Democratic Leadership Council going out of existence

Ben Smith writes at Politico:

The centrist Democratic Leadership Council, which fought and largely won a battle for the soul of the Democratic party in the 1990s, is on the verge of bankruptcy and is closing its doors, its founder, Al From, confirmed Monday.

The group’s decision to “suspend operations” marks the conclusion of a long slide from its peak of relevance in the Clinton era, and perhaps the beginning a battle over its legacy, as the organization’s founders and allies argue that it has been a victim of its own success—and its liberal critics are already dancing on its grave.

“A taproot of contemporary centrist ferment is no longer in business,” said Will Marshall, who co-founded the DLC and its allied think tank, the Progressive Policy Institute.

I always felt that Al From and his DLC were a tad ridiculous and more than a bit fraudulent, with their pretence that the left-wing Democratic Party is really, or could be, “moderate” and “centrist.” Take Clinton, the symbol of the DLC’s greatest success and influence in national politics. He started off his administration not by being moderate, but by trying to nationalize the health care industry, and he only gave up because the bill was defeated. And when he famously “moved to the center” following the 1994 elections, that wasn’t what he wanted, it was what he had no choice but to do, because the Republicans had taken over the Congress.

I think the DLC gave up the ghost not with this week’s announcement that it is closing its doors, but with the support of then U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh,, a former DLC head, for Obamacare, which he supporting passing by the improper method of reconciliation. See my February 2010 entry, “The Phony Center exposed (again).”

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N. writes:

Perhaps an alternative headline for “Democratic Leadership Committee disbands” would be:

POTEMKIN VILLAGES CLOSING

Or:

POTEMKIN VILLAGES TO CLOSE, “VILLAGERS” RETURNING TO OLD JOBS

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 08, 2011 01:07 PM | Send