No Surprise From the DLC

Just when I thought the right-attacks-on-the-left within the Democratic Party were over, the Democratic Leadership Council is at it again, once again attacking Democrats. The DLC's latest daily installment of vitriol and backstabbing comes from Al From and Ed Kilgore, who are calling for a purge of the left in the party, while laying down cover for those who might bail out on the party's core principles.

Some people seem surprised by that. But let's be clear - its no secret that the DLC is a corporate-funded institution designed to stealthily corporatize the Democratic Party. Like a bad virus, they exist solely to infiltrate and destroy the party from within. As From's totally out-of-touch comments show, their insular, snarky, and self-righteous operation in Washington is increasingly threatened by the grassroots outside the Beltway to the point where they are openly demanding a purge of critical parts of the party, while defending potential turncoats.

On Social Security, for instance, the DLC is already laying down cover for people like Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is flirting with selling out and supporting Social Security privatization. But we should not forget that the DLC has pocketed cash from Wall Street - the very monied interest that stands to benefit from privatization. Lieberman and the DLC have also been on Enron's dole, so their scruples about money and politics is questionable anyway. In other words, the DLC has become about one thing, and one thing only: being a vehicle for Corporate America's cold hard cash to water-down the Democratic Party.

And it doesn't stop with Social Security. Just look at this new article from the American Prospect. The DLC and its "New" (read: corporate) Democrats, "led by former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger, have been cheerleaders for the class-action bill" which limits citizens rights to defend themselves in court against abusive corporations. "Dellinger, of course, now works for Exxon and other large companies backing the tort-reform movement...Likewise, the DLC’s Progressive Policy Institute recently teamed up with Common Good, a corporate-funded tort-reform group that refers to the justice system as 'a tool for extortion,' to push a measure that would take malpractice lawsuits out of the hands of juries.'"

So before anyone gets too crazy or upset about the DLC's latest display of selling out - remember, that's their job. It's our job to expose them for what they really are, and fight for real progressive politics.