March 06, 2005

The republican wing of the democratic party

Great piece from The Nation on the decline of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council and the rise of a new grassroots directed party with Dean at the helm:

"Dean won't be alone. The progressive infrastructure that helped keep Kerry alive and began crafting a sharper Democratic message--America Votes, Progressive Majority, Camp Wellstone, Democracy for America, Center for American Progress, Air America Radio, Media Matters, the blogosphere--now exerts a greater degree of influence, bankrolled by new, wealthy outsiders and small donors who share similar goals. George Soros and Peter Lewis have pledged $100 million over the next fifteen years to support a permanent idea factory rivaling right-wing think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the mushy centrism of the DLC's Progressive Policy Institute. 'We've come to represent a way of doing politics that is dangerous to people in DC who have a nice little niche,' says MoveOn.org executive director Eli Pariser. 'Bringing in the grassroots will mean a loss of influence for some of the establishment folks.'"

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