True Confessions of a Former DLCer...

[WYObama]

Hello Democratic friends,

I was not just a DLC New Democrat. I was hardcore DLC New Democrat. Here's me with Sen. Clinton on the front page of the Denver Post in 2006. Seriously. Hand around her and everything.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4091081

However, 2008 was the first year I didn't pay dues to this group, and here's why: Barack Obama.

The formation of the DLC in the 1980's as I have always argued, was necessary and beneficial to our party. We had been free falling since the '70's into a party of factions and interest groups: minorities, women, environmental, labor, etc. I had agreed with the DLC on social issues, but not so much on economics. Socially, I'm "Bob Casey" and economically "Byron Dorgan."

I thought the Clinton Third Way was the right way to get us out of our two-decade slump. And it was. Until now.

When Barack Obama (and to a lesser extent, Edwards 2.0) arrived, the talk of inclusiveness, of realizing that we are not enemies here at home, we just disagree, sparked something in me, and it would appear, millions like me. He doesn't mention "I" - with Barack, it's always "we."

Now I'm going to give mild praise to an arch-enemy of many of you, but Barack's manner of speaking is very Reaganesque - positive, hopeful, and forward-looking. If we stick with the Clinton mentality of "politics is war" we'll never escape our perpetual losing, because the Republicans are better at "war politics." So we need something else.

Barack is right on the all of the issues for me. Well, the ones that matter. I'm a pro-life, pro-gun Blue Dog in the party that isn't, and I've long since accepted that.

As Bill Maher said, Barack is, quite simply, a phenom. These don't happen very often. In the 20th century, in our party, we can certainly say Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy were politicians of the same stature. Perhaps Truman and Clinton.

So I'm urging you friends, and this is again, a former Clinton DLCer talking to you: Obama is something like we've never seen before. Give him a chance.

[MADem]

1. You have every right to support the candidate of your choice.

If he wins the nom, I will vote for him, but I'll stick with my choice for now.

[NYCGirl]

2. self-delete because I read one paragraph too fast.

[stellanoir]

3. Thanks & yup & welcome to DU

It feels as all the nay sayers are not aware that at this point conventional wisdom has flown right out the window.

I truly feel we are witnessing the birth of a new paradigm, that will hopefully transcend the intractable divisiveness in which we've been stymied for so long.

It's so refreshing.

[WYObama]

4. A paradigm birth is right

Twenty to thirty years from now, I hope to see all of the Democratic presidential contenders gushing over Barack Obama at the debate in his presidential library in IL, the same way the Repubs did with Reagan this year.

Barackism is different. New Deal - Fair Deal - New Frontier - Great Society - - Clintonian Centrism - Barackism

[stellanoir]

7. Inclusiveness is indeed a much needed and long overdue elixir for our ills that is so refreshing.

I don't want to see people gushing over Obama in years to come. I want to see him thanked for providing us with a new gold standard for leadership and honored for healing our nation.

When Joe Wilson who I really admire, wrote "Battle Tested" last week supporting Hillary upon reading the title and my first thought was "we're just sick of fighting." I didn't even read it.

The rancor and vitriol has gotten us nowhere fast and eroded our commonality through our once treasured diversity.

Time to kill 'em with kindness and light heartedness I figure.

"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." Mark Twain

These sorts of arguments truly don't help.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4605321

Here have a wombat.

http://www.global-mindshift.org/memes/wombat.swf

Consider sharing it with all the kids.

[WYObama]

8. Amen...

to an extent, my friend. I'm sick of the fighting too, but there will always be far right Republicans that try to stop whoever the next Democratic president will be. We have to build a coalition of Democrats, Independents and liberal and moderate Republicans. And I believe Barack can do that.

[stellanoir]

11. Me too

It certainly takes the right approach and a touch of finesse.

I recently heard a few things. One is that "the only way to unseat an unruly tyrant is through satire."

If Rush is trashing the presumptive Repub front runner, the RW is finally imploding. I just feel people are fatigued of living in fear and being lied to and being utterly bereft of representative leadership.

Also I learned that the way in which dominance is established by the wolf who inspires and initiates the best play. Which we could do that and perhaps we can.

Here's a cool link for the probable source of the "We Are the Ones. . ." quotation.

http://www.sedonadigitalarts.com/html/video_previews.html

And did you catch this?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william/why-i-recorded-yes-w_b_84655.html

Hope so.

Now. . .about those voting machines. . .

Yikes

[jasmine621]

5. "I" vs "we"

When I want to know what an individual has done or accomplished, saying "we" in response does not move me. When I want to know how an individual can be a uniter saying "we" is ok. Sometimes saying "we" is just a cover for saying "I am claiming this but I really didn't do it." I have heard Hillalry say "we" just as much as Obama and she gets smeared for latching on to Bill's coattails and ascribing things to herself that really were not her accomplishments. No one ever says that about Obama when he says "we" about anything. Hillary says "we" a lot, just go back and read the transcripts of her stump speeches. She says "I" when she is trying to show differences between herself and her competitors. Using this as a reason to NOT support Hillary is, to me, just one of those straws people grasp when they need to disguise their true feelings and try to legitimize their disloyalties. I would rather a person would just say, I support Obama because I like him more or because I don't really like Hillary.

[WYObama]

6. When I hear Clinton say "I"...

It's like she's taking complete credit for whatever accomplishment she's toting. It was the same problem Senator Kerry had in 2004 (as well as Biden and Dodd this year).

Barack never says "I." Now you might argue, it's because he hasn't been in the Senate long enough. I think that's good, since JFK had not either.

So why don't you just say "I support Hillary, because I like her more."

I gave reasons why I'm supporting Barack - the evolution of the Democratic Party from Clintonian Third Way Centrism to Obama's Unifying Progressivism.

[backscatter712]

9. Barack Obama is indeed a phenom.

IMHO, he has the kind of magic, that we've seen with FDR and JFK, that is extremely rare - we might have the privilege of seeing it once in a generation.

[stillcool]

10. a letter Obama wrote...

regarding the DLC...

http://www.blackcommentator.com/48/48_cover.html


Dear Black Commentator:
------------------
>>I do think a broader question remains on the table. What is the best strategy for building majority support for a progressive agenda, and for reversing the rightward drift of this country?

One important part of that strategy - and on this I think we agree - is for progressives within the Democratic Party to describe our core values (e.g. racial justice, civil liberties, opportunity for the many, and not just the few) in clear, unambiguous terms.

A second part of that strategy - and again, I think we agree here - is to stake out clear positions on issues that put those values into action (e.g. the need for universal health care), and to stand up for those values when they are under assault (e.g. opposition to the Patriot Act).

But the third part of this part of the equation – and on this we may disagree – must be to gain converts to our positions. My job, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, isn’t to scold people for their lack of ideological purity. It’s to persuade as many people as I can, across the ideological spectrum, that my vision of the future is compatible with their values, and can make their lives a little bit better. Thus, while I may favor common-sense gun control laws, that doesn’t keep me from reaching out to NRA members who are worried about their lack of health insurance. I favor affirmative action, but I’m still going after the votes of white union members who oppose affirmative action, because I think I can convince them that it’s Bush’s economic agenda, and not affirmative action, that is eroding their job security and stagnating their wages. And while I may object to the misogyny and materialism of much of rap culture, I’m still going to spend the time reaching out to a hip-hop generation in search of a future.

In other words, I believe that politics in any democracy is a game of addition, not subtraction. And I believe deeply enough in the decency of the American people to think that progressives can build a winning majority in this country, so long as we’re not afraid to speak the truth, and so long as we don’t write off big chunks of the electorate just because they don’t agree with us on every issue.

All of which explains why I’m not likely to launch blanket denunciations of the DLC or any other faction within the Democratic Party. I intend to engage DLC members, just like I intend to engage everybody else that I can during the next year of campaigning, in a conversation about the direction our country needs to take to give ordinary working families a fair shake. In some instances, I may even agree with DLC positions: their insistence on the value of national service, or the need to harden domestic targets like chemical plants from potential terrorist attack, to cite a few examples I just pulled from the DLC web-site, make sense to me. Where I disagree with them – and, as we have already discussed, I disagree with them strongly on a lot of major issues - I intend to let them know, firmly and without equivocation, just why I think they are wrong.

To some, this approach may appear naïve; to others, it may appear that I’m headed down a path of dangerous compromise. All I can tell you is that in my twenty years as an organizer, civil rights lawyer, and state senator, I’ve always trusted my moral compass, and have thus far avoided compromising my core values for the sake of ambition or expedience. Hopefully, by listening to the people I seek to serve, and with the occasional jab from friendly critics like The Black Commentator, I can stay on that course, and ultimately do some good as the next U.S. Senator from the state of Illinois.

Sincerely,

State Senator Barack Obama

Candidate for the U.S. Senate

[Yael]

12. Welcome to DU!!

Thanks for the well thought out post.

[NastyRiffraff]

13. Thanks for the thoughtful post

You are, of course, entitled to support the candidate of your choice. I happen to disagree.

It's amazing to me that the same people who advocate the "let's all just get along" are the ones who smash and bash Hillary and her supporters at every opportunity.

It's amazing that the very same people who used to bash the DLC, anyone who swerved from "purity" (and that's not a position I've ever taken), now say it's okay to welcome them because Obama deems it so.

It's amazing that people who used to praise, almost idolize, people like Joe Wilson, RFK Jr, and many other former DU "heroes" now throw them into the trash bin for the sole reason that they endored Hillary and not Obama. Meanwhile, Drudge, Hannity, and the Washington Times are quoted with approval when they bash Hillary.

It's amazing that these same people go into full attack mode when anyone disagrees with Obama, however mildly.

It's amazing that these same people excuse anything Obama says or does, even if it's 180 degrees opposite of his stated position of "unity."

It's utterly amazing that these same people who pilloried Democrats in Congress for not standing up to Republicans and continue to do so endorse a candidate who wants to join and hold hands with the same Republicans. I'm NOT talking about voters...of course any presidential candidate must try to welcome independents and moderate Republicans in the electorate. That's not new or unique to Obama, however he may try to pretend it is. I'm speaking of Republicans in elected positions, who will continue to try to block every piece of Democratic legislation. Obama's "reaching out" won't change that. They'll laugh at him.

Barack IS a "phenom;" I'll give you that. The very word phenom, though smacks of pop star worship, with all the initial adoration, and the inevitable disillusionment when the hero proves to be just an ordinary human being, with LOTS of flaws.

[Barack_America]

14. Don't worry about not paying your dues or supporting the DLC...

They'll still put you on their "100 to Watch" list. ;)

http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=251658&kaid=104&subid=210
http://www.blackcommentator.com/48/48_cover.html