"Emboldened" Democrats Court Party's Left Wing

Hubris kills. Bush is floundering, certainly, but what keeps him from actually sinking is the Democratic Party itself.

The next round of prospective Democratic presidential candidates, even those with centrist credentials, is actively courting the Democratic Party's left wing -- which speaks loudly through its blogs, enjoys rising fund-raising clout built on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, and is imbued with a confidence that it can build on Republican disarray. The Democrats are rushing to fill a void left in the hearts and minds of many liberal activists by New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's efforts to move to the center, particularly on the Iraq war.

...

Recently released 2005 Federal Election Commission reports indicate that five of the top 10 richest tax-exempt 527 political issue groups were liberal. Of the top 10 political action committees, eight were liberal or affiliated with organized labor, with substantially more cash on hand than conservative groups such as the National Rifle Association or GOP-friendly corporate PACs such as the National Association of Realtors.

But only 16% of the population self-identifes as liberal. 36% identifies as conservative, and 47% as moderate (which surely includes some deluded liberals, but not enough to reach parity).

Godspeed to you. It's time to test out that West Wing derived theory of yours -- that the country is just aching for honest, overt, stridently liberal leadership and policies -- and see how it all works out for ya.

Meanwhile... Susan Sarandon says she can't support Hillary! Clinton, as she "supported" (wink wink, nudge nudge) the war.

posted by Ace at 05:10 PM

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