General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Uncurious, Continuing, Stubborn Refusal to Grasp Bernie Sanders [View all]LiberalLovinLug
(14,174 posts)Although of course it is open to interpretation depending on who is saying it.
If you insist on playing dumb though, "the establishment" means to many on the left at least, those that have established themselves as the veteran leadership who steer the overall direction of the party from their privileged positions. Many of which are those with strong ties to corporate America. And the now dissolved (into the Clinton Foundation) Democratic Leadership Council was the epitome of the "new" Democrat with the philosophy of the "third way": the chairs of which were mostly made up of corporate CEOs and embraced the idea of corporate influence and donations while reducing the importance of grass roots support.
From Bill Clinton on, they solidified themselves into leadership positions and became the establishment of the Democratic party over the last couple of decades. Whether the DLC still exists as an entity or not, their power and influence is still on display with their insistence on the Democratic party endorsing the more conservative D candidates in ridings where there is a more progressive option. The result of their work over the last decade is monumental losses for the Democratic party from big to small races across the country, helped alongside by their partnership in the DNC for years with DWS who was all on board with the third way philosophy.
It does finally seem like they are realizing they actually cannot win with this strategy anymore by embracing people like Sanders and others and actually listen to criticism and learn from their mistakes, even if some in here can't take criticism of their party and want to bury their head in the sand.....(and keep losing)