| Matt noted that Chris Van Hollen was upset by our campaign to target the Democrats who voted twice to fold to Bush, first on the war and then on FISA (dubbed by Matt and Chris the Bush Dogs). I understand the annoyance of Van Hollen on this, since he has only one job between now and election day in 2008, which is to elect more folks with a "D" behind their name - that's what DCCC chairs are judged on, pure and simple. And I'm a practical guy: at the end of the day I would sacrifice a ton to keep Democrats majorities in the House and Senate because the alternative is so much worse. But, I strongly support the Bush Dog campaign, and I want to make the case to my fellow insiders as to why this helps the Democratic Party rather than hurts it.
Here's my argument:
1. Every time the Democratic Congress caves to the president, it drives the Democratic Party's numbers down. Or have you noticed already? I hope so. You are being too clever by half with these votes, and it's not working. I know that a lot of your caucus members from purple and red districts are looking for political cover, but voters, activists and donors don't care about legislative subtleties when our side gets rolled. The Party doesn't get credit for the majority of the caucus that voted against Bush, all they know is that a Democratic-led Congress let Bush win again. Voters want to support Democrats, and they do support you when you oppose Bush, but, they have questions about your competence and toughness - and caving to Bush doesn't bolster that confidence.
2. Party discipline is a good thing. The leaders of the Democratic Party ought to support efforts to get more party discipline. I'm all for a big tent and all that, but to govern effectively with narrow margins, you have to have both carrots and sticks and not be afraid to play hardball. Both Reid and Pelosi have shown signs of this at times in terms of their inside maneuvering, but having folks outside of Capitol Hill swing a few sticks is good for you too.
3. A little pushback now could solve bigger problems later. If this kind of cave-in routine keeps happening, and nothing bad ever happens to the more conservative members of your caucus who are going astray, the anger is going to keep building. The result could be ugly in the middle of an election year. Consider strategies like our Bush Dog campaign as shots across the bow. If it helps your caucus members stand up to Bush, and stops this crap from happening again, then the festering anger coming from your base in the summer of 2007 gets better resolved by the 2008 election season, and folks will be united and happy when it really counts. But, if we don't raise the warning flag here and now, and your Bush Dogs keep hurting the entire Democratic Party by making us look weak and incompetent, then all hell will break loose at exactly the wrong time.
4. Great opportunity and great danger. Every poll I've seen shows that the Democratic Party is at a moment of great opportunity. Bush's failed presidency has convinced voters that if this is what it means to be conservative, then they consider themselves progressive. They are moving our way on issue after issue, and we clearly have the opportunity to build on the 2006 election results, and have an even bigger year in 2008. This is an opportunity of historic proportions.
But voters aren't sure what they think about us yet. And as far as I can tell, it's not because they are scared we will stand up to Bush, and go a dramatically different direction from him. What they are uncertain about, because we haven't governed in a while, is our basic competence: can we deliver? Are we strong enough to stand our ground and lead? If voters decide the answer to those questions is no, I fear that not only will we have blown a historic opportunity, but that we won't be getting them back again anytime soon. So here we are with both great opportunity and great danger staring us in the face, and it all comes down to whether we have the confidence and competence to stand up to Bush on the things that really matter.
So to my insider friends, I know the Bush Dog campaign seems a little cheeky, but my argument is that it's good for our Party and for our election prospects in 2008. I also think it is, as a matter of policy and principle, the right thing to do. |
