DLC: Let's split the Democratic vote in 2008

My complaints about the Democratic Leadership Council are many. Their members in Congress (like Joe Lieberman and William Jefferson) don't seem to be any real asset to the party, and their spokespeople are most notable for criticizing fellow Democrats and urging them to move ever more rightward on policy.

Now we have prominent DLCers, including the founder, pushing New York mayor Michael Bloomberg as an alternative to Republicans and Democrats.

Marshall Wittmann, a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, which is affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council, said that in many ways Mr. Bloomberg had been building on the political legacy of moderate New York Republicans like Nelson A. Rockefeller and Jacob K. Javits. "It's hard-headed, but liberal on social issues and fiscally responsible," said Mr. Wittmann, who has worked for SenatorJohn McCain. "He very much fits that mold that's been dormant, even in the Democratic Party."

I can't even imagine how Wittman came to this conclusion about the Dems, because socially liberal and fiscally responsible is exactly what we're about these days, and it's exactly why we haven't been able to do anything to stop the Republicans in control of government-- the GOP opposes both of those things and uses their power to stop either from becoming national policy.

Add to that the rather obvious fact that Bloomberg would split the left and centrist vote while alienating the righties with his New York talk of gun control and science education-- putting them solidly behind the GOP candidate. It's a recipe for four more years of regressive social policy and fiscal irresponsibility, and one that would be served up on a platter by the goofballs of the DLC.