What Matters

5:12 pm EST November 18th, 2006 | Uncategorized | 5 Comments

From the Tribune’s story from the inside of Rahm Emanuel’s stewardship of the DCCC I found this bit from Maryland’s own Chris Van Hollen that does a good job of explaining how I view this idealogical wars, and how I think much of the people on the new left do:

His goal was to recruit 50 credible challengers. He had one criterion: people who could win. That may sound obvious, but it’s not. Many Democrats did not believe in recruiting overly conservative candidates, no matter how promising. In the past, those like Shuler who opposed abortion were not welcome in the party.

“We don’t have an ideological purity test,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Emanuel’s top lieutenant for recruiting. “If you believe in the basic gut principles of the Democratic Party–opportunity, fairness for all–we’re not going to hold people to a litmus test.”

Those are the basic ideas that are able to hold together the Democratic big tent, and I sense a return to it. The tired and lame racial/gender/identity politics of old where every group wants their pound of flesh become increasingly irrelevant (NARAL this means you, how’d that endorsement of outgoing Lincoln Chaffee work out for ya?) and instead we’ve got the early stages of a true movement working towards power — and achieving it.

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5 Responses to “What Matters”

  1. dr pedro says:
    November 18, 2006 at 5:34 pm

    You miss the point ollie. If all the “democrats” just look like republicans, what do I care?

    I want gun rights, low taxes, welfare reform, protection from illegal aliens, strong defense. If someone has a D after their name, but believes in all that…excellent.

    You are so simple-minded that you see this as a football game, everyone wearing the same color jersey is on my side…that isn’t what this is about, it is about ideas.

  2. Oliver Willis says:
    November 18, 2006 at 7:47 pm

    But that’s just the point. These Democrats don’t believe in slicing up the country for the wealthy. They believe in opportunity for everyone, and a government that works. Yes, its about ideas not just made up stuff to whip up the rubes.

  3. Hedley says:
    November 18, 2006 at 10:07 pm

    Let’s see a pro-life Democrat get a prime speaking slot at the ’08 convention.

  4. pennywit says:
    November 19, 2006 at 1:37 pm

    Ding-ding-ding-ding!! Good to see that somebody gets it and is willing to put it into words. Ya gotta have a big tent to win in this country, or at least the illusion of one.

    Exhibit A: The GOP, which, for a decade or more, made a point of highlighting its pro-choice luminaries, giving the rapidly rightward-moving party at least a patina of ideological diversity.

    –|PW|–

  5. Dugger says:
    November 20, 2006 at 7:33 am

    Oh, no. We have failed. The Democrats elected a Reaganite in Virginia!