Democratic Leadership Council

The Democratic Leadership Council ( DLC) was an unofficial party faction of the U.S. Democratic Party, whose members mostly came from the southern states ( including Bill Clinton and Al Gore ). With its inception in 1985, the history of the New Democrats began. The goal of the DLC was to move the Democratic Party to the center of the political spectrum in order to conquer the White House.

History

Al From, the assistant of the deputy Gillies Long, turned to the Senators Nunn and Chile and the governors Chuck Robb and Bruce Babbitt, with them he told a press conference on Capitol Hill on February 28, 1985, the founding of the DLC. Membership of the DLC was limited to selected Democrats.

The goal of the DLC was to move the Democratic Party to the center of the political spectrum in order to conquer the White House. The DLC argued that the coalition of minorities and white liberal elite in the Democratic Party, the white middle- class voters would have driven into the arms of the Republicans. In the opinion of the DLC this finding was consistent ingnoriert of the Democratic Party; lost three presidential elections were the result. The Democrats had a reputation as an advocate of minorities and as Welfare Party. Due to his attacks on the Liberals in the Democratic Party aimed the DLC, so to signal the swing voters in the political center of the white middle class that Democrats were recruited not only of blacks, feminists, homosexuals and liberals. Thus, the DLC was on a collision course with the party leadership of the Democratic National Committee and the majority of congressional Democrats.

In his presidential campaign, Bill Clinton benefited from the ideas of the DLC. In addition, he drew his benefit both from his position as DLC chairman to gain a national reputation and in the Washington establishment to take root.