Re: Another version of the election for progressives argument
On Nov 10, 2006, at 1:42 PM, Michael Pollak wrote:
[Here’s a slightly more focused version of the argument that the
election will make the Democratic party relatively more progressive
rather than relatively more conservative. The argument in a
nutshell is that much more significant than the fact that the new
marginal districts are purple is that the leadership of the
committees will be more progressive. And it is those leaders who
control the legislative party and set the agenda — as well as
everything (patronage, positions, publicity) that those Rahm- selected newbies need. So no matter what bluedogs may think
personally, they won’t be leaders. They’ll be footstools enabling
progressives to reach the top shelf.][Maybe yes, maybe no. But it’s not an illogical argument.]
‘Centrists’ Move Over: This Was An Election for Progressives
We’ll see. I think it might be a good idea to call a moratorium on
speculating about what they might do, and just look at what they
actually do.
Committee chairs do set agenda, but the back-benchers can vote with
the Republicans.
Doug