New Dem Senators Could Pull Party Towards the Center
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in 2008 Election, Congress, DemocratsOne of the things Democrats have done right since 2004 is to run candidates that can win. That might seem like an obvious step in reaching majority status but, for years, Democrats insisted on running lockstep liberals in parts of the country that aren’t liberal.
Now, after a concerted effort to expand their tent, Democrats have expanded their reach. In a two year span, the party has picked up seats in the moderate-to-conservative states of Colorado, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia (where they’ve won both seats).
Part of this success can be attributed to the strong anti-Republican mood of the nation. But most of the success is due to the strengths of the candidates and their ability to reflect the opinions and desires of their constituents. And you can guarantee that the opinions and desires of North Carolinians or Coloradans are not in lockstep with the solid liberalism of the party’s coastal Senators.
The new Senate will still be a place of debate and contention. As reported in a new Time editorial, even 60 Democratic votes wouldn’t assure liberals a smooth ride in the Senate:
“I don’t think 60 matters, because I think it’s a phony number,” says Jennifer Duffy, a top analyst with the Cook Political Report. “They’re going to lose a lot of Democratic votes on some issues. And the Republican moderates have been decimated, so there are fewer of them to pick up. The Democrats will be able to move a lot of the agenda. But when they get to the hard stuff - like big tax increases or health care - they’re going to have to compromise.”
This, of course, doesn’t mean centrists and conservatives should lean back and assume the moderate Democrats will keep things from getting out of hand. But this does give some comfort to those of us who hope the excesses of the right won’t be quickly replaced by the excesses of the left.
It appears the Senate will still be a backstop for the House’s immoderation. We just have to make sure we keep pushing the moderate Democrats to stay close to the center.
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November 5th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Wishful thinking. This is still Pelosi, Reid, and Schumer’s party. If Obama governs from the center, it will be because of his advisers and cabinet members who have expertise in finance and the economy, who will tell him, “Look, Mr. President, you just can’t do this, it will bankrupt everything!” He will listen to them because if there is one thing Barack knows about himself, its that he doesn’t know much about anything other than community organizing.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Now it is time for the Liberals to be disappointed. Obama is taking control of a government that has a massive amount of debit, and by 2010 a social security program that will be taking in money to support it. He will be hard pressed, even if he raises taxes, to fund the programs he proposes. He has already warned of this, but I don’t think the uber liberals have gotten the message. Of course Bush will be blamed for this, just like Clinton was blamed by the Republicans. Some of it will be justified, you can’t ignore the fact that the Republicans even before the bailout made LBJ look like a fiscal conservative, but the excuses will wear off quick. What will the Conservatives do? This is the time they could make some gains if they drop the liberal bashing and offer alternatives, but with the Limbaugh kool aid cult noise machine in full swing I’m not holding my breath.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Disagree Jimmi, but hey, time will tell.
Alan, I think it will be very good news IF centrists and independents have a decent-sized group of blue dogs and moderate republicans to back on some issues.
My personal opinion is that Obama will be well-served if he chooses to govern by listening seriously to and sometimes backing this group. But then a moderate wil always think that, right?
Obama will never be more popular that he is right now, I think. That argues for trying to achieve big changes first. However, I think and hope that the clintonian term 1 overreach is something he’d like to avoid. Conditional Obama supporters like you and I are hoping that Obama will govern as something of a moderate incrementalist. We both know that we have nothing aside from his occasional utterances and temperament to base that hope upon. So I for one need to see some early key decisions reflect that. And that definitely means something more than a careful handful of appointments to key positions. What I am talking about are actual actions and policies.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Jimmy- You should stop writing things for others to read. Your comments usually are based on your OPINIONS rather than FACT. Obama is one of the smartest men to ever be President-Elect. Obama was the editor of the Harvard Law Review; this isn’t given to anyone. This man is smarter than me, 99% of the people who comment here, and surely smarter than you. This is a GOOD thing. The President SHOULD be one of the smartest people in the country. Yes, Obama will listen to his advisors, but he will make his own actions. I don’t expect him to be perfect; he is human. I do however expect the crazies on both sides to GET OVER THEMSELVES and UNIFY. Dissent is patriotic; roadblocking for the sheer hell of it is not.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Jacob — give me a break. “Smart,” however you define it, does not equate to governing successfully. Albert Einstein was smart by your definition, but he would have made a terrible President (of course couldn’t have — he wasn’t born here, but that’s a different issue).
There are also a lot of “smart” people that believed in Marxism too.
What a ridiculous and ill-informed statement. Jacob. Now go back and read your Chomsky.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Jacob:
Obama just won. I am the dissenter now. You just told me I shouldn’t express my opinions. You are roadblocking me. I therefore question your patriotism.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:24 am
The loudest crying during this administration will be from the left. Our president elect is not about to attempt to govern from the left as too much needs to be done. He was elected to carry out a left center agenda and I believe that will become obvious shortly.