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_4091081However, 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.