Description:
<jats:p>There has been little scholarly attention paid to the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) despite the fact that it represents an influential faction within the Democratic Party. As a result, questions remain about the institutional character of the DLC, particularly with respect to its ideological structure and coherence. This represents a missed opportunity to examine the formation, operation and success (or failure) of ideological factions. The present article begins to address this oversight by examining the ideology of members of the House New Democrat Coalition. After a brief conceptual and historical description of the DLC, I offer an explanation of the Third Way, the DLC's guiding philosophy. Having established a set of expectations about DLC members, I then examine the ideological make-up of New Democrats in the 106th House of Representatives. Using ADA, National Journal and DW-NOMINATE scores, I attempt to determine whether New Democrats are ideologically distinct from their more traditional (i.e. liberal) colleagues. The results indicate that they are, though the differences may be confined to economic issues. And while ideological moderation helps explain membership in the House New Democrat Coalition, electoral vulnerability also plays a role.</jats:p>