Radical Change for a Moderate Bastion

By Chris Cillizza
Monday, March 23, 2009

The recent retirement of Democratic Leadership Council chief executive Al From and the decoupling of the DLC and the Progressive Policy Institute, its longtime think tank, mark the first major changes at the organization in the better part of a decade. Depending on your point of view, the changes signal either the end of the group or a chance for its rebirth.

The DLC, which served as the ideas incubator for President Bill Clinton's third-way approach to governance, has grown less and less central to the Democratic policy debate since the former Arkansas governor's two terms in the White House. Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, ran away from his prior allegiance to the centrist politics of the DLC in the 2000 presidential campaign, and neither Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) nor then-Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) highlighted their moderate credentials during their respective presidential bids.

One senior party strategist, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said that the DLC has recently "had trouble finding a footing."

During that same time frame the liberal left has grown exponentially in power and prestige, espousing a "damn the torpedoes" approach that runs almost directly counter to the DLC's message.

"The DLC's way of doing politics, of trying to blur the differences between us and Republicans, gave us a Republican majority, eight years of George W. Bush and little hope for victory," said Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos and a leading voice in the Net roots.

Others -- including newly named DLC President Bruce Reed -- vehemently dispute that characterization of the group, its mission and its relevance to the current political debate. "The Bush years were a lousy time for Democrats generally," Reed said in an interview with The Fix. "Other organizations thrive in opposition more than we do."

In a recent essay for Slate, Reed noted that President Obama had not only described himself as a "New Democrat" but also put forward a reform-minded agenda -- particularly on education -- that put him squarely in line with DLC values.

"From his education reform agenda to his team of pragmatists to his heavy emphasis on responsibility, Obama is leading the country the way he promised he would: neither to the left nor right but on a path that's new and different," Reed wrote.

Conversations with party strategists who take no firm position on the rise or decline of the DLC suggest that Reed's presence as the new face of the organization is likely to keep it relevant. Reed is close to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel -- the two worked together in the Clinton White House and co-wrote a book on "big ideas for America" titled "The Plan" in 2006 -- and they speak regularly over the phone.

"This White House has an insatiable appetite for ideas," Reed said. "In my experience, it's always better to give Rahm what he wants."

Reed said that in the near term the DLC will focus almost exclusively on policy-building to spur discussion and innovation in the White House. He added that the organization will also ramp up its fellows program -- bringing more rising DLC stars to Washington to meet and greet politicians, reporters and operatives.

Former senator John Breaux of Louisiana, one of the prime movers in the formation of the DLC in the mid-1980s, argued that the group's importance has increased with Obama's election. "In order to maintain a majority, you are going to have to have the moderates as part of it," Breaux said. "If you lose the moderate wing of the party, you rapidly become a minority party."

The Voices of the GOP

Republicans continue to search for the right spokesman to effectively counter the Obama message machine. And the lack of an obvious counter to the president allows controversial (and divisive) figures such as former vice president Richard B. Cheney and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh to fill the void -- often to the detriment of the party's goals.

Nonetheless, influential Republicans are jockeying to steer the party in their preferred direction in advance of the 2010 and 2012 elections. Below we've ranked the five people exerting the most power over the party's message and direction.

5. Sarah Palin: The Alaska governor managed to turn a great story for her -- that she was coming to Washington to headline a House-Senate fundraising dinner in June -- into a press debacle after her official office denied it was happening. (It is.) The episode suggested a disconnect between her growing political operation in Washington and her office in Anchorage that needs to be fixed and fixed quickly.

4. Mark Sanford: The back-and-forth between national Democrats, who funded an ad attacking the South Carolina governor for rejecting some of the stimulus money, has nothing but upside for Sanford. It elevates him in the eyes of Republican primary voters and reaffirms him as the unapologetic voice of true fiscal conservatives.

3. Newt Gingrich: Without an obvious party leader, a number of smart strategists believe, Republicans will have to coalesce around ideas on which the eventual presidential nominee will run in 2012. There is no better "ideas guy" in the GOP than the former House speaker.

2. Haley Barbour: The governor of Mississippi is the party's biggest -- and most influential -- behind-the-scenes player. Barbour is poised to chair the Republican Governors Association in 2010 when 36 governors races present an opportunity for the GOP to begin its long climb back to majority status.

1. Mitt Romney: No one is doing more to claim control of the Republican Party than Romney. Witness the nearly $600,000 he has raised through his Free and Strong America PAC so far in 2009 and his regular television turns, including an appearance on "Larry King Live" last Thursday in which Romney insisted that Obama is "not experienced in the matters that we're dealing with right now." The more ascendant the economy is as an issue, the more Republicans will turn to Romney as their most credible national voice.

Players

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has brought on Jim Bognet, a veteran of the Romney presidential campaign, to serve as deputy campaign manager for his 2010 bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Bognet was Romney's policy development director and previously served as his full-time economic adviser. After Romney came up short in the primaries, Bognet went to work for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the general election -- working on the communications side and playing a role in debate prep.

Bognet will be working on the other side of his former boss in the governor's race; Romney has endorsed the candidacy of his longtime friend -- and former eBay president -- Meg Whitman.

2 DAYS: President Obama headlines his first party fundraiser -- to benefit the Democratic National Committee -- since being elected to the White House. The event will be held at the Warner Theatre in Washington.

66 DAYS: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (a.k.a. "Tpaw") turns 49 on May 28. Within a few weeks, he is expected to make a decision on whether to run for reelection to a third term in 2010 -- an announcement freighted with 2012 presidential implications.