Ron Kind’s New Democrat Coalition is sounding the alarm over the “leftward” march of the Sanders/Clinton presidential campaigns. That’s right, Ron Kind is decidedly to the right of Hillary Clinton. And he suggests she’s pandering to Sanders supporters but doesn’t really mean what she’s saying.
When he’s not spending his energy championing ominously historic trade agreements and attempting to smear progressives in British magazines, Congressman Kind takes time out to launch a photo contest.
The campaign of Bernie Sanders, by exposing the underside of the kind of capitalism we have practiced for many years, has forced Hillary Clinton to go leftward on economic issues. The Guardian article was interesting because it showed how freaked out the New Democrats are about the effect of Bernie, especially because he offers tested solutions to go along with his criticism.
Al From is credited with starting the New Democrat faction in the U.S., while the same thing was forming in Britain in the late 80s, what would be Tony Blair’s New Labour. Both offered what was called a “Third Way.” Ron Kind, getting his master’s degree from the London School of Economics in the mid-80s, was most familiar with these new developments.
The Democratic Leadership Council was formed in America, with the Progressive Policy Institute as its think tank. Third Way Foundation Inc. is funded in part by the Bradley Foundation and received $225,000 between 2000 and 2002, “to support the Progressive Policy Institute.”
Third Way Foundation is chaired by Al From. Two Koch Industries executives became part of the DLC’s board of trustees, with Richard Fink joining the DLC executive council.
The DLC would be shut down circa 2012, with the Third Way organization taking its place, with PPI as its think tank, and financed by Al From’s Third Way Foundation. Ron Kind is now the honorary co-chair of the Third Way group. He also heads the New Democrat Caucus in Congress and is co-chair of the Friends of the TPP Caucus.
Third Way is mostly funded and backed by Wall Street and big business. Among its key goals is to roll back three of the Democratic Party’s signature achievements: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Ron Kind is the type of Democrat that Hillary Clinton is now being forced to disassociate with.
Steve,
Thanks for the post.
onevote, appreciate your comment.
Rep. Kind’s been a big supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which bypasses U.S. courts.
@ddayen
Case now moves to sentencing phase; WTO can impose sanctions on U.S. for informing consumers whether dolphins were killed to make their tuna
@ddayen
This is the 4th time the WTO has ruled against the U.S. labeling program. The same language allowing such challenges under NAFTA is in TPP.
@ddayen
Mexico challenge under NAFTA already weakened dolphin-safe tuna labeling from mandatory to voluntary. WTO now ruling against voluntary label
@ddayen
Another trade loss for the US – WTO rules that dolphin-safe tuna labeling is a “technical barrier to trade,” leading to sanctions