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Corporatist Democrats are upset they don't have their own tea party, so they're inventing one

Apparently not learning zip from the experience of the GOP dealing (or not dealing) with its own spawn, corporatist Democrats (specifically including Delaware Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons) seem intent on creating a Moderate/Progressive(Populist) division in their own ranks so they can go back to losing elections again:

A think tank with ties to Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons of Delaware is under fire from some Democrats for a recent op-ed that describes entitlement policies pushed by “left-wing populists” as “disastrous” for the party. 
The Dec. 3 Wall Street Journal op-ed by the Democratic centrist group Third Way assails economic populism and targets a plan by Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to expand Social Security benefits for all seniors as “exhibit A of this populist political and economic fantasy.”
But let's recall, however, that the elite leadership cadre of the Delaware's Democratic Party suffers no progressives or populists among its ranks.  You either have to be a corporatist (Markell, Carper, Coons, Carney) or corrupt (Stewart, Flowers, Jones-Potter) to be a statewide leader in today's Democratic Party.

There are some very good people trying to carry the Progressive banner in the General Assembly (Paul Baumbach, Bryan Townsend, John Kowalko), but the reality is that they're pretty much tokens in the corporate-financed statewide Democratic Party machine.

That's why you have to keep remembering that the definition of a Democrat in Delaware is a Republican who favors marriage equality.

(And if you want to know where all those Mike Castle Republicans went, you now have your answer:  they infiltrated the Democratic Party.  Don't believe me?  Then riddle me this:  exactly how many votes has John Carney made in nearly two full terms in the House wherein Mike Castle would have voted differently?  You don't need enough fingers to go to the other hand.  The same, ironically, could be said about Tom Carper and Bill Roth.)

Comments

Anonymous said…
This piece was intriguing for it made me see things in a bigger frame than just political parties... I will probably ponder this over the weekend, but I just glimpsed that ongoing struggle is between power versus populism, and political parties are interchangeable. Hence, since those who think they are the elite of Delaware have no Republicans, they now have Democrats who are now, no different than those previously who had their "slots"

Power usually wins, but not always... But this goes far back into the makeup of our species and probably, is the single driver of human history.

For example. There is huge difference in how DC or NY Security reacts to Demonstrations by those supporting the status quo of those at the top ie. Tea Party .. and those who gather to complain over policies the status quo is undertaking....Occupy. How many riot police, helicopters, dog patrols, conspicuous surveillance... are expended for either of these two groups is a good indicator I now see, of who feels threatened..... and of who needs to be suppressed....
political parties are interchangeable

You know, I used to believe that. But I have changed my mind.

Here's the difference: like their agenda or not, if you elect Republicans they will attempt to enact it. So if you don't want them trying to enact their agenda, don't elect them.

Like their agenda or not, it is usually safer to elect Democrats in the sense that they will rarely actually try to enact their stated agenda, and will instead spend their time telling you how much worse off you'd be than if you elected Republicans ... while they are simultaneously enacted 60% or better of the Republican agenda.

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