General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Al Franken said "I'm a DLC Democrat". [View all]CreekDog
(46,192 posts)Well, let me explain first:
1) DLC no longer exists, so there aren't any "DLC" Democrats any longer, though there are many "centrists".
2) Al Franken is not a centrist.
3) Al Franken has never been known to be a DLC-type Democrat, in fact, quite the opposite, back in the mid-1990s when many DLCers were recommending compromise and co-opting of Republican policies, styles and talking points, Al was about the first to get widespread attention for calling the most famous Republican of that time a "big fat idiot".
4) Al Franken was key to liberals standing up for themselves within the political system and within the Democratic Party. Though he was not the only fighter, his tough and funny approach was one of the most successful. He muscled, joked and jabbed his way into the national conversation which the media was content only happen on Republican terms.
All that said, the OP wants you to know that Al Franken said he was "DLC". Why does he want you to know that? Does it make you feel good about Al Franken? Probably not. If it does make you feel good but you find out that Al Franken is probably the crappiest DLC-er ever, would you still be happy?
Since the DLC no longer exists, due to lack of interest and policy prescriptions only zombies could think up...what is the point of saying that Al Franken, a liberal, a fighter saying he's DLC?
It's to make you feel bad. Feel bad about Al Franken, feel bad about the DLC, feel bad about Democrats in general (for the doomed DLC experiment), etc. It's designed to also make you argue with other Democrats and Liberals and Centrists over a random comment that never mattered much when it was said and 8 years later is so irrelevant that it's negligible. Except the OP can use it to make you feel bad, make you argue and at the same time, get attention.