You need to know this. House Democrats are for the first time trying to implement majority rule within their own party. Congressmen Peter DeFazio - Jim McDermott - and Jay Inslee are circulating a letter in opposition to President Obama's tax cut deal. They hope to convince 60 members of the House Democratic Caucus to sign on to it and force a vote within the caucus on whether or not the tax cut package should be brought to the House floor. As Congressman DeFazio says, "We want to have a record vote in the caucus on a resolution that says this resolution should not go to the floor without a majority of Democratic votes." Democrats have been in the majority in Congress for two years. Yet - the legislative proposals supported by the majority of the party - have repeatedly been torpedoed by the interests of a minority of Blue Dogs. Progressives are right to ensure that this vote - likely to be one of the last of a Democratically controlled Congress - reflects the majority will of the party. If they had used this strategy earlier - the 2010 midterms may have turned out differently.
-Thom
(Were they right? What do you think will happen now? Tell us here.)
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