Rahm Emanuel is a centrist hack.

[mhatrw]

He's a deal maker. He's a power broker. He's a slick customer.

He's a wholly political animal with purely centrist instincts. What he stands for is doing whatever it takes to win elections, and his instincts on winning elections are basically whatever David Broder thinks.

I don't care that he is chief of staff. But I sure don't want him controlling policy.

[bigtree]

1. he was ruthless

. . . in voting with the party 95-98% of the time. He's out of control!

[EmilyAnne]

4. 100% on pro-choice. What a nightmare!

[Occam Bandage]

6. That crafty bastard. Can't trust 'im. Too DLC. nt

[mhatrw]

12. When he goes against "the party", which way does he go?

What progressive causes has Rahm ever championed against the prevailing political wind?

[bigtree]

39. 95-98% voting with the party

That's the direction I want him to blow. He's up there with the best of our party.

[MercutioATC]

2. ...and he's a great choice for Chief of Staff.

A CoS is the President's right-hand man. He has to be rabidly loyal. He has to be tough. He has to always have the President's back.


I agree with you about policy-making but for this position, I think Rahm is a really good pick.

[liberal texan]

3. he's out of congress and not in a policy position

[Occam Bandage]

5. Ah. So you're saying you're very happy with Obama's decision

to take him out of his job as a lawmaker in Congress and put him in a deal-making, arm-twisting position that has absolutely nothing to do with policy whatsoever.

I agree.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. I don't think he will

If things run well, the chief of Staff is a sort of cross between a butler and a prostitute.
Besides, Emmanuel is not as centrist as you think! And he's shown viciousness towards Republicans, which is more than most Democrats in the House have done.

[eleny]

8. Wouldn't it be scary if David Broder is the secret of Dem success

Now I need to go wash my brain with bleach. I can't go to bed with that on my mind.

[Dogmudgeon]

9. The GOP agrees with you

http://www.gop.com/news/NewsRead.aspx?Guid=f5d61c73-8c35-4c41-a034-fe58587b95b6">They hate Rahm, too.

In other words, Rahm Emanuel has done more for the Democratic Party and Progressivism than you or any of the "progressive" Internet warrior-whiners have ever done.

--p!

[mhatrw]

10. The GOP hates every Dem left of Lieberman and they don't like Lieberman.

When has Rahm Emanuel ever stuck out his neck for a progressive cause?

[Dogmudgeon]

67. You didn't check out the GOP website, did you?

Rahm Emanuel has done more for the Progressive movement than ANY member of DU I can think of -- even our late lamented Andy Stephenson, who had one good shot, then was stricken with cancer.

I'm still trying to figure what his big sins were that cause so many uber-lefties to go ballistic. He never had overwhelming executive or legislative power. So he was a member of the DLC -- lots of Democrats were, and most of them have either always been leftists, or have moved much further to the left.

The DLC was a leaky lifeboat -- that's all it ever was. If you're assuming Al From spoke with the voice of Stalin, that's way too exaggerated.

Read the GOP's brief against him. They hate his guts, too.

--p!

[Tallison]

69. You advance progressive causes with baby steps

Not in such a way that you politically jeopardize your very ability to advocate. His vision is shrewd and a long-term win for progressives.

[TexasObserver]

11. We sure don't want that kind of skill at Chief of Staff.

Obama is in charge, not Rahm.

Rahm will do what Obama wants done. He's competent. There are plenty of reasons to dislike Rahm, but he's competent.

[mhatrw]

13. Agreed. n/t

[tkmorris]

23. That's the hope

And as long as Obama holds him in check than he can be very useful in the position.

On the other hand, if Obama cannot control him then we picked the wrong person for president. I don't think that's the case.

[TreasonousBastard]

14. Yeah! what we need in that job is someone with...

perfect liberal credentials but doesn't know how to get shit done.

:crazy:

[mhatrw]

15. Not what I said.

A black and white world is so last administration.

[davepc]

16. I can think of people who stuck out their neck. I can think of people who get stuff done

I don't know if they are the same people.

I don't want an ideological happy warrior. I want a cold blooded assassin who will take his orders from the chief and go out and move heaven and earth to make it reality.

I'm sorry Rahm doesn't pass your funny idea of a purity test, but his job is to kick ass and take names, and he has a good long track record of doing exactly that.

[mhatrw]

17. What makes what you said and what I have said mutually exclusive?

We could agree to disagree, but I don't see our disagreement.

[theboss]

42. You post a thread attacking him as a hack

And you are surprised that people are defending him?

He is a truly awesome politician who is in a purely political role.

And he no longer in the House to screw up good bills.

[TreasonousBastard]

25. I know, but you said it in the midst of all this...

early weeping about Obama's choices so I figured I'd just add some gas to the fire.

(I love to see these silly conversations go off a cliff)

[LanternWaste]

38. Much like the OP.

"A black and white world is so..."

Much like the OP.

[cali]

48. then let;'s hear your pick. and presumably you realize that it's a very

small pool.

[The Magistrate]

18. 'Hack', Ma'am, Means a Person Of Pedestrian And Middling Talent And Skill

Clearly, Rep. Emanuel is no such critter as that....

[mhatrw]

19. You are of course correct.

I should have said centrist flack. Or even better, centrist Mack.

[The Magistrate]

20. Neither Term Quite Applies Either, Ma'am

A 'flack' is mere promoter, a P.R. type, and is never a person of actual substance, never the principal actor in anything. The second term is simply an old slang for 'pimp', and we can probably do without calling leading Democrats pimps on Democratic Underground.

What Rep. Emanuel is is a political operator of high caliber and great skill, who has been a great asset in the Congress recently, and who will be a tremendous asset to President Obama's administration.

"We don't want nobody nobody sent."

[mhatrw]

21. I was referencing Mack the Knife.

Or Mackie Messer, if you prefer.

[The Magistrate]

22. Well, Ma'am, If It Is Mr. Brecht You Want....

"As you make your bed, so you lie there
But who'll tuck you in when you do?
And if someone steps up, I'll be that one
And if someone gets stepped on that one's you!"

[shadowknows69]

24. Thanks for reminding me again why I never tussle with you, Sir.

Although we agree about 90% of the time anyway so the point is nearly moot. :hi:

[Marrah_G]

34. I was just gonna say:

"Never mess with the Mag" !

Or you will end up feeling like a 2nd grader called to the office.

[TreasonousBastard]

26. I can't think of too many better terms, but...

power player, mover and shaker, goto guy, and (my personal favorite) apparatchik come to mind. All have too many words or syllables, though.

A bit of sleep and I might remember some simple, monosyllabic term that would work stylistically as well as "hack" but be better suited.

(Damn! My thesaurus isn't working!)

[The Magistrate]

29. A Casual Reader, Sir, Might Easily Take The Impression You Dislike President Obama's Chief Of Staff

[TreasonousBastard]

31. Oh, no. Quite the opposite...

those terms are not necessarily derogetory, merely descriptive. Moreso than "hack," as you already noted.

Emanuel seems perfectly suited for this job. The only possibility is that he might end up being a bit TOO well suited for it. Time will tell, but so far Obama seems to have a very good handle on how to hire.

(Nopw, if only some of the more outspoken members would give a rest till we see how it goes)

[Occam Bandage]

52. Apparatchik is certainly derogative, and not at all representative of his skill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparatchik

[TreasonousBastard]

66. I don't know if I would take Wikipedia's word for it...

since most of the uses I've seen for it have been describing more capable bureaucrats.

[mhatrw]

59. I should have said cutthroat instead of hack. n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

65. He is, but maybe "fixer" is the word I was trying to remember.

[HamdenRice]

27. I don't care about his policy positions -- other than foreign policy

As I've said in other posts, the chief of staff's policy beliefs should be irrelevant.

But Emanuel's commitments viz the "war on terror," the middle east, Iraq, Iran and Israel seem to be too strong and too written in stone for him to allow equal access to all points of view to the president.

I don't mind having a political hack as CoS; what I don't want in that position is a zealot.

And on those issues, he is clearly a zealot.

[medeak]

28. centrist? repubs say partisan

will someone please tell which it is? DU hates him... gop hates him...

[formercia]

30. and God forbid

I heard him argue on C-Span to end corporate welfare. Go figure...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

32. Yes. He's So Centrist That He's Voted With The Dems 98% Of The Time.

:eyes:

[leftofthedial]

36. that would actually make him right-of-center

on the national scale.

[bvar22]

40. Exactly!!!!

Here is what the MAJORITY of Americans (Democrats AND Republicans) want from OUR government!

In recent polls by the Pew Research Group, the Opinion Research Corporation, the Wall Street Journal, and CBS News, the American majority has made clear how it feels. Look at how the majority feels about some of the issues that you'd think would be gospel to a real Democratic Party:

1. 65 percent (of ALL Americans, Democrats AND Republicans) say the government should guarantee health insurance for everyone -- even if it means raising taxes.

2. 86 percent favor raising the minimum wage (including 79 percent of selfdescribed "social conservatives").

3. 60 percent favor repealing either all of Bush's tax cuts or at least those cuts that went to the rich.

4. 66 percent would reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

5. 77 percent believe the country should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment.

6. 87 percent think big oil corporations are gouging consumers, and 80 percent (including 76 percent of Republicans) would support a windfall profits tax on the oil giants if the revenues went for more research on alternative fuels.

7. 69 percent agree that corporate offshoring of jobs is bad for the U.S. economy (78 percent of "disaffected" voters think this), and only 22% believe offshoring is good because "it keeps costs down."

http://alternet.org/story/29788/

8. Over 63% oppose the War on the Iraqi People.

9. 92% of ALL Americans support TRANSPARENT, VERIFIABLE elections!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x446445

Does "voted with the Party 98% of the time" include:

*voting to give $850Billion dollars to Wall Street executives?

*voting to give Telecoms immunity for spying on Americans

*voting FOR the Partiot Act

*voting FOR every single demand for funding for the Iraq Occupation without a single concession

*voting FOR more Free Trade

*voting FOR two of the most Fascist supreme Court judges ever installed on the Supreme Court

..I could go on, but given the Democratic Party's record for the last 30 years, I would consider it a big PLUS to have a record of opposing the Democratic Party consensus.


Rahm's record of Party accord is sort of self fulfilling. Rahm has worked tirelessly to torpedo the local campaigns of grassroots Progressives. He has directed the considerable resources of the DCCC to elect Conservative, Pro BIG BUSINESS Democrats......and then he has a record of voting with them.
Big Deal.

This is about ISSUES, not LABELS.




The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[bigtree]

43. of course it does

. . . and that voting pattern mirrors the Senate record of the man we just elected.

Now, to make the best of it . . . and stop acting as if there's pie in the sky.

[Runcible Spoon]

64. I'd rather keep reaching for that pie in the sky rather than much around in the shit we're in now

I can't believe the low expectations people have for their government. Well, OK after the last 8 years I can, but what's wrong with expecting a little bone thrown for the progressives who worked so hard to get all of these centrists elected and re-elected...

[leftofthedial]

61. using the congressional "democrats" of the last 8 years as cover

is more damning than comforting

[Runcible Spoon]

63. EXACTLY!

thank you for pointing that out, I can't believe how far to the right "centrist" has been pushed the last few decades.

[stray cat]

33. Obama is no wimp - I think he knows what he is doing and he is a practical visionary

However, I'm sure most of DU will be disapointed at some point with a President Obama. I think he will be president of America and not just a narrowly defined base unlike Bush.

[LWolf]

35. Yes, except

that I care that he's chief of staff.

It gets the new administration off to a bad start, imo.

[theboss]

47. By being too ruthlessly efficient?

By having too much cooperation with House Dems?

By scaring the piss out of the Republicans?

All of these things, yes, are undesirable.

What we need are a bunch of idealists who can't get out of the way of themselves. Like Clinton had from 1992 to 1994. We certainly don't want to pass anything or run an efficient White House.

[LWolf]

68. By putting the DLC in a position of influence. nt

[leftchick]

37. he has an awful lot of corporate/wallstreet baggage

his leadership at Freddie Mac during its burgeoning scandal days and his cut throat passage of NAFTA are just for starters. I believe he is more like Tom Delay with a D after his name. I see nothing "centrist" about him. A very poor choice that I am sure was required to get Hill to endorse Obama.

[theboss]

45. Here's the dirty little secret: Both parties need a Tom Delay

The House Republicans were a machine when Delay held the whip. He goes down, Rahm takes power in the House and suddenly we have a 50 point margin.

These things are not accidents.

Our problem from 1994 to 2006 is that we did not have enough Delays and Gingriches to combat, well, Delay and Gingrich.

[Individualist]

56. That's because he's DLC

"Centrist" is the label they unsuccessfully attempt to hide behind.

[theboss]

41. And the White House will run like Pittsburgh in 1943 because of him

Obama controls policy. He gets it passed.

[spanone]

44. nwmhtt

[Alter Ego]

46. Rahm is Obama's hammer.

He will enforce what Obama wants enforced, but Obama will not be a hands-off chief executive. Rahm will not shape policy, only offer his advice--and don't forget that David Axelrod is a senior advisor too.

Goddamn, if I have to see another thread about Rahm Emanuel being the Armageddon of the Obama administration I'm gonna choke someone.

[Greyhound]

49. Prior to attempting to destroy the Democratic Party from within, he was an investment banker,

that makes him a parasite, twice. What more do you need to know?

[blue_onyx]

50. Not everyone is going to love every Obama appointment

I don't know much about Emanuel but if that's who Obama wants, then I trust his judgment. I'm sure we'll all find people in the Obama cabinet that we don' like. It's ok to disagree with Obama on some things...I don't want this presidency to be like how the Republican were with Bush (disagreement is good).

[INDIA]

51. The fact that DU hates this guy...makes me want to give him a shot. Lol. nt

[western mass]

53. NO...he's a right-wing hack.

Just because he's not an ultra-right winger doesn't make him a centrist.

[Occam Bandage]

54. Voting Dem 98% of the time makes him a right-wing hack? Who knew?

[tavalon]

55. I'm choosing to trust Obama on this one

I expect to be frustrated and even enraged by some of what Obama does and I did start out furious on this one, but I've dialed it back. This is a man who ran a near flawless campaign and he deserves some slack because of it. We all need time to learn our new jobs, he as Chief Executive and us as allies but gatekeepers and keepers of the flame. I think a bit more even keel is a good idea at this juncture.

[struggle4progress]

57. But he's our centrist hack!

:scared:

[darkism]

58. Waaa waaa waaaa...would you rather we go back in time and elect McCain? n/t

[jrandom421]

60. Overheard from Mitch McConnell's office:

"Senator, the White House Chief of Staff his here to discuss your planned filibuster on his healthcare proposals. It looks like he brought some fish, along with what appears to be the good silverware."

[DailyGrind51]

62. Rahm is an asshole, but, when your president is a decent guy, you need

an asshole for chief of staff, to stand up to bullies, like Cheney or Rumsfeld. Andy Card was an invertebrate and a door mat.

[Augdog20]

70. See NY Times artcle on Obama's centrist trend

Check out NY Times article posted to my blog; cites centrist trend:

http://bluesunited.blogspot.com/