About the Colorado DLC
The Democratic Leadership Council is a group of progressive Democrats, founded in the mid-1980s, to move the Democratic Party into the Information Age. To that end, the DLC, aided by its Washington DC-based think, the Progressive Policy Institute, has been developing and advocating public policies stressing the principles of opportunity, responsibility and community. In fact, the DLC is primarily responsible for creating the "New Democrat" agenda on which President Clinton ran and was elected in 1992 and 1996. BACKGROUND
The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) arouse out of the rubble of the 1984 presidential election. Walter Mondale had just been beaten in 49 states and came within 2,500 votes of losing all 50. Republicans controlled the US Senate.
Prominent and innovative national leaders - including then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, then-Senator Al Gore, Senator Chuck Robb of Virginia, Representative Richard Gephardt of Missouri, Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, and Representative David McCurdy of Oklahoma - formed the DLC in 1985 to bring the Democratic Party back to the political mainstream. The goal was to develop a new progressive message to further the fundamental principles of Democrats, but in a way that was responsive to the challenges of the 1990s and 21st century, not the 1960s or 1930s.
The first thrust of the DLC was to stop the Democratic hemorrhaging in presidential politics. After the 1984 election, Republicans began a strong effort to get Democrats to switch parties in states like Florida, California and Texas. DLC leaders went into these states and implored Democrats not to leave the party but join the DLC in a new effort to change the party. While picking up members, the DLC began developing new public policy ideas.
By 1988, the DLC was focusing on building a national political movement. To do that, a clear set of ideas was necessary and a political infrastructure -state chapters - was required.
The DLC also embarked on a four-part political strategy to change the Party. Step One was to administer some very-needed political reality therapy. After successively worse defeats in presidential elections, it was clear that it was the message - not political campaign concerns like better candidates or improved Get-Out-The-Vote efforts - that was failing Democrats.
Especially at the presidential level, Democrats were losing the heart of the electorate - middle class people who work hard, play by the rules and expect nothing more than an opportunity to get ahead. For example, in 1988, people who made $20,000 - $50,000 a year represented 51 percent of voters. Bush won this group by 12 points.
Having shared the diagnosis with the Party, the DLC then articulated the treatment. Step Two was establishing a new philosophy. In 1990, the DLC issued the New Orleans Declaration; a simple statement that asserted:
The promise of America is equal opportunity, not equal outcomesThe purpose of the Democratic Party is to expand opportunity, not government Private-sector economic growth expands opportunity for everyoneThe importance of inclusion cannot be overemphasizedAmerica must remain energetically engaged in, and not retreat from, the worldAmerica must maintain a strong and capable defenseIn addition, the Declaration called for, among other initiatives, preventing crime and punishing criminals instead of explaining their behavior, the Earned Income Tax Credit as opposed to minimum wage requirements and, most importantly, giving something back. The DLC's cornerstone idea was voluntary national service - the first major initiative of President Clinton's to be enacted into law.
Step Three was the most difficult of all - take the philosophy and turn it into a governing agenda based on bold, new ideas. This challenge was the toughest of all because moving from principles to specifics means one must draw lines - people will come down on different sides.
At the Cleveland Convention in 1991, chaired by then-Governor Bill Clinton, the DLC passed The New American Choice resolutions. The themes were offering opportunity to all, demanding responsibility from everyone, and promoting a sense of community in America. Ahead of the curve, the New American Choice advocated NAFTA, welfare reform, charter schools, health care reform, community policing and other issues that, today, are part of America's political lexicon.
Step Four was to test-market these ideas with a presidential candidate. The viability of the "New Democrat" message was successfully verified in the 1992 primaries by now-President Bill Clinton.
COLORADO DLC
After hearing then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton speak about the DLC in Colorado, the state chapter's eventual President, Jim Gibson, decided to attend the New Orleans Conference in May 1990. In early 1991, he and a core group of people conducted a number of organizational meetings to start the state chapter, officially formed in April 1992.
At the first organizational meeting of the chapter Board, 24 members were elected including 16 current or former elected officials. The Board was co-chaired by former State Rep. and Congressional candidate Dick Bond, then-US Senator Tim Wirth and then-Governor Roy Romer. Later that month, Governor Clinton and DLC President Al From announced the formation of the Colorado Democratic Leadership Council at a press conference in Denver. The next month, chapter representatives attended the DLC Convention in Cleveland in May 1991.
To localize the "New Democrat" message to Colorado, the DLC model was institutionalized at the state and community levels. Its intellectual foundation is being used to provide the basis for "New Democrat" solutions, customized to local situations.
Since 1991, Colorado has had one of the most active and influential state chapters in the nation. United States Senator Ken Salazar and State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff are the current co-chairs of the state chapter - the Colorado DLC.
The Colorado DLC has become the generator of ideas that drive the policy debate among Democrats and across the entire state, rejecting the Republican attacks on Democrats and our party's previous unwillingness to consider new alternatives. Democrats are now on the cutting edge of change, aggressively taking the lead on state and federal issues of interest to Coloradans through active Colorado DLC engagement with the General Assembly, Governor’s Office and the state's Congressional delegation.
The Colorado DLC has formed the New Democrat Caucus, a group of Colorado state legislators developing a new public policy agenda that moves beyond traditional conservatism and liberalism. Since 1995, the state chapter has published the "New Democrat Update" which is distributed to over 3,600 elected officials and private citizens the first week of each month.