Today's editorial topic is Hillary's Obama problem. There are some great comments there -- go check it out!
Hillary Clinton is the darling of the Democratic Leadership Council, the closest thing we have to a democratic machine at a national level. These folks started out as the New Democrats, and Bill Clinton was their big success story.
After President Clinton was elected, they went back to the party (the DNC) and said, "Look, chasing the swing voters works. From now on, we need to not alienate the centrists, and we know that the rank and file will vote with us anyway."
This was a huge part of the Democrats becoming even more the Republicrats -- the blender smoothie two party system. As the DLC candidates -- who did have a huge success at the ballot box -- chased conservative/centrist positions, we saw the Republicans work to differentiate themselves by moving further and further right.
When I started working for the Dean campaign last go-round, it was to point out how the party had lost the Wellstone "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." I had no idea how much support Dean would attract, inside and from outside the party. I was encouraged by how many activist, sensibly liberal (I'm socially progressive and fiscally responsible-to-conservative) folks entered party politics.
We basically redefined progressive Democrat, somewhere around 2002-2003. This, rather than the online issues, may be the most vital (and unreported) consequence of the Dean campaign.
Obama is in Dean's stamp in many ways. He's a relative outsider. He's an idealist. He is not a machine politician, although since he's on a first name with the Daly administration, you have to believe he knows what it's about.
The Clinton/Obama conflict is more than just candidate squabbling. Clinton is the figurehead of the DLC machine. Obama is trying to position himself as the candidate of the Democrat rank and file. This is a small culture war within the Democratic Party, and a civil war isn't going to help an election season.
What can people who are involved in Democratic politics do to reform this kind of infighting? Is there anything we can do?
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Shava Nerad, News and Opinion Correspondent:
Shava’s column, Iconoclasm, published several times a week to Gather Essentials: Newsis an examination of the provocative ideas emerging in media and world culture behind the news.
Shava Nerad has been working on the Internet for twenty-five years, at the boundaries of Internet and social issues. She is executive director of The Tor Project as her day job. She lives in Somerville, MA with her teenage son, her fiance (a professional magician and fundraising coach), and a corgi/dachshund mutt named George.
Opinions here have nothing to do with Tor.
You can find all of Shava's Iconoclasm columns at http://Iconoclasm.gather.com
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Comments: 4
The Los Angeles Times article, however, simply reported that Obama "won't use public funds":
It is, Obama has said, "the original sin of everyone who's ever run for office -- myself included."
"In order to get elected, we need to raise vast sums of money by meeting and dealing with people who are disproportionately wealthy," he said in March 2006 as he urged passage of more restrictions on campaign money and lobbying -- a concept embraced by other Democrats in the race and some Republicans.
Obama is also advocating an overhaul of the tax-funded financing system of presidential campaigns. Like other major candidates, however, he won't use public funds -- because he would have to abide by spending caps considered too restrictive.
But Hillary is, whether we like it or not, a polarizing figure with a tremendous load of political baggage, who seems bent on making as many enemies as friends. Obama is still young, seemingly too raw and wanting in political experience, almost callow in respect to the crushing burdens of the office, especially when it comes to undoing the damage done by bush & cheney, and therefore too dependent on others for the learned skills he still lacks. To this voter, both belong where they are, in the senate where Hillary's skills can shore up a democratic administration and Obama can learn the things he needs to learn.
And yet, through it all, Gore bides his time like some smiling sphinx, "gather"ing admirers and support, saying next to nothing, letting others polish his image while waiting for that oscar to come falling into his hands.
Once that happens, and in light of the disastrous blunders of bush & co., more than a few American's will look at this distinguished, diginfied man, newly matured by the vissitudes of political fate, and say "there's the man that should have been president."
Let the draft begin.