And what career-ending, risky offenses is Emanuel referencing?
Eyes (but thankfully, not heads) roll in Emanuel's office when other freshmen stumble, such as the time Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) got into a debate about the merits of throwing kittens into a wood-chipper, or when Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) explained that he is not his predecessor, convicted felon Bob Ney (R).
Yes, moves like this could seriously jeopardize Democratic majorities! The voters really care about what misstatements candidates might make on one of the most popular comedy shows on television. I bow before the political astuteness of Mr. Emanuel. May I be graced with 1/10th his wisdom and copious political acumen.
And what other bits of advice does Mr. Emanuel have for Democrats?
One freshman who has been on the receiving end of Emanuel's "tough love" is Rep. Steve Kagen (Wis.), who boasted to a group of anti-war activists that he had dressed down President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, during a White House reception. The administration denied the story.
But Emanuel threw a fit. Kagen's staff was hauled into the Democratic Caucus's office for lessons on how to handle the media, Democratic sources said.
Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.) said, "It took [Emanuel] three weeks to come down off of the ceiling" after she refused to accept the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's (DCCC) assistance in her bid to win reelection in 2008.
Boyda said Emanuel would "worry until November 4, 2008, but he says it in a very caring, grandmotherly way."
So let's see here. Emanuel has advised Dems to
1) not appear on Colbert lest they, too, receive the mojo of the Colbert Effect;
2) not dress down Karl Rove--or even dare to pretend to dress down Karl Rove (goodness knows, even if you don't have a spine, don't even appear to act like you had a spine);
3) not refuse the spineless "assistance" of campaign consultants like Bob Shrum.
I swear to the god of your choice--Emanuel must be the biggest concern troll in the Democratic Party at this point. He spends so much time telling Democrats what not to do--for their own sake, of course--that it would be nice to see him tell Democrats what to actually stand up and do for a change.
Actually, I don't want to see what Emanuel tells Democrats to do: according to Matt Stoller, Emanuel is apparently busy as a bee using his power to "train" our congresspeople in the mystical DLC arts:
From what I understand from talking to a few progressives on the Hill, the freshmen in Congress are being extensively 'trained' by Rahm Emanuel (news, bio, voting record)'s DLC band of consultants and pollsters, which is one reason they've been silent. Carol Shea-Porter is an exception, and notice how she was shut out of the DCCC's front line program. Also notice how our only real specific policy concern to protect our own ability to organize - net neutrality - just isn't really on the legislative radar right now (though this could change).
But what is most galling about Emanuel's advice to stay off of Colbert? His absolute silence about the Nevada Fox Noise debate. Seriously--do a search on Google for any keywords related to Emanuel, Fox, Fox News, Nevada or Debate: not a word. Nada. Zilch. It's a fairly good guess, though, that like most of his DLC pals, he fully supported Dems appearing on a program whose sole intent is their humiliation and defeat.
Honestly--How bizarro does your world have to be, and what kind of fantasy bubble must you be living in, for your advice as a leading Democrat to the Democratic faithful is go on Fox, but stay off of Colbert? What kind of total short-sighted idiocy is that?
I don't know, but I want no piece of it. And I hope with fervor that our elected Dems want no piece of it, either.
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