Snubbing Sellouts, Not Centrists

The DLC has put out its response to the snub they received from every Democratic presidential candidate who chose not to pander to the Schumer-McAuliffe corporate element of the Party weekend before last. They say to be careful not to dismiss the center, as that's what won the White House for Clinton in 1992 and 1996. But the center did not go to Clinton, it went to Perot. People who care about family economics, the integrity of the political process, and government responsibility voted for the independent. These were all issues and voters that should have belonged to Clinton, but he surrendered this ground in favor of a pro-corporate NAFTA agenda.

Harold Ford, Jr. was a terrific Congressman, and would've been a great Senator. Martin O'Malley is a smart, even if not overly cautious, politician. But what instigated this op-ed was not truth, or the better political interests of the the Party. It was pride, and a sense that they had been handed the reigns of an organization that had made itself insignificant over the last 8 years, that made them reach out with this timid and vague ultimatum.

Ford and O'Malley either do not realize, or do not acknowledge, that what was shunned was not centrism, it was the compromise of values that had lost Democrats two presidential campaigns and made their traditional positions of economic populism, morality, and social justice seem like distant memories. These candidates recognize that it's the activists and the base, and their agenda that will propel them to victory. Not just because it will turn out the Democrats en masse next November, but because it resonates with the independents and Southern and Midwestern working class whites that are now in play thanks to the GOP's incompetence. Even Hillary Clinton, whose campaign chair is sellout McAuliffe himself, realizes that she can be more liberal this cycle without fear of pulling a McGovern.

The New Democrat was not the rule, it was the exception. It could only succeed in the environment it did because Democrats don't operate on faith alone, like Repubelickers do. We need proof and we don't just follow the leader because it's his or her turn, even if they're DLC-annointed. It is time for the Democratic Party to return to its Roosevelt greatness, and that will mean a loss of stature for the DLC and Schumer, unless they want to lead in that direction. Otherwise, this year will not be the last time you guys sit at a big empty table. It's not your fault, Ford and O'Malley, but it is your job if you want to keep it.