The right’s hopes are dashed: Why there’s no civil war among Democrats

[DonViejo]

Hacks and pundits are desperately seeking conflict between the Warren and Clinton “camps.” Democrats shouldn't help

JOAN WALSH

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz and Philip Rucker apparently made it official, for the Beltway, anyway: There’s a split in the Democratic Party that threatens its post-Obama future. The party is supposedly torn between the populism of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, and the centrist caution of President Obama and the current Democratic presidential frontrunner (should she run) Hillary Clinton.

Reading the Balz-Rucker piece, you might recognize its central argument: It’s essentially a reported-out version of the op-ed penned by centrist Third Way leaders in the Wall Street Journal in December, stigmatizing De Blasio and Warren for their “dead end” populism. Except Balz and Rucker don’t entirely take sides – and they even talk to nominal progressives who sound a little bit like the Third Way folks.

“I think it’s really not helpful for the Democrats to turn this into an attack on the one percent,” former SEIU president Andy Stern told the Post reporters. “I don’t think it’s in the American spirit, or at least the Democratic Party’s future spirit. As Republicans attack immigration, we attack rich people? If you learned anything from the president, selling hope is better than selling hate.”

Personally, I think it’s really not helpful for Democrats to caricature other Democrats as selling “hate” if they point to the disproportionate income, wealth and political power currently enjoyed by the one percent. Hell, even some one percenters think the pendulum has swung too far. (Not crazy sore-winners like Tom Perkins, of course.)

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http://www.salon.com/2014/02/19/the_rights_hopes_are_dashed_why_there%E2%80%99s_no_civil_war_among_democrats/

[Scootaloo]

1. It does showcase an integral difference...

Republicans who think the democrats are in some sort of civil war - and Democrats who think so too - are people who don't understand the fundamental principle of the Democrtic party, the core of liberalism that runs it

Liberals have ideas.

Sounds glib, but that's what it is. We think, we imagine, we discuss and hell yes, we argue.

Republicans - and conservatives - have no real comprehension of this. There, one guy has an idea and everyone is supposed ot fall in line behind him. No discussion, no debate, no suggestions, Der Führer has spoken, now it's time to march. And yes, there are democrats like this as well - just because the core of the party is the liberal ideology hardly means all Democrats are liberals. .

But.. .that's the difference. Liberals and democrats are able to disagree without it being some sort of nuclear catastrophe. We're fluid, not crystalline, we don't shatter and splinter.

I'm not a gigantic fan of Clinton - she didn't do anything as a Senator and some of the stuff with her as SoS makes me slap my head (Bahrain, for example - sorry Sec. Clinton, cheering for a government's violent repression of its people is not what I want in a future president) but this is not some sort of "war against the party," it's my oersonal opinion that sec. Clinton isn't the best person for the job - Or at least a flickering hope that she won't be, once we see the primary candidates. Her supporters of course disagree with me, probably quite strongly. Good for them, I know I'm right, they know they're right, and end o the day we're going to primary for whoever we figure is the best liberal contending, and then whoever it is is going to stomp the shit out of whatever cretinous mollusk the Republicans field. In this case, probably Romney again.

[PeteSelman]

2. Of course there isn't. The left was destroyed years ago.

That war happened 25 years ago and the DLC won. Oh, there have always been a few of the old guard left around but they have no real say and no power.

[hlthe2b]

3. War between Warren and Clinton camps? My experience is that Warren is well respected by nearly all.

She (Warren) has expressed admiration for Clinton. So, I would hope there would not be such internecine warfare among Dems that the RETHUGS would desperately love to incite. (on DU, as well)....

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. The diversity of the Democratic Party has been one of its biggest strengths

and sometimes its own "weakness" as well- when it comes to trying to unify and rally around candidates and/or policies. But, I'll take it over the Republican Party model that discourages critical/rational thought, demands obedience, eschews genuine compromise, etc.

[upaloopa]

5. "Selling hope better than selling hate"

How much hope did we buy? How much did we get?
I know the congress

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. Great OP ...

But I wish she had taken it a step further ... from "Not Helping/Not Beneficial" to downright destructive for both sides of the Democratic party.

[Jamaal510]

7. The only place where

there is somewhat of a civil war is right here on DU. That's it. Once one steps into the outside world, people are obviously very different from DU in their political opinions and what they find important, even many Democrats. The average person in real-life is much more concerned about getting health care and a job with a livable wage than whether the government is checking out their porn and drug stash or not.