DLC Emphasizes Bipartisan Approach

At a moment when many Democratic activists are urging their leaders to be bolder and more confrontational with Republicans, the party's most influential centrists met yesterday in Nashville, Tenn. to call for more pragmatism and bridge-building. Presidential candidates were nowhere to be seen at the annual gathering of the Democratic Leadership Council, a moderate-liberal group that was closely linked to former President Bill Clinton but has long been viewed suspiciously by liberal activist. Instead, governors took their place as headliners.

The DLC's popularity among many Democrats -- especially the netroots -- has plunged in recent years in large measure because most of the group's leaders backed President George W. Bush on the Iraq war and continue to warn about a too-rapid withdrawal. Yet the DLC highlighted how many of the party's most impressive gains in recent elections -- including winning numerous governorships in states that typically vote Republican in presidential contests -- have come from politicians in the classic DLC mold. They played down partisanship, played up traditional values and offered agendas that emphasized problem-solving over ideology. Many of these politicians warned Monday that Democrats risk blowing their chance to regain the presidency in 2008 and failing to win a long-term majority, if they present a face to the public that is too angry in tone. They also warned that, despite the broad unpopularity of the Iraq war, there is a risk that candidates will position the party as insufficiently committed to protecting national security if they push for too precipitous an end to the war.

The rhetoric at the conference -- even as the DLC's leaders responded defensively to the absence of presidential candidates -- highlights a broader dilemma the party will have to navigate in 2008. Believing that too much accommodation by Democrats is responsible for the Iraq war and other polices of President Bush, activists and many candidates are in the mood to draw sharp lines. At the same time, many candidates -- including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama -- have also argued that one way to end the Bush era is by turning away from the highly partisan, highly confrontational politics that they believe are President Bush's signature.

DLC Founder Al From argued that a "sustainable progressive centrist majority" depends on Democratic presidential candidates returning to the political middle ground. "We had a similar opportunity in 1974, when we won big. We backed into the majority in 1976," Mr. From said. "But we didn't have a plan to govern. And we paid a big price."

My response: I like the DLC, as it is significantly more pragmatic than the so-called netroots / left wing of the Democratic Party. I may not agree with some proposals, but they move beyond mere Bush Derangement Syndrome and bring up interesting proposals on various topics. It should be noted that the only Democrat who has been elected and re-elected since 1970 was a DLC guy (Bubba). The Democrats also took back Congress last year only because more moderate Democrats were elected to the body in competitive districts. Same goes for their inroads on he governorships front. Ignore centrists, and your fate could be like what the Republicans now face.