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Profiles

Coalition for a Democratic Majority

The Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM) was an American political faction within the Democratic Party. Led by Henry M. Jackson, the CDM favored a strong military and promoted the concept of "peace through strength."[1] Its ideological underpinnings are rooted in neoconservatism, with an emphasis on democracy, anticommunism, and globalism.

History

The CDM was formed in 1972 following Democratic candidate George McGovern's loss to the incumbent Richard Nixon in the 1972 United States presidential election.[1:1][2] In its founding statement on December 7, 1972,[3] the CDM expressed its opposition to the political left and "to all those legislative and judicial measures—as a prime example, affirmative action—whose intent was to overturn the country’s essential philosophical and political underpinnings."[4]

Organization

Name Position Notes
Ben Wattenberg Chairman[1:2] American Enterprise Institute
Irving Kristol Co-chairman American Enterprise Institute, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Council on Foreign Relations
Peter R. Rosenblatt President Council on Foreign Relations, Nixon Center, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, Committee on the Present Danger
Penn Kemble Executive Committee Chairman Freedom House, United States Information Agency
Maria H. Thomas Secretary-Treasurer -
Midge Decter Organizing Committee[3:1] Committee for the Free World, Committee on the Present Danger, American Jewish Committee, Capital Research Center, Center for Security Policy, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institution, Hudson Institute, Jamestown Foundation, Jewish Policy Center, Project for the New American Century (PNAC)
Robert Keefe Organizing Committee -
Jeane Kirkpatrick Organizing Committee American Enterprise Institute, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Project for the New American Century (PNAC), Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, Freedom House, International Republican Institute, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Council on Foreign Relations, Committee on the Present Danger
Bayard Rustin Organizing Committee A. Philip Randolph Institute, Committee on Free Elections in the Dominican Republic, International Rescue Committee, Committee on the Present Danger
Richard Schifter Organizing Committee Committee on the Present Danger, United States Institute of Peace
Morris J. Amitay Board member American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Judy Bardacke Board member -
Philip Baskin Board member -
Walter Beach Board member -
Richard W. Bolling Board member Americans for Democratic Action
Sol Chaikin Board member International Ladies Garment Workers Union, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
S. Harrison Dogole Board member Globe Security Systems
Evelyn Dubrow Board member -
Angier Biddle Duke Board member United States Foreign Service, United States Department of State, International Rescue Committee
Ervin S. Duggan Board member -
Valerie Earle Board member -
Robin Farkas Board member -
Richard Fellman Board member -
John Frank Board member -
Norman Gelman Board member -
Nathan Glazer Board member International Freedom Center, Cultural Change Institute, Social Affairs Unit
Roy Godson Board member National Strategy Information Center, Consortium for the Study of Intelligence, Institute for International Studies, Center for Democracy and Civil Society
Nathan Golden Board member -
Zmina Goodman Board member -
Judith Hernstadt Board member -
Normal Hill Board member A. Philip Randolph Institute
Samuel P. Huntington Board member Trilateral Commission, United States National Security Council, Freedom House, Foreign Policy, Cultural Change Institute
David Ifshin Board member American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee
Max Kampelman Board member Freedom House, United Nations Association, Jerusalem Foundation
Ginger Lew Board member -
Jerome B. Mack Board member -
Stephen Mann Board member -
Seymour Martin Lipset Board member Hoover Institution, American Sociological Association, American Political Science Association, United States Institute of Peace, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Humanities Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, American Jewish Committee, Cultural Change Institute
Jay Mazur Board member Amalgamated Bank of New York, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Campaign for America's Future, Freedom House, Trilateral Commission, National Policy Association
Philip Merrill Board member Center for Security Policy, Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, Council on Foreign Relations
Bruce Miller Board member -
Joshua Muravchik Board member American Enterprise Institute, Project for the New American Century (PNAC), Committee on the Present Danger, Freedom House, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Michael Novak Board member American Enterprise Institute, Board for International Broadcasting, National Endowment for Democracy, Cultural Change Institute
Clara Penniman Board member -
Richard Pipes Board member Benador Associates, Team B Strategic Initiatives Panel, Council on Foreign Relations
Richardson Pryor Board member -
Lucian Pye Board member American Political Science Association, Cultural Change Institute, Foreign Affairs
Molly Raiser Board member -
John P. Roche Board member Americans for Democratic Action, Hudson Institute, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Nina Rosenwald Board member Council on Foreign Relations, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, Hudson Institute, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Center for Security Policy, New York Academy of Sciences, Freedom House
Eugene V. Rostow Board member Office of Lend-Lease Administration, Committee on the Present Danger, United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Yale Law School, United States Institute of Peace
Paul Seabury Board member Committee on the Present Danger, League for Industrial Democracy, Consortium for the Study of Intelligence
Albert Shanker Board member Freedom House, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), National Endowment for Democracy, Committee on the Present Danger
Walter Shorerutin Board member -
Mark A. Siegel Board member -
Steven Simmons Board member -
Walter Slocombe Board member Defense Science Board, Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, Atlantic Council
Allen Weinstein Board member Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, International Foundation for Election Systems, Center for Democracy, National Endowment for Democracy, United States Institute of Peace
Ray Wolfinger Board member University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University
James Woolsey Board member Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Arlington Institute
Harriet M. Zimmerman Board member United States Institute of Peace, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, National Endowment for the Humanities, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), Aspen Institute
Les Aspin Advisory Board of Elected Officials United States Department of Defense
Charles Bennett Advisory Board of Elected Officials -
Lloyd Bentsen Advisory Board of Elected Officials United States Department of the Treasury
David Boren Advisory Board of Elected Officials United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Norm Dicks Advisory Board of Elected Officials National Bureau of Asian Research
James Exon Advisory Board of Elected Officials -
Tom Foley Advisory Board of Elected Officials Trilateral Commission, Freedom House
Wyche Fowler Advisory Board of Elected Officials Middle East Institute, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals
Howell Heflin Advisory Board of Elected Officials -
Ernest Hollings Advisory Board of Elected Officials -
Skip Humphrey Advisory Board of Elected Officials Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Daniel Inouye Advisory Board of Elected Officials Ford Foundation
Henry M. Jackson Advisory Board of Elected Officials Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
Bennett Johnston Advisory Board of Elected Officials -
Dave McCurdy Advisory Board of Elected Officials New Democratic Network, Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), Electronic Industries Alliance
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Advisory Board of Elected Officials Afghanistan Relief Committee (ARC)
Sam Nunn Advisory Board of Elected Officials Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
Bill Richardson Advisory Board of Elected Officials United States Department of Energy, Freedom House, Natural Resources Defense Council
Chuck Robb Advisory Board of Elected Officials Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
James H. Scheuer Advisory Board of Elected Officials Commission on Population Growth and the American Future
Larry Smith Advisory Board of Elected Officials -
Jim Wright Advisory Board of Elected Officials United States House of Representatives
George Backer Initial Sponsor -
Stephen K. Bailey Initial Sponsor Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
Jack Barbash Initial Sponsor American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Arnold Beichman Initial Sponsor Hoover Institution, Washington Times, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
Daniel Bell Initial Sponsor Hudson Institute
Pearl K. Bell Initial Sponsor The New Yorker
Reinhard Bendix Initial Sponsor -
Joseph Bishop Initial Sponsor Committee on the Present Danger
Peter Bommarito Initial Sponsor -
Zbigniew Brzezinski Initial Sponsor Trilateral Commission, Jamestown Foundation, Freedom House, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), International Crisis Group
Walter P. Burke Initial Sponsor United Steelworkers of America
William Connell Initial Sponsor -
Chester Cooper Initial Sponsor Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Institute for Defense Analysis, Battelle Memorial Institute
John E. Cosgrove Initial Sponsor -
C.L. Dennis Initial Sponsor -
William DuChessi Initial Sponsor -
Chester Earle Initial Sponsor Georgetown University, Committee on the Present Danger
James T. Farrell Initial Sponsor Committee on the Present Danger, Pacific Research Institute
David Fellman Initial Sponsor -
John P. Frank Initial Sponsor -
Harold P. Green Initial Sponsor -
Michael J. Halberstam Initial Sponsor -
Patricia Roberts Harris Initial Sponsor -
Velma Hill Initial Sponsor American Federation of Teachers, League for Industrial Democracy, Social Democrats USA
Sanford Kadish Initial Sponsor -
Leon Keyserling Initial Sponsor Committee on the Present Danger
Mary Dublin Keyserling Initial Sponsor -
Irvin Kovens Initial Sponsor -
Paul Kurtz Initial Sponsor -
Martin Malia Initial Sponsor -
Harry McPherson Initial Sponsor Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Council on Foreign Relations, Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
Fred Morgan Initial Sponsor -
Charles S. Murphy Initial Sponsor United States Department of Agriculture, Civil Aeronautics Board
Philleo Nash Initial Sponsor -
Bernard Norwich Initial Sponsor -
James G. O'Hara Initial Sponsor United States House of Representatives
Claire Penniman Initial Sponsor -
Norman Podhoretz Initial Sponsor Committee on the Present Danger, American Jewish Committee, Jewish Communal Fund, Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
Nelson Polsby Initial Sponsor -
Laurence Radway Initial Sponsor -
Bud Raftery Initial Sponsor Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
A. Philip Randolph Initial Sponsor A. Philip Randolph Institute
Austin Ranney Initial Sponsor -
James Roosevelt Initial Sponsor United States Congress
Elizabeth Scull Initial Sponsor -
Walter Shorenstein Initial Sponsor Shorenstein Properties, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Gorbachev Foundation
Carleton Sickles Initial Sponsor -
Philip Siegelman Initial Sponsor -
Richard L. Simpson Initial Sponsor -
Alan Sindler Initial Sponsor -
Arnold Solloway Initial Sponsor -
James V. Stanton Initial Sponsor -
William Stern Initial Sponsor -
Martin Trow Initial Sponsor -
Paul Warren Initial Sponsor -
Robert C. Weaver Initial Sponsor United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Eugene L. Wyman Initial Sponsor -
Louis Stulburg Initial Sponsor -
Henry Cisneros Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), National Civic League, National League of Cities, Rockefeller Foundation, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy
Dante Fascell Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense National Endowment for Democracy, Inter-American Foundation (IAF), American Political Foundation, Center for Democracy
John T. Joyce Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense Free Trade Union Institute, Freedom House, International Construction Institute, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, National Endowment for Democracy, National Democratic Institute, National Academy of Sciences, Social Democrats USA
John Kester Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense United States Department of Defense
Franklin Kramer Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense United States Department of Defense
Jan Lodal Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense Intelus, United States National Security Council
Robert Murray Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense Harvard University, Michael Dukakis
Martin Peretz Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense The New Republic (TNR)
Robert Scalapino Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
John Silber Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense Boston University, National Bipartisan Commission on Central America
Adam Ulam Task Force on Foreign Policy and Defense Harvard University

  1. Group Watch: Coalition for a Democratic Majority. The Public Eye. Retrieved October 18, 2003, from https://web.archive.org/web/20031018003154/http://www.publiceye.org:80/research/Group_Watch/Entries-26.htm ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Lydon, C. (1974, November 24). McGovern Foes Say They Prevail On Democratic Charter Issues. New York Times. http://archive.today/2024.04.12-002345/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/24/archives/mcgovern-foes-say-they-prevail-on-democratic-charter-issues.html ↩︎

  3. Vaisse, J. (1972, December 7). “Come Home, Democrats.” The original appeal of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority. Neoconservatism: The Biography of a Movement. http://archive.today/2016.03.27-192414/http://neoconservatism.vaisse.net/doku.php?id=come_home_democrats_1972 ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. Decter, M. (2002). Breaking Away. Hoover Digest, 2002(1). https://web.archive.org/web/20090604043109/http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/4484181.html ↩︎