The Democratic Left Won This Election But Can't Govern Without Moderates (William Chriolas)

  William Chirolas -- World News Trust

  Nov. 10, 2006 -- While House victories in NH-01, NH-02, NY-24, FL-22, PA-07, PA-08, IA-01, IA-02, CO-07, AZ-08, KY-03, CT-05, CA-11, MN-01, and NY-19 all point to folks more left than center winning for the Democrats, the Blue Dog moderates replacing GOP moderates were a major part of the mix that allowed the Democratic Party to gain the majority.

  There really are fiscal conservatives who are Dems -- not like that is a bad thing (sorry Seinfeld -- :-) ).

  So why the anger against the DLC -- is it their position of no impeachment until, and only if, oversight hearings reveal crimes that force a move in that direction?  This "DLC" approach seems just like smart politics to me.

  Culturally conservative Democrats and fiscal conservative Democrats are all part of the big tent -- the big tent that must govern as a 51 percent majority and make compromises with the even more distasteful to the left group known as the GOP -- if they are to get anything passed into law and signed. Of course, as the majority, those bills must be presented with feigned magnanimity to the GOP as a choice between bad and worse.

  Social conservative Democrats agree with those not socially conservative about the need for social justice. We on the left should be able to get our legislation passed into law if we can compromise around the edges. Indeed this election can be viewed as a defeat for the extremes of the Religious Right and of the secular Left.

  Many of the winning Democrats are fiscally conservative, economic populists and that includes a significant number of candidates who are social conservatives with religious morality the number one issue for this life and their family, who are committed to a new direction in Iraq. Some of the Democratic vote came from socially conservative Christians, Jews, and Muslims -- especially evangelicals and Catholics -- who want a moral agenda that is broader than only abortion and same-sex marriage.

  To get the majority, the secular Democrats and the non-secular Democrats had to form an alliance. Does anyone think that kicking the less socialist, more religious, populists to the curb will result in getting legislation, legislation that the left wants and the country needs, out of this Congress? Poverty, the war in Iraq, strengthening families, and protecting the environment are all moral values. And the Democratic Party was the party of moral values in the 06 election.

  The great discovery made in '06 was that Democrats on the left and Democrats in the center both support those moral values. Rather than bashing the DLC, shouldn't rest of the Democratic Party be working with them to get some of the benefits of what we are told is a great economy down to the many in the population, indeed most of the population, that are being left out?

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  William Chirolas brings 40 years of real-world business experience in local, state, national, and international tax, pensions, and finance to the world of blogging. A graduate of MIT, he calls the Boston area home, except when visiting kids and grandkids. He can be reached at:  \n This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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