been steadily losing their grip ever since. The DLC does not make the connection between their lurch toward corporate cash and away from their traditional base, and their resulting string of electoral defeats.

Voters who used to vote for the Ds because they fought for their economic interests have no compelling reason to vote for the Ds any more. The Ds are just not fighting for them. The R's aren't either, but the R's are offering some of them other "goodies" such as the much discussed moral values issues. So these people went for the Rs instead of the Ds, and the Ds are suffering because of it. The Ds abandoned the class struggle, and this has hurt the Ds in the long term.

This decision was made largely by the DLC, and it has come back to hurt the Ds in a big way. The Ds must renounce corporate donations, and fight for the economic interests of their traditional base, if they ever hope to regain some power. The DLC seems to be unwilling or uninterested, so that is why many Democrats are unhappy with the DLC.