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By Emma Dumain Posted at 8:39 a.m. on March 3

Kind said the centrist group wants a bigger role in helping to shape Democrats message.(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Members of the New Democrat Coalition have struggled for years to make their centrist messageheard in the larger,and distinctly more left-leaning, House Democratic Caucus.

The 46 self-described moderate and pro-growth House members in the coalition saythey agreewith the rest of their caucuson 90 percent of the issues its the remaining 10 percent thats harderto summarize.

How difficult? Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., shares a joke he tells about the group to illustrate the point.

The New Dems message doesnt fit on a bumper sticker, he told CQ Roll Call. So I said we should stand on the steps of the Capitol and shout, What do we want? A comprehensive approach to job creation that includes tax reform, investments in infrastructure and a pro-growth budget that invests in our future! When do we want it? Well, we want to work in a collaborative way to bring people together!

I should probably have thrown education in there, too, Kilmer added. That would be a part of the chant, too.

The New Democrat Coalition members have long bemoaned their exclusion from the leadership table thats typically especially now skewedto the left.

But with Democrats of all stripesevaluating what went wrong in the 2014 midterms and wondering how to win back seats in 2016, members of the group see an opening to really be heard and hopefully taken seriously.

Thats why, for the first timein its nearly 18-year history, the groupis putting out a comprehensive legislative agenda.

Excerpt from:
Centrist New Democrats Want Bigger Role in Party's Message