Trouble is starting to stir for those in the party base of the Democratic party. Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Ill, the leader of the New Democrats Coalition (a 68-member group of moderate House Democrats), has begun her meetings with the heads of governmental financial leaders such as White House Budget Director, Peter Orszag.Why would this pose a problem for the Democrats in Congress? Because the liberal base, who has been waiting patiently to pass its agenda for more than a decade, is being stalled by the moderates who seek to bring all of the policy positions to the middle. Showing their power early in the game, the New Democrats Coalition has been cited with:
"temporarily sidelining a measure to let bankruptcy judges rewrite mortgages. They held out for limits on court-ordered easing of mortgages, a move lenders were demanding. And a few centrist Senate Democrats helped slow passage of a $410 billion spending bill because of its cost."With the Democrats poised to push forth their agenda to revolutionize energy policy, and a complete reform of the health care system:
- How can Democrats successfully pass the legislation they deem necessary while still having to appeal to the moderates? (Median Voter Theory)
- Are the moderates within the Democratic party more of a threat to the legislative process than the minority party?
- How can the moderate member group be an advantage/disadvantage to President Obama?
3 comments:
Economically, it would suit the progressive Democrats to give some concessions to the New Democrats Coalition. This would be a show of good faith by the more progressive Democrats who see passing legislation that would revolutionize our transportation system up to the standards of the rest of the Western industrialized world (i.e. light rail)as more important. In some ways this does demonstrate the median voter theorem. Just something to think about when analyzing what is more important for this country in the long haul.
Not to be overly bitter, but haven't progressives given concessions to conservatives and moderates for long enough? In Clinton's era, progressives got little, if anything they wanted. Then in the W era, hard-line conservatives did whatever they damn well pleased. Now that we finally have a forward thinking president and a Democratic Congress, moderates and conservatives are whining that we may have a slightly liberal leaning agenda. God forbid we help out the lower and working classes who have been systematically raped! It's not the government's job to protect its citizens... oh wait, even Libertarians agree that it is...
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