Congressional Nerves
- 09.24.2009 - 9:38 AMDemocratic members of Congress in unsafe seats are getting nervous:
Politically vulnerable Democrats say Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders aren’t offering them the protection from tough votes that they did in the last Congress.
Conservative Democrats fear that dozens of members could be swept out of their districts in the midterm election next year, and that fear has been intensifying in recent weeks.
Between a tough vote on a climate change bill that many don’t expect to become law and a leftward push on healthcare legislation, Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) critics within her caucus say she’s left the so-called “majority makers” exposed.
And now she’s going to force them to vote on an ultra-liberal health-care bill that will be fodder for Democratic opponents in 2010. Several congressmen are trying to sound the alarm:
“She keeps trying to push an unpopular package,” said Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), a centrist Blue Dog Democrat, referring to healthcare. “I think it’s fair to say they were better at it before.” Another Blue Dog lawmaker put it more bluntly. “They’re seriously endangering their majority,” said the Blue Dog, who requested anonymity. “With the increased margin and a [Democratic] president, there seems to be a different feeling.”
And that political sage Joe Biden, fresh from his day job as counterinsurgency guru, helpfully tells us that it’s not just a bunch of Democratic seats that are at risk in 2010 but that it’s also “the end of the road for what Barack and I are trying to do.” Well, yes, but it’s not wise to say so.
The congressional elections are more than a year away, a lifetime in politics. But we certainly aren’t talking about a permanent Democratic majority anymore. Once again, the political gurus discover that nothing is permanent in politics and that sometimes the worse thing for a party’s leadership is to have all the levers of power—especially if they lack any sense of self-restraint.
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