In 2008, we (hopefully) elected some real Democrats
Monday, November 17, 2008
While I surely look back with fondness on the peace and prosperity of the 1990’s, this was a time in the history of the Democratic Party that I dare not return. The Clintonian policies of balanced budgets, fairer taxes and investments in education and infrastructure helped progressively power the economy of the 90’s, but other actions helped conservatives (Democrats included) sew the seeds of today’s financial crisis and further the decline of the middle class.
At the time, the Democrats acted like liberals on cultural issues, but Democratic leaders caved into the Republican policies on issues of Wall Street. Back then, the Democratic leadership Council was still powerful within the Party and Clinton was their leader. According to the DLC, if you weren’t a “New Democrat” you were a loser, bound to be tossed out of office and relegated to the dustbin of history. According to them, everything that went well politically was a result of their policies and when things went bad, they were always quick to say that if Democrats acted more like them, they would have won. The DLC, with Bill Clinton as chief spokesman, pushed unfair trade and essentially told blue collar workers – and America as a whole - that manufacturing jobs were expendable. They conveyed a message that blue collar workers futures were being traded for the jobs of Wall Street and the college educated. It wasn’t too hard to paint Democrats as elitist when we were guided by a core economic message that picked winners and losers.
Part of the DLC message was declaring the “era of big government is over”. True to message, in
1999, President Bill Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. (Sponsored by among others, Phil Gramm, now banking lobbyist.) This legislation repealed portions of the Glass-Steagall Act, which was enacted following the Great Depression. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, among other things, established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and established banking reforms to control speculation and prohibit certain types of banks from owning other types of financial institutions. This included mixing commercial banks with investment banks and mixing banks with some of the insurance companies that are failing today. (Paragraph edited for clarity and corrections)
In the end, the DLC message and policies led to the Democrats downfall. Who wants to vote for a Democrat acting like a Republican, when you can vote for the real thing? Fortunately, when Democrats were tossed out of office, it was the DLCers who took the majority of the hit. Their ineffectual leadership, regular pandering to Republican demands and essentially making decisions based on political posturing, instead of core Democratic beliefs led to the Democrats losing control in 2002.
Thankfully, the Democratic Party is now led by the Obamas, Deans, and Bidens of the party, while and the days of Clinton, Harold Ford, Terry McAuliffe, and Joe Lieberman are over. The progressive movement regained control of the party and we seem to have grown back our confidence and spine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t soon enough to head off the financial and manufacturing melt down we are seeing today.
It is my hope that we have not only learned the political and electoral lessons of being “New Democrats” but also learned the economic lessons as well.
------
For a short history lesson on the history on banking regulations, visit this article, written by Robert Sweere in the Springfield Missouri News-Leader.
Read more...
At the time, the Democrats acted like liberals on cultural issues, but Democratic leaders caved into the Republican policies on issues of Wall Street. Back then, the Democratic leadership Council was still powerful within the Party and Clinton was their leader. According to the DLC, if you weren’t a “New Democrat” you were a loser, bound to be tossed out of office and relegated to the dustbin of history. According to them, everything that went well politically was a result of their policies and when things went bad, they were always quick to say that if Democrats acted more like them, they would have won. The DLC, with Bill Clinton as chief spokesman, pushed unfair trade and essentially told blue collar workers – and America as a whole - that manufacturing jobs were expendable. They conveyed a message that blue collar workers futures were being traded for the jobs of Wall Street and the college educated. It wasn’t too hard to paint Democrats as elitist when we were guided by a core economic message that picked winners and losers.
Part of the DLC message was declaring the “era of big government is over”. True to message, in
1999, President Bill Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. (Sponsored by among others, Phil Gramm, now banking lobbyist.) This legislation repealed portions of the Glass-Steagall Act, which was enacted following the Great Depression. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, among other things, established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and established banking reforms to control speculation and prohibit certain types of banks from owning other types of financial institutions. This included mixing commercial banks with investment banks and mixing banks with some of the insurance companies that are failing today. (Paragraph edited for clarity and corrections)In the end, the DLC message and policies led to the Democrats downfall. Who wants to vote for a Democrat acting like a Republican, when you can vote for the real thing? Fortunately, when Democrats were tossed out of office, it was the DLCers who took the majority of the hit. Their ineffectual leadership, regular pandering to Republican demands and essentially making decisions based on political posturing, instead of core Democratic beliefs led to the Democrats losing control in 2002.
Thankfully, the Democratic Party is now led by the Obamas, Deans, and Bidens of the party, while and the days of Clinton, Harold Ford, Terry McAuliffe, and Joe Lieberman are over. The progressive movement regained control of the party and we seem to have grown back our confidence and spine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t soon enough to head off the financial and manufacturing melt down we are seeing today.
It is my hope that we have not only learned the political and electoral lessons of being “New Democrats” but also learned the economic lessons as well.
------
For a short history lesson on the history on banking regulations, visit this article, written by Robert Sweere in the Springfield Missouri News-Leader.
