DLC Press=attack quotes

I used to work for the Democratic Leadership Counsel, back when I first graduated from college. The people there are great, smart, and genuinely trying to do the best thing for the Democratic Party. So too are the elected officials they court and trot out at events.

But the sad thing is, the only time any DLC/PPI (Progressive Policy Institute) event gets coverage is when Will Marshall or Al From or Bruce Reed or some elected (like Lieberman or Bayh or Vilsack) critique their party. Even when these folks are trying to engage the Party in a discussion, the part that gets quoted is the "Democrats need to stop...[negative GOP talking point] instead they should...." sentence. Buried in these reports is the vision, and when it is described it is also negatively described. Marshall is quoted as saying the party needs to be like Truman again, the press implying that the Demcorats are like Mondale or McGovern I guess.

Democrats disagree about whether to or when to pull out of Iraq, or if it was a bad idea to go in the first place, or how to talk about it. But in doing so, Democrats, especially New Dems should avoid couching their advice in negative terms towards the Party at public events. How about "Democrats can regain the advantage we held on national security issues for 80 years by..." instead of blaming their liberal collegues' ideas or purported ideas?

The press are idiotic drones looking for the same old story: Democrats are weak and divided and Republicans are strong and unified. So don't give them an inch, or in this case, a word, that will allow the press to print another "fight" story. This goes double for those chickenshit unnamed sources who are whiny Democrats. New Dems can say something like "While I may disagree with Sen. Finegold about setting a deadline for troop withdrawal, we all can agree that this situation in Iraq cannot go on indefinately." This isn't painting a Potemkin village, this is stating the facts: DLC Democrats and Wellstone Democrats agree about 80-90% on Domestic Policy and probably like 60-75% on Foreign Policy.

I know those politicans crave quotes and stories, but part of the DLC training and part of the messaging advice should be don't say anything that sounds like you are picking a fight with your party. Disagree? Fine by me. Suggest a different course? Cool. But really, you should be picking a fight with the Republicans about all the bad stuff they have done and the bad stuff they do to you.

Democrats seem weak to the American public because they appear to cater to polling rather than their gut reaction [supported by facts of course]. Not just on questions of war and peace, but on when an opponent picks a fight or slimes you. Fight back with some dirt of your own by saying "I find it ironic that X's surrogates are calling me a Y without any proof when X has done..." or "Only a coward and a bully throws mud when faced with almost certain defeat, and make no mistake X is a coward trying to bully me. Ladies and Gentlemen, I won't stand for it." Then have your press people leak the complex truth that refutes X's smear.

Either DLCers don't realize how their being played (and have no clue how to fix the problem) or they are seeking the press come hell or high water, or they really are RINOs like some in lefty blogostan believe. I hope it is the first, but fear it is the second.