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Populist Reform of the Democratic Party

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sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
Mon Jan 5, 2015, 04:08 PM Jan 2015

Third Way, Wall St-Backed, Think Tank's Battle for Soul of Dem Party Pits Them Against Eliz. Warren [View all]

Last edited Tue Jan 6, 2015, 12:31 PM - Edit history (1)

The more exposure the Third Way gets, the less they like it it appears. So long as they were behind the scenes Democrats, while often troubled by their Party's swing to the right, however reluctantly, generally just held their noses and voted for candidates whose Dem credentials, voting records especially, were dubious.

Puzzled by anti-Left rhetoric coming from within their own party, it was inevitable that sooner or later they would find the source.

Desperate to totally discredit the 'Left' its leaders published an article last December declaring war on Elizabeth Warren AND Bill de Blasio in Murdoch owned, The Wall Street Journal. That turned out to be a major mistake, as it turned out.

Third Way Struggles For Soul of Democratic Party Pits Wall Street Backed Think Tank Against Elizabeth Warren



Protesters gathered outside Third Way’s offices in Washington, D.C., in December 2013, asking the group to reveal its funding sources.

Third Way, backed by Wall Street titans, corporate money, and congressional allies, is publicly warning against divisive “soak-the-rich” politics voiced by populist Democrats. Its target: Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator whose rise to power two years ago helped galvanize Democratic grass roots against Wall Street and pushed the issue of income inequality to the forefront.

........

Third Way ignited a clash in December when its leaders essentially declared war on Warren in a guest column in the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal, warning Democrats not to follow Warren and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio “over the populist cliff.”

Many on the left were shocked, and angered. Warren’s allies saw Third Way as a proxy — being used by her enemies on Wall Street to scare off the rest of the party.


If ANYONE is still wondering about the anti-Left rhetoric from within the Democratic Party, look no further than this Think Tank. All those talking points aimed at the Left, eg, 'purists', 'concern trolls' etc, come directly from this anti-Left group.

The entire article is worth reading as I can only excerpt a few pertinent paragraphs so that people can understand where the Anti-Elizabeth Warren Rhetoric is coming from.

Though Third Way’s salvo against Warren in The Wall Street Journal became a seminal moment in its fight against Democratic populism, the group is now very sensitive about the topic and will not even discuss why they chose to wage it.

Cowan and Bennett took pains not to utter Warren’s name in several interviews.


Not as easy as it used to be to smear Populists, Liberals, Progressives. They got a huge serving of reality after dominating the discourse mostly AGAINST good Democrats, over the past decade or so.

Their policies are being rejected and a new wave of populism in reaction to those policies, is sweeping the country.

However, I wouldn't count on them not finding ways to undermine people like de Blasio and Warren when it comes to protecting the interests of their group.

And for those who believe the Third Way is a far left 'CT' here are three of the co-founders of the group.



Matt Bennett, Jonathan Cowan, and Jim Kessler, three of the five co-founders of Third Way.



Meantime I hope more elected Dems join Elizabeth Warren in her fight to reign in Wall St before it is too late.

And watch for the talking points, 'she was a Republican etc etc intended to arouse anger in 'populists'.

NOW is what matters. So imo, they can keep their talking points and try for once to directly address what she is saying.

Is she RIGHT about Wall St, or is she WRONG?


That is all that should matter.

List of Third Way Board Members, thanks to Scuba in the comment section:


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Third Way (3rd-Way) is a think tank, right? Cosmic Kitten Jan 2015 #1
That's exactly what it appears to be. Bill Black eg, calls it a 'Creature of Wall St.' sabrina 1 Jan 2015 #7
Isn't a "Think Tank" really a "Conspiracy Tank". Just sayin'. rhett o rick Feb 2015 #29
Hmmmm? Good point! Cosmic Kitten Feb 2015 #31
I always suspected who was behind Turd Way, I never realized they were so blatant about it tularetom Jan 2015 #2
I am embarrassed to say I knew nothing about them until a couple of years ago. I knew something sabrina 1 Jan 2015 #14
What we have or have not learned. Wellstone ruled Jan 2015 #3
It becomes more and more obvious how disconnected they are from the people. They were feeling sabrina 1 Jan 2015 #15
Why is it just her and Bernie speaking up about this shit? Where's our Dems? Hiding? L0oniX Jan 2015 #4
They are the "Installed". Phlem Jan 2015 #6
I'd settle for them being replaced with real Dems. L0oniX Jan 2015 #8
Same here Phlem Jan 2015 #9
The Thirdway must die. Phlem Jan 2015 #5
The Third Way warns leftists are trying to take the Party over the populist cliff .... Scuba Jan 2015 #10
Expect us to get hammered my friend. Phlem Jan 2015 #11
Yes, they've been expecting us and are ready .... Scuba Jan 2015 #13
Do you mind if I add that list to the OP, Scuba? I meant to look for it, but was rushing sabrina 1 Jan 2015 #17
Please do sabrina. Scuba Jan 2015 #20
Al From swilton Jan 2015 #12
I don't know the answer to that, but he was Chairman of the DLC which morphed into the sabrina 1 Jan 2015 #18
Post of the year!! Excellent, thank you Sabrina. RiverLover Jan 2015 #16
I love learning how they rely on 'talking points' and that we can now identify them. IF their sabrina 1 Jan 2015 #19
It'd be great if you wanted to x-post this in the Eliz Warren Group! RiverLover Jan 2015 #21
Third Way would turn the Democratic Party into the Republican Party. Enthusiast Jan 2015 #22
They were DLC first, basically, & so have been around since Bill Clinton RiverLover Jan 2015 #23
It's bad enough that they did this. Enthusiast Jan 2015 #24
Thanks for pulling back the veil a little bit Fairgo Feb 2015 #25
The logo for Third Way in the pic with the 3 smiling assholes... stillwaiting Feb 2015 #26
Good observation regarding their logo ... infiltrating is what they are doing. sabrina 1 Feb 2015 #28
Thanks for posting. SamKnause Feb 2015 #27
As always sabrina, great OP. nm rhett o rick Feb 2015 #30
I was listening to Norman Goldman's show on the way home tonight dflprincess Feb 2015 #32
Good question 'will we be smart enough not to fall for it'? If the mid terms are any sabrina 1 Feb 2015 #33
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