The Democratic Leadership Council has been a bogeyman to liberals for decades, symbolizing the party's corporate sellout with its philosophy of spreading public welfare through market-based solutions. It was the organization that then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton chaired in the '80s; when he became president, he adhered to its policy goals: welfare reform, balanced budgets, free trade. The DLC would go on to support the invasion of Iraq in 2003, for some reason.

But what's been going on at the DLC in the last seven years? Not much, it seems, since they're going out of business immediately. Politico's Ben Smith reports:

The centrist Democratic Leadership Council, which fought and largely won a battle for the soul of the Democratic party in the 1990s, is on the verge of bankruptcy and is closing its doors, its founder, Al From, confirmed Monday.

The group's decision to "suspend operations" marks the conclusion of a long slide from its peak of relevance in the Clinton era, and perhaps the beginning a battle over its legacy, as the organization's founders and allies argue that it has been a victim of its own success – and its liberal critics are already dancing on its grave.

Liberals had pretty much forgotten that the DLC existed, but sure, there is some grave-dancing going on. On the other hand, the DLC had already won the ideological battles within the Democratic party over the last 20 years before it ran out of money.

[Image via AP]