The Democrats’ “Third Way” Quarrel is a Fight For the Future

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/09-3



There was a big dust-up in the Democratic Party last week, triggered by a somewhat incoherent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal from the leaders of a Wall Street-funded “think tank”/lobbying group called Third Way. Many of the responses dealt with the op-ed’s attack on Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but don’t be distracted by that. As Sen. Warren would undoubtedly agree, the issues involved are much more important than the personalities.


As politicians affiliated with Third Way hasten to distance themselves from the op-ed, the question remains: Why are Democrats affiliated with a group which works so strenuously to gut Democratic programs? Voters deserve more than platitudes from these politicians. They deserve clear answers about the issues.

This is not an “inside baseball” story about politics. It’s not over-hyping to say that it’s a battle for party control whose outcome could affect every household in the country. If this quarrel is to be remembered – and it’s incumbent upon genuine progressives to make sure that it is – it should be remembered as an attempt by the corporate class to retain control of the Democratic Party and limit the leftmost limits of political and economic debate.

In our two-party system, this struggle could determine whether voters are offered a genuinely democratic and equitable economic agenda anytime in the near future.

[Bluenorthwest]

1. Third Way types are almost always financial industry folks who have amassed wealth which

they see as reason in and of itself for them to be in charge of others and for them to dictate the message. They are corrupt.

[antigop]

2. great piece. K&R. Thanks. nt

[L0oniX]

3. They don't want the appearance that the GOP is for the !% and Dems for the 99%. Thanks OWS.

[rhett o rick]

4. The conservatives figured out that they have a better chance of winning as

Democrats. Especially if the only other choice was a wack-a-doodle. It's a genus strategy. The conservatives move into the Democratic Party leaving only the crazies in the Republican Party. Then with the financial backing of major corporations they control the Democratic Party. So the voters get to choose from a Conservative Democrat or Crazy Republican. And to make matters worse, there are some Democratic voters that will vote for anyone with a "D" behind their name, while others are too ignorant to recognize the conservative propaganda masqueraded as Democratic principles.

[Scuba]

6. Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.

[polichick]

9. It was a brilliant plan - probably hatched in the same think tanks that...

plotted to buy up communication networks and shovel propaganda to the follower masses.

Job well done.

[antigop]

11. bingo. nt

[GoneFishin]

12. Agreed. +1000 n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

14. Excellent analysis.

[zeemike]

20. You got it...

But to put it in simple terms and to answer the OP question as to why a simple one word answer is in order.
Money.
I read that every Representative must raise 20k a week to fund his campain...that makes him beholden to big money.
And sense Reagan the 1% has gobs of money to spend...so why not buy the government?...it is on our dime.

[Ace Acme]

24. My Rep. doesn't even bother to campaign. But still raises money hand over fist for the party. nt

[WowSeriously]

23. Which is why we should reject, and not welcome, Republican "converts"

Like former Governor Christ and his ilk.

[ReRe]

25. What was it Harry Truman said?

"If the people have a choice between and Republican and a republican wannabe, they'll pick a republican every time." I know my wording is a bit off, but it's not far off the mark. Does anyone have the real quote and author of it? (ReRe needs to get off this computer and get some rest.)

[NuclearDem]

31. Which is why the party is shifting to the right.

Too many conservatives and centrists who get a pass because of the D.

[polichick]

5. Yes - this is THE big battle, and time is running out...

not only for the country, but for the planet.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. Something I posted last January in my journal in "Money and the Maxed Out Right"...

Here are the last two paragraphs:

"Fifty years of branding have been overturned in five. Republicans once were cast as realists with their feet firmly planted on the ground. The Democrats, it was said, were the wild eyed dreamers. That is not how it seems today. The Right embraces brinksmanship as their favored tactic; Shutting down the government slides from being a threat toward a desired outcome.

The self professed custodians of our nations treasure are preparing to play craps with the full faith and credit of the United States of America, and that does not make “The Market” happy. Wall Street, literally, was hit hard by Super Storm Sandy, and the overwhelming majority of House Republicans just voted against bailing New York out. Who can Wall Street turn to, to carry their water now?"

As the Republican Party jumps the tracks and in so doing actually threatens the financial markets, Wall Street is hedging its bets with "the Third Way". When the Republican Party fails Wall Street, they hire other water carriers.

[HereSince1628]

8. What could possibly be wrong with a democratic leadership that is anti-populist?

We need the ideas of elite leaders interested in Wall Street more than we need to address needs as seen by the population.

Things have changed. The money is with the financiers, and politics follows the money. Surely, everyone knows that.

What part of -modern- democracy isn't breaking through the noise of that lefty rabble?

[awoke_in_2003]

16. What could possibly go wrong?

The last 20 years. The party abandonded populists years ago.

[HereSince1628]

17. I suppose I shud'a used 'sarcasm' rather than 'eyes'

[awoke_in_2003]

18. I figured that you got it...

I was just stressing it

[cascadiance]

10. How soon do we find that the Koch brothers are heavily invested in Third Way like the DLC earlier...

... when the DLC was dissolved to "put aside" this "inconvenient" set of information that the base won't accept.

[lark]

15. Koch's are heavily invested in PBS and sit on it's board

Third Way seems a natural for them, but only once their current troops - Scott Walker, Rick Scott, etc. crash and burn. They'd prefer to take all the money and control folks socially - but would live with just getting all the money.

[Egalitarian Thug]

28. 15 years ago, although few paid any attention to it, and that was after the years

it took for investigative journalists to wheedle and pry a partial list of the DLC's founding donor list into the sunlight. Koch, along with other such defenders of liberalism as Coors, a laundry list of "defense" contractors, another list of RW funded "think-tanks", etc.

Bill Berkowitz wrote the first piece (that I'm aware of) on this in 1998. From, the Clintons, Robb, Chiles, Gore, Nunn, etc., hung up a For Sale sign on the Democratic Party and there was no shortage of buyers. They are the direct cause of putting us in this position, of diminishing our government, collapsing the economy, and removing any meaningful choice from the voters.

[Le Taz Hot]

13. K & R

Really good article.

[WillyT]

19. HUGE K & R !!!

[Dustlawyer]

21. We need commitments from Dem politicians that they will make publicly funded elections

their #1 priority! Until then we will get Dino's ready to sell our causes out for campaign cash. See Wolf-pack.com for the plan to do this!

[daleanime]

22. K&R....

[ReRe]

26. K&R

[pa28]

27. We need this fight. K&R

[cantbeserious]

29. Who Stole The American Dream - Video - Book

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017163425

[reddread]

30. desperation is right

you can smell it in the behavior of some anti-Warren candidacy posts.
its like rabies.

[99Forever]

32. This is the battle we MUST fight.

There a some of them right here on DU. Do not be fooled, they do not have Democratic values or principles.

[xchrom]

33. +1

[rhett o rick]

34. +1