RW is emboldened to attack public pensions because Dem policy is almost the same.

madfloridian

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Fri Feb-18-11 12:34 AM
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RW is emboldened to attack public pensions because Dem policy is almost the same.

That's perhaps why we are not hearing too much talking out on the real issue of public employee pensions. I noticed a couple of Democrats today came out and said to not bash unions, and that's a good thing.

But it appears to me that their new policy shop, The Third Way, is giving almost the same advice as the right wing appears to be getting. The talking points coming from them are scarily similar to those of the Right.

This is from an op ed right after the election written by two leaders of the The Third Way Democratic think tank.

Here is the op ed from Politico:

How the Democrats can stay relevant

First off they blame the loss of the 2010 elections on the fact that we did not stay enough in the "middle". Then they lecture the Left on pension reform. Sounds very familiar. Note the way they use the word "liberal". New think tank, same old BS about liberals that we got from the DLC.

To prove that Democrats got the voters� message about excessive government spending, the party must prove it is tough enough to take on the most sacred liberal programs: reforming federal pensions.

More than two million federal employees are now beneficiaries of a pension system that is far more generous than anything available to private sector workers with the same skills. Reforming the system so that federal employees contribute roughly the same amount that private employees contribute would save more than $250 billion dollars over the next two decades.

Well, in Florida that is part and parcel of our benefits package...it's in lieu of more raises.

Then these two guys talk about how "gutsy" the party would be to take on the "special interest group", which I assume means public employees. Nice, huh. Tell me how that is different than the 3 governors who are catering to the tea baggers? It's not different.

Here is the bio of the two authors:

Jim Kessler, vice president of policy at Third Way, served as policy director for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Jon Cowan, president of Third Way, served as Chief of Staff of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Secretary Andrew Cuomo.

This gutsy move would show that Democrats are not beholden to any special interest group and are prepared to challenge their own orthodoxies as they seek to modernize programs they championed in the 20th century.

There are lessons to be learned from Tuesday's election that go well beyond being in a recession and the fickleness of today�s swing voters. If Democrats don't heed them � and promote a bold, forward-looking growth agenda that inspires centrists and the middle class � they may have to get used to minority status.

That is the same interpretation given to why the party loses for decades. They keep saying it, and they keep losing. 2008 the party was more receptive to its left wing, and the DNC was opening up the states and moving some of the power out of DC.

There is an article this week at the Daily Beast by Kirsten Powers, who last I heard was Fox News favorite Democrat. It makes sure to put us in our place and let us know that although the DLC ended the centrists are still in control.

DLC Shut Down: The Democrats� New Power Base

The Democratic Leadership Council may be shutting down, but the progressives haven�t won. Centrism is alive and well in the think tank Third Way, whose advice on health care and the economy has swayed the White House.

There it is in black and white....progressive haven't won. That is made clear to us every election whether we win or lose. And yes, if you peruse the Third Way site...you will see that she is right. Their words are practically the same as that of the party leadership.

This next part of Kirsten Powers column is really snide and condescending. The centrists have done that for years to us, and I for one am very tired of it.

Throwing more water on the left�s delusion that centrism has been shown the door, Obama recently hired a trio of powerful centrists�the aforementioned Bill Daley, Gene Sperling, and Bruce Reed�to reorient his administration toward a more pragmatic strategy.

Reed, who previously headed the Democratic Leadership Council, is now Vice President Biden�s chief of staff. That�s not exactly Siberia for the centrists.

The reality is that even those on the left who deride centrism could find a lot to like in the work of Third Way if they could stop hyperventilating with the same recycled accusations from the intra-party battles of the past.

Contrary to the claims of the Daily Kos crowd, Third Way is not a shill for corporations. If they shill for anyone, it is the middle class, and that�s something every Democrat should be able to get behind.

That is pure baloney.

I remember a Democrat who once said that unions helped build the strong middle class in this country. That was in 2003. I don't see him out and about anymore standing up for unions and pointing that their pensions an important part of their income for which most accept less pay in return.

Small wonder the extreme right wing folks who were newly elected as teaparty leaders actually feel bold enough to go after public employees and pensions.

They do not expect a fight from Democratic leaders, and they probably won't get one.

What is going on in Wisconsin warms my heart. I only feel sad because I doubt I will see Floridians fighting back.