Here is another interesting article on
"the new new left" from subscription only roll call today. Actually, considering that ranking committee membership on the Democratic side is determined by seniority, this might actually just be the remnants of the New Left. Either way,
progressives are organizing on Capitol Hill to a degree not seen in quite a long time:
Currently, the ranking members on 29 committees and subcommittees are CPC members, and progressives are in line to chair at least seven committees if the Democrats take over. Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.), the ranking member on the Government Reform Committee, is a progressive, as are Reps. Charlie Rangel (N.Y.), the would-be Ways and Means chairman, and Barney Frank (Mass.), the ranking member on Financial Services.
"That's a major platform - being in a position to legislate," said Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.), who co-chairs the CPC. And that's not even mentioning Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), the presumptive Speaker if the Democrats manage to win the 15 seats needed to take over the House. Before climbing into leadership and formally disassociating herself from the CPC, Pelosi was a member. And some of her closest allies - such as Reps. George Miller (Calif.) and Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) - remain in its ranks."We've had more of a voice under her," Lee said.
The CPC's 64 members - nine have signed on since the start of the 109th Congress - make it the largest such group on the Democratic side, representing nearly one-third of the entire Democratic Caucus. And while they're not naming names yet, Lee and CPC Co-chairwoman Lynn Woolsey (Calif.) say they've identified seven to 10 promising House candidates whom they and their members will campaign for this fall - and who figure to further swell the CPC ranks if they win in November. "We've been very successful as far as growing," Woolsey said.
That last paragraph is what really interested me. For the first time in a while, the Congressional Progressive Caucus is recruiting new members from within the caucus, and new members among strong Democratic candidates for office this year. A look at
their revamped website also shows that they have released lengthy policy proposals, and numerous important studies. At long last, we have an aggressive, inventive, progressive caucus that is really organizing. This is an absolutely necessary component of the progressive movement as a whole. We need our people power to have effective legislative champions in D.C.
This is another sign of how power in the Democratic Party is shifting.
The Blue Dogs and the New Democrats are both losing members in the House, but progressive are gaining. Back in June of 2005,
these is exactly the sort of steps that I argued needed to be taken in order to help bring more progressive depth for higher office in the Senate, Governorships, and the Presidency. Instead of complaining about the lack of progressive in the party, we needed to work to bring more progressives into the party, and into higher levels of the party. After all, that is what the New Dems did back in the 1980's and 1990's, and that is why their candidate dominate the potential Presidential field for 2008. However, these new trends are very encouraging. We have a national progressive movement building outside of DC, but it seems quite clear that we have one building inside DC as well. Rock on.
