The new Conventional Wisdom

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The new Conventional Wisdom is that the Democrats’ are moving to the left after last week’s election. David Broder says it. So, by definition, it’s Conventional Wisdom, though he’s by no means the only one saying it. But a lot of the thinking that’s gone into this line of thought is really sloppy.

Let’s start with the ascendence of Nancy Pelosi as House Minority Leader, the woman who Broder calls “the near-perfect embodiment of a San Francisco liberal.”

I have some concerns about her ascendency. But her election doesn’t have anything to do with ideology. It’s all about hierarchy. Pelosi’s the Minority Whip, the second in the House leadership. Had the Democrats won the House, Gephardt would have become Speaker and she would more than likely have become Majority Leader. House leaders almost all ascend the ladder in this way. Just look at Tom DeLay, who’s just gone from Whip to Majority Leader — exact same thing. Gingrich followed the same path too.

This doesn’t mean that Pelosi’s elevation won’t have any effect. But the fact that she’s becoming Minority Leader isn’t really a sign of anything.

This is but one part of the puzzle. But the whole Democrats moving to the left line is filled with lots of similarly lazy or shabby thinking. And many of the quotes you’ll see from the predictable quarters in the Democratic party are from people whose understanding of the party is still rooted in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

More on this to come …

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