but it hides a growing gap within the party between the party establishment and a more populous wing. so far, president obama has been able to paper over that gap working to connect the two sides by opting to emphasize pragmatism over ideology. hillary clinton, a fellow prague ma activity, would likely play the same role, but the split is still there, and if neither obama nor clinton were able to hold the two wings together, it wouldn t take much to spark a full-blown ideological dive. people like warren or de blasio are on board for income equality, but arguing for more aggressive policies than the ones currently in the democratic mainstream, and currently being pushed by this president, like taxing the wealthy to pay for pre-k program and expanding social security benefits. it remains to be seen if that can gain currency with the establishment. al frum said new ways of thinking will be key to energ e energizing democrats in the post-obama era. today in politics, there s so
i would like to ask or throw in, we talked about elizabeth warren being the reaction to the tea party and the clinton administration being the reaction to reagan. but what about, like, progressives like me sometimes look at the dlc and say it allowed this corporatization and power to be taken out of hands of, like, real citizens. i feel like one thing that happened in that move was that corporations and the democratic party really, really left in a way that was positive in some levels but also kind of negative on some levels. i want to get al s response to that. take a break and then we will. save your coffee from the artificial stuff. switch to truvia. great tasting, zero-calorie sweetness.
we ll have plenty of chances in 2016. al frum, author of the new democrats, we ll be right back. i m randy, and i quit smoking with chantix. as a police officer, i ve helped many people in the last 23 years, but i needed help in quitting smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental-health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don t take chantix if you ve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a histo
explain it. quoting john, ten years ago i was called a liberal because i supported gay marriage and medical marijuana while opposing the iraq invasion and bush s economic plan. it turns out i was prematurely mainstream. the washington post used the hash tag when he sent out this column this week, he explained moderates need not be afraid of a liberal resurgence. as a result, our entire debate has been dragged in a conservative direction, the center pulled that way too. to create a real center, you need a real left. talk about all of this, i want to bring in al frum, who founded the democratic leadership council which he led for a quarter of a century. the book is the new democrats
less taxes, the party of less regulation, the party of more economic freedom, then they re going to get seriously, they are going to move one step closer to political oblivion. yeah. i still think it s really important to look at the analogy of the democratic party which spent so much time in the wilderness and the 84, the san francisco democrats when they were radical. the 49-state sweep, and you got the deal, you got al frum and a lot of folks trying to reorient the party. and there was significant rethinking. and the democratic base didn t love that. steve knows this. but guess what? in 1992, you got the first president first democratic president in 12 years who then became the first democratic president since fdr to be re-elected. and now you ve had the second democratic president to be re-elected since fdr who s the first guy who had a chance.