This made me laugh

President my ass

Excommunicate the DLC
by Jonathan Singer, Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 09:23:42 PM EST

For some time we have known about the DLC's interest in an independent presidential bid by Michael Bloomberg, so it should not come as a major surprise that the organization is helping New York City's Republican mayor plan his potential campaign. Andrew Kirtzman has the scoop for WCBS-News.

CBS 2 has learned the details of a private dinner for the mayor that was held at an apartment building on Manhattan's Upper East Side last month. There, he spent the evening in serious discussions about the viability of a White House run.
Sources told CBS 2 Bloomberg brought three deputy mayors with him, and proceeded to talk through every angle of a presidential run. By the end, the group had zeroed in on his running as an independent in 2008. And, the sources said, he seemed intrigued.

The dinner was held at the home of Michael Steinhardt, a legendary Wall Street hedge fund manager and a Bloomberg friend. He brought along Al From, head of the Democratic Leadership Council, which played a part in Bill Clinton's rise to power in 1992.

I don't particularly like the theoretical aim of the DLC -- bringing the Democratic Party closer to the center, or at least making it more palatable to corporations -- not do I approve of its tactics, particularly Democrat-bashing. But as bad as these two things are, for the DLC to help advance the candidacy of a presidential aspirant outside of the Democratic Party is political treason, grounds enough for excommunication.

I am all for having a big-tent party. After all, the Democratic Party has always been more welcome to differing political ideologies. Even today, during a period of great polarization, the Democratic Party welcomes many more voters and politicians from outside of the party's orthodoxy than the Republican Party. (For every Linc Chafee in the GOP there are a number of Ben Nelsons, Max Baucuses and Mark Pryors.) Ideology alone should not be grounds for kicking people out of the party (except, perhaps, in extreme situations).

But by attending a strategy session for Michael Bloomberg's independent presidential campaign, Al From has crossed the line. (Well, he probably crossed the line before, but now he has really crossed the line.) With this act, he has signaled for the last time that he is not actually interested in growing the Democratic Party to bring positive change to the country but instead interested in furthering his own power and ambition.

The Democratic Party, and even the centrists within it, must sever all ties with Al From and the DLC. They must not be allowed access to Democratic Congressional leaders. They must not be allowed a role in the nomination process in 2008. They must not be allowed a presence at the Democratic convention. By supporting Bloomberg, Al From and the DLC have indicated they no longer are interested in participating in the Democratic Party and we should see to it that they get their way.

Man, the DLC is about to be as relevant as payphones.

Bloomberg is a good manager, but that's it. He's a tiny man who meets zero requirements to be president. The modern Dukakis.

Let them run him. Please. Then we can find out what he really thinks of Giuliani and Pataki.