Reich: Dem Party "dead"

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Tue Mar 13 09:02:02 PST 2001


Nathan Newman wrote:


>Actually, my argument has been over and over again that the mainstream of
>the party - what could be labelled the median Dem legislator - is to the
>LEFT of where the party was 25 years ago. Twenty-five years ago, Dems voted
>overwhelmingly for expanding GATT and other trade deals, while a majority
>has opposed NAFTA and Fast-track. Half of Dems in the House have supported
>single-payer health care and a host of other initiatives far more
>progressive than supported by the Dems a generation ago. And it is worth
>noting that where the Democratic rank-and-file of legislators have shifted a
>bit to the left, the actual Democratic leadership has shifted substantially
>to the Left.

So then why did those right-wing Dems give us Medicare, Medicaid, expansion of SS benefits, food stamps, etc., while the current gang gave us TANF and "protect the surplus" fiscal politics?

Doug



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