Fighting for the Soul of the Democrats

Rosenberg says the rift is more style than substance. From says it's about Howard Dean. "Simon jumped on the Dean bandwagon and abandoned the New Democratic movement because he wanted to be a player," From says, making the dispute public for the first time. "Dean didn't work out and now I guess he's trying the next thing."

"I didn't support Dean's candidacy or agree with him on many issues," Rosenberg says, "but I appreciated how he did what he did. I also thought it was time for New Democrats to declare victory in the intellectual wars and make peace with the party infrastructure." In fact, Rosenberg's group continues to give financial support to New Democratic candidates in places like Oklahoma and South Dakota, where the traditional Democratic message doesn't work very well. But he has also reached out to the more adventurous liberals in the mainstream party--groups like MoveOn.org and bloggers like Daily Kos--finding common ground on new campaign technologies, if not always on substance. Rosenberg has also violated an unspoken DLC no-no by helping the Hispanic Caucus (From opposes the Democrats' ethnic fragmentation) with a series of Spanish-language political-advocacy ads. The NDN spots are totally unlike the dark, Bush-bashing ads favored by liberal groups. They are optimistic, sun-splashed and "target Latino aspirations," notes Hispanic Caucus chair Representative Bob Menendez. "The New Democrat Network really gets where we are at."

All of which has endeared Rosenberg to the Democratic establishment. "The NDN is spectacular, very cutting edge," says a party leader. "The DLC is a pain in the ass." For his part, Al From accurately points out that John Kerry has adopted New Dem positions on many issues--positions that became acceptable to liberal Democrats only after the DLC fought for them. And there is a certain sadness in seeing so creative a battler as Al From marginalized. The Democratic Party needs him. But perhaps not this year.