The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) is hosting its annual national conference in Chicago this weekend. Billing the event as "the largest gathering of Democratic elected officials from all levels of government, outside of the Democratic National Convention," the centrist Democratic group hopes to give input to the party's policies and political strategies in this pivotal election year. The Tribune summed up the DLC's sometimes controversial policy positions in a recent post on The Swamp:

The DLC applies the term 'progressive' to its positions, but it tends to rely on middle-of-the-road market-oriented solutions to policy issues. Critics charge this gives the corporate business perspective too much sway in Democratic circles.

The DLC, in turn, worries that the identity and interest politics of the party -- think race, gender and environmentalism, for instance -- turn off voters and make it harder to win in more conservative areas of the country, like the South. [...]

Among other things, the DLC is anxious to make sure likely Dem presidential nominee Barack Obama has a strong, clear national defense message in his campaign.

But as the DLC attempts to present itself as focused intently on the interests of the Democratic Party, let us not forget that back in 2006, at a small gathering in New York City, DLC chief Al From took part in an effort to encourage New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run in 2008 as an Independent.

Just sayin' ...