Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Partisanship and Appeasement

Kos has a good post up that everyone should read. I'll do a somewhat shorter version adding my own thoughts.

First -- it's important to understand that when we're talking House seats which are contestable, and conventional wisdom puts that number at about 40, that those congressional districts are for the most part pretty conservative. It can be a bit frustrating because it means having to passionately support people towards the Right end of the Dem spectrum in order to achieve the golden prize - Speaker Pelosi.

But, second, as Kos points out -- there's a big difference between a "conservative Democrat" and an "appeasement Democrat." You can be a conservative Democrat and still be a loyal partisan Democrat. Sure, they may vote the wrong way too often, but they aren't pulling Zell/Lieberman shenanigans.

And, third, yes -- in my relatively limited contact with DC Dems his assessment of them as frightened little bunnies is spot on. Too many people in the establishment seem to be comfortable in their role as minority party. I don't know why. So, we're going to have to fight the good fight for them.


But, having said that last part - the best way to encourage them is to support them when they go out on a limb.