Hillary appears to have thrown her lot with the DLC and
announced a so-called "centrist" agenda called the "American Dream Initiative."
DENVER -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton joined centrist Democrats yesterday in unveiling a new agenda designed to boost the prospects of the middle class, calling for easier access to college education, universal healthcare for children, and requiring nearly all employers to set up retirement accounts for their workers.
Her statement did include one relatively astute bit of framing: "`We can replace trickle-down economics with rise-up economics," she said. But the DLC made clear that it intends to campaign against liberals, not Republicans:
Al From, the DLC's founder, delivered a veiled jab at liberal bloggers and others who want moderates to boldly attack Bush and the GOP. He told attendees in Denver that this year's election will be ``an argument, not a shouting match" between Democrats and Republicans.
``We need to grow our party, not shrink it," From said. ``We need to persuade more voters to vote Democratic, not fewer. . . . We need to be a party of ideas, not a party of anger."
Vilsack struck a similar tone, encouraging Democrats to win elections with constructive ideas rather than attacks on the president. ``It seems to me that everybody in the country understands what this administration has done wrong," said Vilsack, the DLC's current chairman. ``It is important now for this country to understand what we need to do that's right."
In that spirit, the agenda completely ignores any awkward mentions of the war in Iraq.
Yet as a platform for Democrats, the initiative is notably silent on what could be the overarching issue of the 2006 elections: the Iraq war. Clinton said the omission was deliberate, since the plan focuses on domestic policy and expanding and strengthening the middle class.
That's not the only thing it omits. Here is a glimpse of the rousing, inspirational, big-idea battle flag that Hillary expects to rally the troops:
Education
- Math and science initiative to retain our competitive advantage.
- Longer school days and school years.
- Teach creativity for critical thinking.
- Improve pay, reform teacher tenure, and install measures of accountability.
- Introduce efficiency audits in schools.
How will this be any different than "Every Child Left Behind?" I'm certain once we see the footnotes on page sixteen, the distinctions will be crystal clear to voters.
Environment and Security
- Smart energy investments in conservation, renewable, and practical incentives.
- Create local counterterrorism forces and an emergency service corps.
- Improve the security of identification cards.
- Update our food security practices to prevent biological attack.
Did you notice? The environment doesn't even rate its own section here; the DLC sweeps it into homeland security to avoid embarrassing accusations of "tree-hugger." I do admire the concise language, though: who else could reduce the entire planet to one bullet point?
Talking about security, the release overlooks small details like Bush's gutted FEMA, Osama-been-forgotten, ports and chemical plants still naked and vulnerable, and, oh yeah, an outraged Muslim world.
Surely, though, a plan focused on the American dream contains a powerful economic program, no?
Economics
- Pay-as-you-go budgeting (only spending new money when you offset with cuts).
- Portable pensions and health insurance that workers can carry from job to job.
- Regional healthcare pools and alliances so small businesses can more easily offer coverage.
- Require employers to set up 401(k)s for their workers.
- Universal healthcare for children
How about protecting Social Security? Stopping the transfer of wealth to the wealthy? And while children are cute and all, I doubt that children are the ones currently bankrupting our healthcare system.
There's a lot more that's not there; David Sirota has a good list.
But it's the overall tone of the agenda that's astounding. It's worse than inadequate. In the words of the immortal Newt Gingrich in another era, it's nothing but "tiny ideas from tiny minds."
If you're looking for the politics of contrast, you're looking in the wrong place. Unless you mean fake contrast between "centrist" positions and "ultra-liberals" and bloggers, of course.
Had enough? Too bad. The DLC wants to bring you more of the same.