Update [2005-7-26 14:51:33 by susanhu]: Slate‘s “Day to Day on NPR discusses Hillary and the DLC at noon PDT, via Seattle’s KUOW, which has great Internet listening.

From the LAT (sub. free):

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of influential party moderates, on Monday named Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to direct a new initiative to define a party agenda for the 2006 and 2008 elections.


The appointment solidified the identification of Clinton — once considered a champion of the party’s left — with the centrist movement that helped propel her husband to the White House in 1992. It also continued her effort, which has accelerated in recent months, to present herself as a moderate on issues such as national security, immigration and abortion.


In her speech at the group’s annual summer meeting, Clinton signaled a desire to retain her independence from any party faction. She called for a truce between the DLC and liberal elements of the party, which have engaged in a ferocious war of words over the Democrats’ direction since President Bush won reelection last year.


“Now, I know the DLC has taken some shots from some within our party, and that it has returned fire too,” she told the gathering in Columbus. “Well, I think it’s high time for a cease-fire — time for all Democrats to work together based on the fundamental values we all share.” ,,,


From ABC’s The Note:

[D]espite Sen. Clinton’s call for all Democrats to work together, [LAT reporter] Brownstein wisely notes the potential trouble she may have in making both David Sirota and Al From happy with her work. . . of course, it’s Al From’s organization for which she is working, so we can probably guess at who will end up a bit more pleased with her results.


MORE BELOW, including Chris Bowers’ comments at My DD and a report on Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi’s efforts to “seek nuance on abortion”:

From Chris Bowers’ post on MyDD, via Howie Martin’s great blog:

“Two years ago, as the Democratic primary season was heating up and Dean’s star was very much on the rise, I remember noting with amusement that not a single Democratic Presidential candidate either spoke or attended the annual DLC meeting in Philadelphia.

That, however, is a very stark contrast with the meeting this year: I am not a master political strategist by any means, but one thing I can tell anyone not named Hillary Clinton right now is that you have no prayer of defeating, much less seriously competing, with Hillary in the 2008 primaries if you take the same path she takes.

If Hillary is in the race, then she is the DLC candidate, period. I don’t care if Vilsack is the DLC Chair–Hillary shares a name with the only President they helped elect.

You cannot possibly hope to challenge her by somehow out-DLCing her. Your only option is going to be to look to outside sources of power within the Democratic Party that she would not have a stranglehold over, such as labor and the netroots.

In fact, finding, appealing to, and eventually tapping the rising netroots star may even take a noticeable amount of distancing one’s self from the DLC, which, deservedly or not, is, um, not very well liked in these parts.”


Howie Martin also has an excellent recap of today’s article in The Hill:

“Senate and House Democrats, with the support of Minority Leaders Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), are pressing party Chairman Howard Dean to establish an official relationship with Democrats for Life, an anti-abortion-rights group that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has previously shunned. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is leading the Senate effort, while in the House Reps. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) are playing prominent roles.

Their hope is to respond to last year’s election setbacks, make the party more inclusive and make it less identified with abortion. The effort comes at a sensitive time as Democrats wrestle with how best to approach the upcoming confirmation hearings on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Abortion dominates the Supreme Court debate among conservative and liberal activists and is expected to be central in Roberts’s hearing. But Democrats are now downplaying abortion as confirmation hearings near.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) last week warned reporters not to “translate this entire process into a referendum on Roe v. Wade.” Instead, Senate Democrats are attempting to broaden the debate to one about the right of privacy and focus on Roberts’s writings on the interstate-commerce clause of the Constitution, the legal underpinning for much congressional regulation.

In the wake of defeats in the 2002 and 2004 elections, Democratic leaders acknowledge that the issue of abortion has been a political liability for their party.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), who is considered the front-runner for the 2008 presidential race, took the lead in adding nuance to the party’s position on abortion when, in a speech earlier this year, she said it was important to reduce the number of abortions. Her remarks were widely interpreted as a move toward the center of the political spectrum.

Reid and Pelosi have discussed a relationship between Democrats for Life group and the DNC. Dean has also participated in the discussions, according to Democrats for Life.

Representatives of Democrats for Life, including Nelson’s staff, and 16 House Democrats met with Dean on Thursday morning to urge him to establish an official relationship that would be signified by, among other things, posting the group’s Internet address on the DNC website. So far, the DNC has refused to allow even that modest show of affiliation with Democrats for Life. DNC spokesman Josh Earnest said, “We don’t have links to any other third-party groups.”

But when asked about Dean’s talks with Reid and Pelosi, Earnest said, “I’m sure he’s had conversations with them about that because he supports a big-tent party.” Democrats for Life representatives are scheduled to meet Pelosi this week, and Reid has voiced his support for establishing the more official relationship. “Senator Reid has been contacted and has been very receptive of what we’re trying to do,” said former Rep. Chris John (D-La.), who sits on the group’s board of directors, adding, “He is pro-life, as you well know. He is very supportive of trying to make that link and make that recognition.”

Reid’s aides have put the emphasis on their boss’s efforts to reduce the number of abortions. They said that Reid met with Nelson and Democrats for Life earlier this year and discussed his work on legislation that would lead to fewer women seeking abortions. Reid’s aides said they were not familiar with the dispute between Democrats for Life and the DNC about an official link.

The efforts to build a relationship seem to be having an impact on Dean. A day after meeting with Democrats for Life, the Associated Press reported, he told a group of college Democrats: “We do have a big tent. I do think we need to welcome pro-life Democrats into this party.” Dean also recognized that Republicans have successfully used the abortion issue as a weapon. “I think we need to talk about this issue differently,” Dean said. “The Republicans have painted us as a pro-abortion party.” Dean’s public comments reflect remarks he made to the DNC’s national finance board last week. He told his top moneymen and -women that he would “like the word ‘abortion’ struck from the political discourse.” Steve Grossman, a fundraiser and adviser to Dean who attended the meeting, said, “[Republicans] use it to misrepresent us. We haven’t found a way to characterize ourselves properly.”

People attending the meeting between Dean and Democrats for Life said that he was very receptive and that he would look into building a stronger relationship with the group. He also said that he would explore establishing the Internet link. But whether that happens may depend on the final version of a legislative proposal pro-life House Democrats are crafting that would try to reduce the number of abortions in the country by 95 percent over the next 10 years.

Rep. Ryan is expected to introduce the proposal after the August recess. The Democrats for Life website would heavily promote the bill, and DNC officials have told lawmakers opposed to abortion that they would like to review it before linking up the two groups’ websites.

More from ABC’s The Note:

Reports Dan Balz of the Washington Post, “Although the next presidential campaign is three years away, Monday’s session had clear overtones of that coming race. Three other Democrats actively considering running in 2008 — Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, the newly named DLC chairman; Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.), the outgoing DLC chairman; and Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, who just concluded a year as chairman of the National Governors Association — competed with Clinton for attention.” LINK

“Warner, Vilsack and Bayh — all current or former governors — used the meeting to introduce themselves to the delegates as potential national candidates, each testing new themes in carefully crafted speeches. Implicit in all three speeches was the suggestion that they have records demonstrating how to win and govern in places, such as the South and the rural Midwest, where Democrats have faltered in recent presidential elections — a boast that Hillary Clinton cannot make for herself.”

“Attendees gave all four prospective candidates good reviews, but the mob scene that surrounded Clinton afterward showed she retains a special position within the party, one that for now seems to transcend the party’s ideological camps.”

“Clinton’s Speech Wins Over Delegates,” blares one Columbus Dispatch headline. LINK

“Preening before the national media, the four peppered their speeches with lofty calls for a party that is militarily strong against terrorism, economically just, socially responsible and grounded in faith,” write the Columbus Dispatch’s Hallett and Marquette. LINK

Ray Hernandez of the New York Times focuses on the attacks on the President’s national security record, and includes the RNC pushback on Sen. Clinton. LINK

Notes Mike Glover of the AP, “The speech was coupled with the announcement that Mrs. Clinton had been chosen to head the DLC’s ‘American Dream Initiative,’ described by the organization as a national conversation with business, political, labor, civic and intellectual leaders on an agenda for the country and party.” LINK

“The chairmanship will allow Mrs. Clinton to travel the country next year, when she is seeking another term in the Senate. The job will be an opportunity to burnish an already high-profile image that frequently energizes Democrats while also helping anti-Clinton Republicans raise campaign cash.”

The New York Sun’s Josh Gerstein left the DLC’s “national conversation” asking, “Should Senator Clinton be considered the sole rightful heir to her husband’s political legacy as a ‘New Democrat’?” LINK

And Note Gerstein’s excellent ear here: “Some of Mr. Warner’s rhetoric seemed specifically aimed at differentiating himself from Mrs. Clinton. He mentioned the need for candidates with broad appeal in Middle America, saying, ‘We Democrats neglect the heartland at our own peril.'”

It took the New York Daily News’ Ken Bazinet all of five words to use “Bubba” in his write-up of what he sees as Sen. Clinton’s continued move to the center. LINK

The Des Moines Register’s Thomas Beaumont on Gov. Vilsack’s vision for the way forward for the Democratic Party. LINK

The Indy Star finds a sneaky way to lede with Sen. Clinton while appearing to lead with its hometown guy. LINK

(Spotted at the DLC meeting: Mark Penn and Thomas F. McLarty.)