I think one of the things we've seen over the past week is how much leadership matters. Back in June, I argued with the MyDD folks that having 60 Democratic Senators was just not that important relative to having a much smaller group who would serve as an aggressive progressive bloc.
So no, we don't need 60 votes to move progressive priorities. What we need are a committed group of Senators - perhaps as small as 25 or 30 - without whom the other clumps can't get anything done.
Can there be any doubt, with Bush demanding $1 trillion and the only factor at work is how cohesive Democrats can be under pressure, that a 60 vote threshold is just irrelevant, a silly excuse put forward by Democratic leaders to justify inaction? Today, Alan Grayson said that what he wants to see happen with this bailout is simple. "String 'em up." Darcy's campaigning on it, Annette Taddeo is campaigning on it, and Jeff Merkley is going after his opponent with a vicious blast: "Gordon Smith says, "don't play the blame game" - what he really means is "don't hold me accountable"."
Democratic majorities don't matter, what matters is leadership. We put leaders on the Better Democrats page. Go there and throw in a few bucks. I'm tossing a few to Grayson for saying to Paulson what needs to be said.
Hell no.
And you know, since the dollar won't be worth much soon, you might as well use them on getting a different Congress that can start to fix this horrific mess. Give here. And I'm hoping that, along with some of our old friends on the inside, these people can form the nucleus of a new caucus.
STATE BLOGS
