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Thursday, April 14, 2005

Kinda makes me wish he'd stay in the Senate
Posted by Jill | 2:53 PM

Jon Corzine, a preposterously wealthy man who according to Republican rules, has no business being a Democrat, is in all likelihood going to be New Jersey's next governor, barring some as-yet-unknown scandal to be exploited by one of the various Republican nitwits running on the other side.

From the "be still my heart" file comes this entry from the Senator himself at Kos (taking a page from Louise the Warrior Amazon Woman Slaughter, who's been a Kossack for a while), in which he pretty much smacks down the DLC:


Many in the progressive movement must feel despondent at this point. A reactionary Republican party is more dominant than at any point in any of our lives on a Federal level. And even where we have workable social programs on a state level, this administration is dedicated to reaching into states (including my own) and forcing their agenda upon them.

I wrote an article in 2001 for the Nation magazine in which I laid out a vision of a Democratic government that seeks to serve and involve the people. I was confronted with a choice when I was elected to the Senate of whether to join the DLC, and this article was my decision. In rejecting membership in that group, I wrote at the time:

In recent months, as a newly elected senator, I have had to decide whether to join the Democratic Leadership Council. I have chosen not to because while I shared its founding purpose, which was to frame a successful response to President Reagan's efforts to portray Democrats as the party of "tax and spend," social engineering and failed personal responsibility, I believe that purpose has been largely accomplished.
Today, I believe that it is vital for Democrats to stand up for a sharply defined progressive agenda--one that is committed to fighting for practical and progressive policies for working families and America's middle class--even when that means challenging powerful interests and the status quo. I am absolutely convinced that, standing on the foundation of fiscal stability that Democrats have built and to which the DLC contributed, we now have to fight for our convictions. If we begin to negotiate from the middle, the end result inevitably takes us to the right of where I believe our nation should be.

We also have to articulate the truth that advancing social and economic justice advances everyone's prosperity. We need to challenge the special interests that would limit the rights of labor and the opportunities of women and minorities, because we need all the talents of all our people to achieve maximum productivity and growth. We need to challenge the health insurance industry and finally win the battle for universal access to healthcare, because it is morally right and economically rational. Just because conservatives have demonized the term "universal healthcare" we should not walk away from that battle for the sake of a calculated centrism that splits the difference between right and wrong.

When I was a candidate, the polls said that the majority of New Jersey voters disagreed with my opposition to the death penalty. I'm grateful the voters respected that I said what I believed even when it wasn't popular. As progressives, we must be ready to do that. Most of the progressive agenda--healthcare, the environment, gun safety, a progressive tax policy-- reflects the values and the ideals of the majority of our people. They will vote for our agenda if we present it in practical terms and fight for it.

So while I respect the contribution of the DLC and while I respect its leaders, I'm not ready to join. The answer to "compassionate conservatism" isn't timid progressivism. It's a real commitment to equal opportunity, to fiscal responsibility and a fair society. We can and must be a party with the courage to stand tall for our beliefs because that's how we will be able to win as the party of the people.


I think it's more important than ever that we carry forward with a strong set of progressive principles.


Amen, Senator. Hey, you know, if more Democratic leaders would come on board, between Corzine's courage in adopting a progressive stance, and HoDee's plan to get organizations going in EVERY state, we just might be able to have an opposition party in this country that STANDS for something....that is, if we can get the likes of Al From and Peter Beinart out of the way.

One question, though, Senator: Why on earth do you have a do-nothing like Bob Shrum running your campaign???
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