Word: emanuel
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois had a nice moment on Meet the Press about a month ago. He said Democrats would run on their "ideas" in the 2006 congressional elections. "But what are the Democratic ideas?" moderator Tim Russert asked skeptically. Emanuel proceeded to rattle off five big ones, which seemed to shock Congressman Tom Reynolds of New York, his Republican debate opponent. "Those are the first solutions that have come out of (any Democrat's) mouth," Reynolds said...
...Election Day of 2005, I checked in with Emanuel at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) offices-he's the current chairman-and asked him to elaborate. He responded with a rat-a-tat of ideas and expletives, a joyousness unknown to Dems in recent years. But then, Emanuel, a former ballet dancer and Clinton White House capo, has always seemed a human amphetamine. I kept asking him to slow down as I took notes. He wouldn't, but here's the general idea...
...Everything on the table-loopholes, pork, Bush tax cuts. "And then you gotta have a reform piece," Emanuel hydrofoiled. "Actually, that should come first. Clean up the relationship between lobbyists and legislators, same way we did donors and candidates. This place is a cesspool-gotta address the gifts, free trips, the revolving-door lobbying jobs for staff members...
...want to have a big election next year," Emanuel told me. "Big ideas. Everything on the table." He was alluding to the party's recent tendency toward mingy, small- bore campaigns. In 2002, many Democratic consultants advised their candidates not to dispute the President on his tax cuts and plans for war in Iraq-and limited the campaign to ho-hum topics like prescription-drug plans and blaming Bush for the economic downturn without offering a remedy. As a result, the Democrats lost ground in the House and control of the Senate; and they gave up still more seats...
...gerrymandering deals, especially between white Republicans and black Democrats in the South, has increased minority representation but decreased the number of House districts where Democrats can expect to compete. A Democratic House or Senate in 2006 remains a long shot, at best. Still, it's fun to watch Rahm Emanuel in full flight, riffing at warp speed, bouncing off the walls-a Democratic operative as happy warrior for a change...