a brief history of politics and economics

1620-1776: Colonial Era; Agrarian economy gives birth to industrialism and capitalism
1776-1812: Revolutionary Era; American political institutions are formed; capitalism in its infancy; industrialism rising to challenge agrarianism as a dominant economic institution
1812-1860: Agrarianism's last stand; expansionism and advances in technology; lead to a dominant industrial capitalist North.
1860-1870: Civil War/Reconstruction: Industrial capitalists consolidate political power
1870-1900: Gilded Age: industrial capitalist economy dominates; economic inequality grows
1900-1910: Progressive Era: limited efforts at government regulation of capiitalism are largely ineffective at changing the American socio-economic landscape
1870-1930: referred to by some (such as Paul Krugman) as the Long Gilded Age
1930-1935: Depression Era: loosely regulated industrial capitalist economy, unable to sustain itself, collapses.
1935-1945: New Deal: Government, led by Democrats and opposed by Republicans, through New Deal programs and World War II, rebuilds American economy from ground up and institutes strict economic controls that create large and prosperous middle class.
1945-1970: Era of Relative Economic Equality and Propsperity: government loosens war-time economic controls but maintains other social programs and very progressive income tax structure to maintain relative equalities and prosperity created during the New Deal Era. Republicans moderate and support New Deal policies.
1970-1985: Conservative Era: New element of Republican Party, eventually known as neo-conservatives, advocate programs that dismantle New Deal programs and controls. Neo-cons implement policy to divide Americans along racial and religous lines to obtain political success for their policies.
1985-present: Second Guilded Age: some New Deal social safety nets remain, but are crumbling as governnment is bankrupted through large defense and war spending (neo-con "starve the beast" policies succeeding.)
1992-2004: DLC wing of Democratic Party adopt a tempered anti-New Deal economic agenda, but maintain a liberal social policy agenda; exemplified by Clinton administration
2004-present: battle within Democratic Party between DLC wing and traditionalist/Internet Democrat coalition. Anti-DLC forces gain political support with unpopular war and increasingly failing economy and are led by groups such as moveon.org, exemplified by 2004 candidate Howard Dean.
2008: This is what the battle for the nomination is about. It is about the DLC-wing of the party versus the traditionalist (Kennedy-wing)-Internet democrat coalition. Barack Obama is not generally known as an "anti-DLC" candidate and has many relatively conservative economic advisors, but looking at his support base and his position on such issues as the capital gains tax it is clear what side of this battle he stands on. The anti-DLC wing seeks to succeed not through adopting neo-con economic policies, but by seeking to unite Americans again and seeking to break down the political barriers that have been established along racial and religous lines. Exemplified by Howard Dean's "50-state strategy" and Obama's campaign theme.