Less than a month after Democrats took the leadership of the house, Good ole President Bush started calling the so-called New Democrats, hoping to pick them off and go-around our new Speaker and deal directly with the people he wants to pick off from the Democratic Majority. What is so surprising, or maybe not, is that one of those Democrats is actually from the Bay Area, Ellen Tauscher.
Julia Rosen did an excellent post on her blog breaking down the betrayal by Ellen, not just to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but to the Democratic Party. The worst part is that Ellen is actually talking about doing this on a regular basis, meaning meeting with Bush. It is so unbelievable.
Is it just me, or shouldn’t we be looking for a primary challenger who understands loyalty? Particularly at the beginning of the Speaker’s term. I know there are some progressives who have problems with Pelosi, but Jesus, talk about being out of touch with your district. Maybe some of the folks who helped take down Pombo might be willing to go to Walnut Creek?
December 8th, 2006 at 9:07 am
You have to understand that Tauscher and Pelosi are the daughters of Maryland politicians who have hated each other’s guts for two or three generations.
Their Hatfield-McCoy feud runs deep in both of their families. Hence, Tauscher is going to do all that she can to upset the new speaker.
Also, Tauscher has always been a big supporter of ending inheritance taxes and other conservative measures, given that she essentially represents a moderate-conservative suburban constituency.
December 8th, 2006 at 11:43 am
Yeah. I know about how she pimped the bankruptcy bill for corporate america and I know she has a personal dislike of Pelosi, but this is inexcusable.
Her values reflect a much more conservative base that she represents, and frankly, giving Bush credibility and traction right now is a high crime for me, given his low numbers. Her loyalty to her conservative base or her personal feelings should not be a rationale for her betrayal.
December 8th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Furthermore, her district is much more liberal that she is and she is definitely vulnerable to a Democratic challenger.
December 8th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Before we go too far down the road of blog-happy ecstasy at the thought of chopping down one of our own, we need to ask ourselves – Who is actually dividing the party?
Tauscher’s OWN WORDS refute the criticism laid out in this post. “I’m going to tell the president that I really wished that this was a bigger meeting that included other members of the Democratic leadership, including the Progressive, Hispanic and black caucuses,” Tauscher said by phone from the House earlier this afternoon. “This idea that he’s going to pick off the moderates is ridiculous.
“We are fully committed members of the Democratic Party and we are foursquare with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. There is no sunshine between us.”
Whatever your thoughts about creating a Lieberman-style coup, they are misplaced here.
December 8th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Michael, I read your same post over at Calitics and disagreed with it there too. Besides giving Bush a photo-op. as Julia said, “we would not be upset if Bush was taking the time to meet with all of the different caucuses. We would not be as upset if Tauscher had made these statements as she accepted the meeting, rather than upon hearing criticism. But she and the rest of them are meeting with Bush, with encouragement for more. They are the most likely members that he can pick off and that is why they are the only one meeting with him.
If Bush means it that is good, but lets not be naive..he doesn’t.”
That, and a lot of other comments over there are encouraging to me.
Read them for yourselves folks:
http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=83AFDB291DCC79A78D115F90C2AEC7AD?diaryId=1438
The blogosphere is righteously reacting to a huge betrayal…one of many if you look at her record.
December 8th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
Tauscher: “I really wished that this was a bigger meeting that included other members of the Democratic leadership, including the Progressive, Hispanic and black caucuses”
America’s 11-year old girls: “I really wish I had a pony. A pink one.”
Pretty much equal chances of coming true.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
To steal now from Anna Quindlen (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15362334/site/newsweek/)
“Can it truly be that the people who once brought us Social Security and civil rights, often through frantic horse-trading, are now so frozen in the amber of high-mindedness that they have become the official party of the Pyrrhic victory?”
December 8th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
Michael, Whether she likes it or not, doing an end-run around Pelosi to make deals with Bush earned her plenty of enemies, people who were already tired of her cutting deals with Republicans that hurt poor and working families, not helped. To use the victory of Social Security to provide cover for someone who enable corporate America to shaft poor people on bankruptcy issues is amusing at best. Good try.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Bankruptcy? That’s it?
From MyDD
http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/10/30/11180/155
She’s solidly pro-choice on abortion.
She voted AGAINST the constitutuonal amendment banning Same Sex marriage.
She voted AGAINST making the PATRIOT Act permanent. In fact, she has an 87% rating from the ACLU!
She voted in FAVOR oif raising CAFE standards and AGAINST drilling in ANWR — and has a 100% rating from the League of Conservation Voters. She also voted AGAINST CAFTA.
On “family” issues, she’s rated 0% by the Christian Coalition!
She supports net neutrality
December 8th, 2006 at 7:52 pm
Well, my favorite description of her comes from Davud Sirota who wrote in his article, “The People Party v. The Money Party: Here are the Players,” that Tauscher has been one of the most aggressive spokespeople for the Money Party, using her position to undercut major Democratic efforts to address core economic issues from a middle-class perspective. As an example, it was Tauscher who ran to newspapers desperately trying to let K Street know that she would be working to undermine Democrats’ efforts to reform our trade policy. More recently, she told the New York Times that Democrats would be engaging in a “kabuki dance” with their own base voters - implying that there would be moves for show, but that pay-to-play business as usual in Washington will continue in the new Congress.
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/51_25/news/10551-1.html
New Democrats Try to Assuage K Street
By Erin P. Billings
Roll Call Staff
September 20, 2005
Just months after registering its opposition to a key trade bill this summer, the centrist House New Democrat Coalition is reasserting itself with the business community and sending the message that it has not abandoned its support for opening up global markets.
http://davidsirota.com/index.php/2006/11/25/dem-says-party-to-engage-in-kabuki-dance-with-progressives/
So here you have a Democrat going to the largest paper in the world saying that Democrats are preparing to engage in a “kabuki dance,” implying that the party will pretend to be as progressive as it promised to be in the campaign, but will really be working to follow the lead of corporate-front groups like the Democratic Leadership Council, the group whose faction Tauscher leads in the House. Then, she goes on to say that the election was not about changing the country - no, it was supposedly about Democrats “securing a majority for more than two years.” I’m all for Democrats building a long-lasting majority - but they aren’t going to do it with Democratic lawmakers running to reporters reinforcing the stereotype that Democrats stand for nothing other than their securing their own power.
Seriously, what is wrong with Ellen Tauscher?
December 8th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
I see Michael has found his way here too…
Thanks for the kind words and the link Robert. Here is my update to this story. It is pretty predictable. She gets excited about the fact that he knows she is a committee chair. She evidently wagged her finger at him and told him that he wasn’t going to pick up and Dems. However, they found more time than expected for the group and upgraded the location. Those are not minor matters. This was a priority for Bush.
P.S. That is a great post by Sirota. He knows how DC works and has been calling foul on Tauscher.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:57 am
Jesus, I just read your post. It is worse that I could ever have dreamed. Is she that politically naive to think that she isn’t being played?
Read Julia’s post. It is incredible. Here are a few hightlights:
It was her first meeting with Bush in four years and she found him engaging and well-informed.
“He called me ‘Madam Chairwoman,’ ” Tauscher said, which means he knew that she was unofficially named this week as chairwoman of the Strategic Forces sub-committee of Armed Services.
They met in the prestigious Oval Office for about 30 minutes, an upgrade from what was originally billed as a 20-minute meeting in a meeting room elsewhere in the White House.
Can’t you just imagine Tauscher grinning from ear to ear as Bush sucked up to her, calling her “Madame Chairwoman”? I guess this was an important meeting. They found more time for it and upgraded the room. I wonder if all of the other Democratic caucuses who meet with Bush will get the same treatment.
Evidently, Rove was sitting in the corner taking notes, but Tauscher swears she didn’t take a peek at his notebook.
“Rove was taking copious notes during the whole meeting,” Tauscher said. “Perhaps he was doing his weekend grocery list, who knows? I was sitting next to the president and I didn’t look at what he was writing.”
April 12th, 2007 at 11:58 am
luogo interessante, soddisfare interessante, buon!
September 15th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
This election may be the best time to get a real progressive Democrat into CD10.
Vote for me, a moderate Republican, this time and then vote me out next.
- Nick Gerber
Congressional Candidate CA CD10 2008
www.goGerber.org