Elizabeth Warren

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts) Tue Jan 6, 2015, 11:39 AM Jan 2015

Third Way Think Tank's Battle for Soul of Dem Party Pits Them Against Elizabeth Warren

Cross-posting from Populist Reform of the Democratic Party Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1277

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: