Democratic Platform

Elaine Ciulla Kamarck’s so-called Column Left, “Nailing Down a Trap-Proof Platform,” (Commentary, July 9) tries to convince readers that Bill Clinton will avoid Republican traps during the campaign. His secret? Adopting Republican rhetoric and programs for his own platform.

For example, Kamarck praises Clinton’s use of the death penalty, his avoidance of “sociological explanations of crime” and his simplistic view that “the answer to crime is more police.”

Kamarck argues that the Democratic Party will prove it “can be trusted with the economy” by moving “as far from redistributionist economics as it can.” And she glowingly quotes the Democratic platform: “We honor business as a noble endeavor . . . We believe in free enterprise and the power of market forces.”

Kamarck’s Republican-esque rhapsody disregards public opinion. For years, polls have shown that most Americans support restrictions on “free enterprise” and believe in government regulation to protect consumers and the environment. Most Americans also support higher taxes on the wealthy.

These popular positions, however, are not so popular with the corporations behind Kamarck’s misleadingly named “Progressive Policy Institute.” The institute is a project of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), which is funded by corporate America. Bill Clinton was a DLC founder and its chair in 1990-91.

Kamarck is entitled to her “Democrats should echo Republicans” position, but such unabashed centrism and corporate flackery belong in perhaps Column Near Right or Column Center.

MARK SCHUBB, Director, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), Los Angeles