With all of the "spinning," partisan jockeying, and mass speculation that have accompanied the Democratic takeover of the Senate and the House, it is easy to miss the one consistent theme in the Democrats' strategy (and it is a novel and surprising strategy for Democrats): They are trying not to scare anybody.
More specifically, the new Democratic leadership is trying to sell itself as a group of middle-of-the-road gradualists who will not pose a significant threat to any powerful interest--even those interests forming the core of the GOP's base.
Hence:
- Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi--at considerable risk and embarrassment--endorsed for the number two spot in the House leadership a conservative-to-moderate Democrat, John Murtha (D-Pa.), even though Murtha's scandal-plagued past and consequent loss ended up making Pelosi seem clownishly ineffectual.
- Congressional Democrats have made it clear that they have no intention to take on the powerful "gun lobby"--even though these organizations form the epicenter of the Republicans' base of power. . . .
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