Pelosi Brow-Beating Caucus
In a sign that Nancy Pelosi has lost control of the House Democrats,
Roll Call's Steve Kornacki is reporting that attendance to the weekly one hour caucus meeting is so pathetic that Ms. Pelosi will be taking attendance for the next three meetings. Here's the gist of it:
It's obvious that Ms. Pelosi's 'New Direction' campaign is nothing more than a new name for the same unappealing ideas that progressives have been pushing for 20 years. The only difference is that it's being packaged with a new focus-group tested appealing sound to it. Pat Moynihan, in one of his moments of candor, said that the Democratic Party no longer was the party of ideas. He said that in 1979 and he didn't stray from that opinion thereafter.
So much for the harmony that Howard Dean's been touting to anyone in the Agenda Media.
Posted Wednesday, July 12, 2006 10:39 PM
June 2006 Posts
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With attendance typically struggling to crack the 50-Member mark, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is cracking the whip, demanding that her fellow Democrats attend three "crucial" Caucus meetings between now and the August recess, an order supplemented by a fellow leader's hint that failure to cooperate could be detrimental to Members' futures.That sounds more like a dictator's threats than a leader inspiring the team to head in a specific direction. Threatening a representative's committee assignments isn't the way to inspire loyalty. Rather, it's a way to create resentment within the ranks. It might even create enough animosity to get Ms. Pelosi thrown out as House Minority leader after next November's elections.
The goal, those close to Pelosi say, is to rev up Democrats in advance of the August recess, focusing them on the economic and national security priorities outlined by party leaders throughout this year. Next month's break will mark the longest sustained period of time that Members will be in their districts before the pre-election recess. The New Direction agenda, however, is separate and distinct from the campaign platform Democrats will later unveil. "We're going to lay out what we want Members to be talking about back home during the break," Clyburn said. "I think when we get back in September, we'll lay out our '06 agenda."I had the privilege of speaking with Speaker Hastert when he headlined a fundraiser for Michele Bachmann during the 4th of July weekend. One of the first things he asked me was "how much of a new direction will they be able to go in with John Dingell, who's been in the House 52 years chairing a committee, with John Conyers, who's been there 45 years, chairing the House Judiciary Committee and Charley Rangel, who'se been in the House 36 years, chairing the House Ways and Means Committee"?
It's obvious that Ms. Pelosi's 'New Direction' campaign is nothing more than a new name for the same unappealing ideas that progressives have been pushing for 20 years. The only difference is that it's being packaged with a new focus-group tested appealing sound to it. Pat Moynihan, in one of his moments of candor, said that the Democratic Party no longer was the party of ideas. He said that in 1979 and he didn't stray from that opinion thereafter.
Some blame the party's minority status for the apparent apathy, while others note that consequential decisions are almost never made at Caucus meetings, which instead tend to serve as platforms for opinionated Members to air their pet concerns.Why attend if the same squawkers set the direction the party takes? It sounds like the direction of the House Democratic caucus is set by the leadership, rather than from listening to everyone's ideas. That's a perfect way to induce apathy to the Party's direction. That isn't a way to inspire people to campaign as a team.
By tradition, Democrats essentially honor seniority to the exclusion of all other factors in picking committee chairmen or ranking members. But Clyburn said the OSR panel, headed by Rep. Mike Capuano (MA), could introduce new criteria, including Caucus meeting attendance and financial and political support for Democratic House candidates, into the mix. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (IL), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, already has communicated to his party-mates that he is tracking all of their election year activity on behalf of their fellow Democrats.This sounds more like threat than inspiration, which I'll guarantee doesn't work well. It's well-publicized that immigration splits Republicans. That said, Ms. Pelosi's threats might split the Democratic Party far more than immigration ever split Republicans.
So much for the harmony that Howard Dean's been touting to anyone in the Agenda Media.
Posted Wednesday, July 12, 2006 10:39 PM
June 2006 Posts
No comments.
