Liberals Put Differences Aside And Back Clinton

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, April 26) -- Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), an unapologetically liberal organization largely disenchanted with today's moderate Democrats, suprised many by pledging its support for centrist Bill Clinton earlier this year.

Members of the liberal organization, which offered the endorsement in January, cited a desire to curtail the rising conservative movement as the reason for backing Clinton. The endorsement came even though the ADA and Clinton disagree on issues such as the death penalty and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"Whatever differences exist between us, they are not so great as the differences that divide ADA and America's 'vital center' from a Republican Party that has been seized by a radical conservative extreme," Jacob Sheinkman, the group's president, told the Associated Press.

When it was founded in 1947 by Hubert Humphrey, ADA's mission was to keep the Democratic Party from embracing either the conservative right or the communist left. The organization has been tough on its party, failing to support President Lyndon Johnson's or President Jimmy Carter's bids for re-election, a fact that underscores the significance of the Clinton endorsement.

Related Sites:

Americans For Democratic Action
Statement of Jacob Sheinkman on the Clinton Endorsement -- Jan. 6, 1996

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