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Al From’s “The New Democrats and the Return to Power” tells the important story of how a political party in trouble can reinvent itself and regain power. The book is particularly timely because the Republican Party’s leadership has set a goal of broadening its appeal after losing the last two presidential elections. And the Democrats will need to look closely at their political direction after President Barack Obama, with his unique coalition of supporters, leaves the White House. […] (From) has written a thorough account of the successful effort to pull the Democratic Party toward the political center. …

It's du Sextidi de Frimaire and already the Democrat Jacobins are in the midst of their Reign of Terror of sending their own Girondists to the metaphorical guillotine. The object of their wrath in this case is Al From of the Democratic Leadership Council. So how bad do the DUmmies want to purge From and the DLC Girondists from their party? The title of this DUmmie THREAD will give you a hint: "Al From is a cancer on the Democratic Party." So let us now watch the Democrats begin their internal Reign of Terror in Bolshevik Red while the...

Why haven't Democratic elites embraced Clintonism, given the former president's success? As the 2006 and 2008 elections loom ever nearer, Democrats are racking their brains for a political philosophy that can return the party to power. Everywhere, we hear the same lament: If only Democrats had a proven formula for winning elections and governing the country. Fortunately, we do: It's called Clintonism. By any logical standard, Democrats of every stripe ought to be embracing Clintonism and its central tenets -- providing people with more opportunity while demanding more responsibility, and being willing to try new methods to realize progressive ideals....

Liberal Democratic Party leaders are far more worried about government power than they are about fighting America's enemies, the founder of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council said. In yet another stinging critique of the Democrats' liberal wing, DLC founder and chief executive Al From said his party could lose this year's midterm elections if it continues sending a message to voters that it is weak on national security issues in the war on terrorism. "Despite all that has happened since November 2004, I fear the 2006 national election could turn on whether voters' unease with the Democrats on national security...

Here are some simple truths every Democrat needs to hear. To win back the White House in 2008, our party must change. We must be willing to discard political strategies that may make us feel good but that keep falling short. We must finally reject the false choice between exciting our base and expanding our appeal, because unless we both motivate and persuade, we'll lose every time. But above all, Democrats must be bold and clear about what we stand for. It's time to show the millions of people who can't tell what Democrats stand for that any American who...

DLC Leadership Attacks Michael Moore/MoveOn.Org Democrat Party Base:DLC CEO Al From: "You've Got To Reject Michael Moore And The MoveOn Crowd." (NBC?s "First Read," 3/1/05)"Rank-And-File Democrats 'Are More Like Us Than MoveOn,' Which [Al] From Called A Group Of 'Elites, People Who Sit In Their Basements All The Time And Play On Their Computers.'" (NBC?s "First Read," 3/1/05)MoveOn.Org Lashes Out Against DLC's Relevance:MoveOn.Org's Washington Director Tom Matzzie: "The Candidates Want Nothing To Do With The DLC, It's So Out Of Vogue." (Adam C. Smith, "Unshaven, Unbowed And In Our Face," St. Petersburg Times, 2/18/05)Matzzie: "If The DLC Disappeared From The...

Despite this overwhelming evidence, Washington, DC, Democrats apparently have not gotten the message that their current definition of "centrism" is actually pulling the party further and further out of the mainstream. Looking out over Washington, DC, from his plush office, Al From is once again foaming at the mouth. The CEO of the corporate-sponsored Democratic Leadership Council and his wealthy cronies are in their regular post-election attack mode. Despite wins by economic populists in red states like Colorado and Montana this year, the DLC is claiming like a broken record that progressive policies are hurting the Democratic Party. From's group...

In the new issue of Blueprint Magazine (the DLC's house organ) Al From and Bruce Reed take yet another whack at convincing Democrats that moving to the middle is the only way to stop the party's slide. From and Reed argue that the first thing the party must do is to face up to some ugly political facts: For the first time since before the New Deal, Republicans are now the majority party from the top of the ballot to the bottom. That's reality -- and we delude ourselves if we take false comfort in the closeness of our loss....

<p>As the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination begins in earnest, it's important for the candidates and Democratic voters to remember that the real prize is the White House, not the nomination.</p> <p>So far, candidates have focused on winning the party faithful who vote in the early primaries and caucuses. That's understandable, but it's feeding a new conventional wisdom that all the candidates need to do to win is to turn out their base. That's a dangerous strategy for Democrats because the numbers just don't add up. About a third of all voters are Democrats. So even if every one of them marched to the polls, we'd still need a healthy slice of swing voters. To win next fall Democrats must persuade, not just energize. That's why Democrats need to make this election about the future. We must offer Americans a vision that tells them what we'll do for the country that George W. Bush won't. We can make a powerful case.</p>

Al From is quivering with rage. It's the end of a long day in late July at the Wyndham Philadelphia, and with a sheen of sweat coating his face, he gleams with emotion as he launches into the closing speech of the day at the DLC's annual conference. It's a grim speech, delivered in rousing, impassioned tones more vehement than any other speech that day. "We cannot allow our party to be hijacked!" thunders From, railing against the leftists who have been his bête noire since he founded the DLC in 1985. "The future of our party and more importantly...

As strong as President Bush seems today, he's not invincible. But there's only one way any Democratic candidate can defeat him in 2004. That's by asserting a clear sense of national purpose — by getting the big things right and by convincing Americans that he can provide our country better leadership than Bush can. But there are any number of strategies that won't work for Democrats. Democrats won't win a fund-raising contest with Bush. The president is likely to break all fund-raising records — and no Democrat will be able to come even close. The Democratic candidate needs to raise...

Centrist Democrats meet to the disdain of the left By Dick Polman Inquirer Staff Writer Liberal and moderate Democrats are embroiled in one of their perennial pastimes - beating each other up - and the pugilists don't expect the bloody wounds to heal any time soon. Al From was talking about this not long ago, while forking his lunch in Center City. His moderate group, the corporate-financed Democratic Leadership Council, which has sought since its creation in 1985 to move the party away from big-government liberalism, is meeting through today in Philadelphia, working on a strategy for defeating President Bush....

<p>Democrats are fighting again over their party's direction. We think that's a good thing.</p> <p>The 2004 presidential nominating process is the first big chance Democrats have had to define the party in a dozen years. This definition will determine whether our candidate can defeat George W. Bush. For party and country, the stakes couldn't be higher, so we've urged candidates to follow President Clinton's strategy and seize the vital center, not veer left.</p>

missus clinton's Cover Lies and the Howard Dean Syndrome Mia T, 6.25.03   The clinton Complex-Question Fallacy Scheme notwithstanding, it is axiomatic and confirmed on a daily basis by clinton "infrastructure" strategy, itself, that hillary ("listening tour" / cozy-clintonoid-interviews-of-the-Colmes-kind) clinton is no better than Howard Dean at withstanding media scrutiny... and is likely significantly worse. From this it follows--if one also notices that media genuflection before the altar of clinton is no longer de rigueur--that hillary clinton cannot survive the standard, lengthy, probing presidential-campaign process. An end run is her only option. And contrary to conventional wisdom, time is not...

<p>PHILADELPHIA - The head of a political group that helped Bill Clinton become president in 1992 said Democrats need to claim more credit for military victories in Afghanistan and Iraq if they are to win the White House in 2004.</p>

100 to Watch: A Letter from DLC Founder and CEO Al From The Next Generation of Leadership By Al From The end of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2001 closed a remarkable chapter in the New Democrat success story. Yet it also marked a new beginning -- the passing of the torch to a new generation of New Democrat leaders. Here we feature 100 who are making their mark in cities and states across our land. This is our second such listing. In the summer of 2000, we introduced you to 100 of these rising stars beyond the Beltway and below...

Critics again fire away at Bush Jabs over scandals, economy signal end of Sept. 11 shield 07/30/2002 By DAVID JACKSON / The Dallas Morning News NEW YORK - If there was any doubt that President Bush has lost his wartime shield from political attack, Democrats dispelled it Monday. A parade of critics that included presidential aspirants went after Mr. Bush on corporate corruption and the economy. Some even challenged his conduct of the war on terrorism. "What has George Bush done? He has put America on the wrong track," said Democratic Leadership Council founder Al From, whose organization sponsored...