GETTING RID OF THE DLC....

I'm getting tired of saying, "I'm back!" because my Jack Nicholson impression is wearing thin. But, this blog, nor its readers and my brothers (aka the posters on this blog) have never been far from my thoughts. I thought I would post a couple of tidbits to catch you up with happenings around.

First, I may be revamping my blog, because if this New York Times oped (written by a TNR columnist, no less), is any indication, all those fights we engaged in against the DLC are starting to bear fruit, and I may have to rename the blog altogether:

But few headlines will be made this weekend at the council’s “National Conversation” in Nashville. The next president of the United States almost certainly won’t be there. Not only are Democratic front-runners like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama planning to skip the conference, but so are the Bill Richardsons and Chris Dodds of the field. That’s probably a good move for the candidates, as the council has become radioactive among Democratic primary voters. But the Democratic Leadership Council’s fading influence is also good news for the entire party.

One cause of the council’s decline is obvious. The group lost a direct line to the White House when Bill Clinton left office. But the change has also come about for more subtle reasons. The New Republic, where I work, was once closely associated with the council’s moderate agenda. These days, however, many of the fights the group picks seem as quaint to me and my colleagues as an old Fleetwood Mac song. Despite what you hear from the council, the biggest problem facing the Democrats, and the nation, is not the party’s liberal activists.

Did you get that? We progressives aren't the biggest obstacle facing the Democrats. But apparently, there are still some kool-aid drinkers amongst the Democrats that actually like war, like the fact that we have no universal health care plan coverage for 40 million people, and the fact that GeeDubya is going to veto the SCHIP legislation - which covers our children with needed health care, so when they grow up, they'll provide the universal health care we've been looking for since 1993 when Hillary tried it.

Second - There's a young lady in Memphis who needs your help in demonstrating how the Memphis City Schools have failed her, and other students who are given a "certificate of completion" for finishing high school, passing required coursework, and yet, due to an exam, which the curriculum for the students is not being taught, they are set up for certain failure on the Gateway Exam, and will continue to add to the negative statistics of poverty, murder, gang violence, substance abuse and under or unemployment running rampant in Memphis. The young lady who is taking on this effort to expose just how "No Child Left Behind" is an abysmal failure in Memphis is named Latricia Wilson, and her story has been covered by the local media. She introduced herself to me and my editor, Bruce Dixon, when we were there in Memphis back in January, at the media convention. I hosted her in my home in June, when she came to present her issue to Representative Steve Cohen.

BTW, Ms. Wilson has managed to file a class-action suit against the Memphis City Schools for this failure, so stay tuned.

Anyway, what impressed me about your current Congressman is that (a) he didn't blow her off, and (b) when she began to articulate her issue, he immediately offered to put her in touch with the Chairman of the Education sub-committee, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif). Rep. Cohen gave Ms. Wilson a two-hour meeting on a Friday morning (when many of his collegues, including some members of the CBC, were busy blowing town for parts unknown, if not back to their districts).

Expect Latricia to become a "shining star" on the Hill when she gives that testimony before Rep. Miller's subcommittee, later this year, after the August recess.

I took the opportunity to inform Rep. Cohen that he will be featured in the upcoming CBC Report Card, and he told me he welcomed being evaluated on his performance. He also stated that his only ambition as a Congressman was to represent the 9th district of Memphis, and he also stated he uses the CBC Report Card as a benchmark to stay on top of issues that will be germane to the 9th district in order to provide effective representation. Rep. Cohen also told me that he represents a unique district in terms of demographics, (60% African-American), and in order to provide effective representation, he relies on his collegues, such as Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA, my home rep) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). All are progressive members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Which leads me to:

Third - the Congressional Black Caucus Report Card - is going to a new level this year. We are featuring not only CBC members, but members of the House of Representatives with 25% or more African-Americans in their district, and we will be comparing their legislative records to that of their African-American peers. The card will include Republicans as well as Democrats and Independents, so it should be a whopper! At present, that's consuming most of my time, as well as preparing for the CBC Legislative Weekend in September (where African-American bloggers will be desending on DC to raise hell with the CBC members who supported that Democratic Presidential Debate on Fox Propaganda Network). I will try to post as much as my schedule will allow, so have patience and thanks for the support.