I see it as a Rahm problem. He owns the Blue Dogs so he can’t ditch them or throw ‘em under the bus, even if they’re against the program. To him, the progressives are the jettisonable ones, not the Blue Dogs. It’s obviously clouded his judgement so far, and he’s been able to get away with it, but now with the health care push it’s becoming clear that he’s set himself up in an untenable position. I’m starting to think that either he’s gonna have to roll on the Blue Dogs, or else PBO’s gonna have to ditch him as CoS.

It’s like I was saying at my own blog. This is either Rahm trying to avoid what he thinks is another 1994 coming, or a triangulation strategy circa 1995-98.

If you visit me, you will notice I was one of Bill Clinton’s earliest contributors in 1992 (1991 actually). So I know about early Rahm.

The early Clinton method was use whoever they had to for whatever they could, and then dump the people over the side. And any criticism of what was going on anytime along the way, well, then, “off” that person. And this is kind of the environment that Rahm built his career in (before he went for the $18 million payout in the investment banking world).

This is the product when you are a political commando of sorts.

So a lot of it is the being brought up politically in the 1990’s. But I think other parts of the “treatment” go back, even to Gary Hart.

The 1972 Hart got McGovern to the finish line by rounding up all the non-established party people and squeezing them for what he could. Finding the discontented of the time (discontented for good reasons or any reason), and getting them to sign on to the cause. (For nothing in return!)

Even though 1972 was a disaster, that approach:

get people to selflessly give to get you there, then no plan to deliver

has repeated itself time-and-again at the national level with the D’s. For many years they just kept running on the successes of the New Deal. Then, when that got stale, the theme was “new and different”. That was a success for Carter and Clinton.

The only successful two-term administration strategies the Democrats have had in 50 years was:

1) Johnson: a tragedy of history (1963), plus running against an eccentric Senator

2) Clinton: being as “Bidness Democrat” as they could to get votes. (1995-99) (And maybe having Ross Perot split the no vote.)

So the crowd that the President has in there with him is heavily influenced by that Clinton Administration. That’s the blueprint against which the construction guys are checking the house.

I think the problem is the opposition has already figured them out, though. This is why new-style progressive Democrats can’t figure out what is going on.

I’m just arguing for the bigger picture to explain why Rahm Emanuel is allegedly doing the things he’s doing. So now he’s hearing from the modern version of the precinct halls that a “bipartisan solution” is trouble, too.

And they’ll come around, I’m sure.

It is time we stopped using the euphemism “campaign contribution” for payoff money and started calling payoff money exactly what it is – payoff
money.

Payoff money: money given to political officeholders for favors granted and favors expected.

In making his comments, Ross, who is the centrist Blue Dogs’ health reform point man, questioned one of the primary healthcare goals of the White House and Democratic leaders.

It would do progressives and all Democrats a world of good if they refused to allow rightwing conservatives like Ross to appropriate the status of “centrist”.

Ross isn’t in the center of any universe. He isn’t middle of the road or pro-constituency or “conservative” in the mythic, academic sense that David Brooks drools over. Ross is a reactionary pol who would vote against his mother’s Medicare funding if it would get him a committee assignment or a little more campaign money from Ma and Pa Walmart.

Let’s stop calling reactionary Democrats “centrist”.

New Group – I Support The Public Option!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=236531335386

Tell Congress and President Obama that you support a public option component to any Healthcare Reform Bill.

Let your voice be heard!