House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi ought to find a quiet place where she
can sit down and recount the election. She was not chosen by her friends
in Silicon Valley or by the friendly investment bankers on both coasts.
They no doubt contributed generously to the party's candidates. But her
House majority was made possible by millions of fed-up Americans ready
to gamble that Democrats might try something new--on Iraq, on the soggy
economy for working people and other grievances.
So why does Pelosi begin the education of her freshman members with a
seminar on Rubinomics? Robert Rubin, the Citigroup executive and former
Treasury secretary, will appear solo next week before the party
caucus to explain the economy. Pelosi has scheduled another
caucus briefing on Iraq, but that includes five expert voices of varying
viewpoints. Rubin gets the stage to himself.
When labor officials heard about this, they asked to be included since
they have very different ideas about what Democrats need to do in behalf
of struggling workers and middle-class families. Pelosi decided against
it. This session, her spokesman explains, is only about "fiscal
responsibility," not globalization and trade, not the deterioration of
wages and disappearing jobs. Yet those subjects are sure to come up
for discussion. Rubin gets to preach his "free trade" dogma with no one
present to rebut his facts and theories.
A fundamental debate is growing within the party around these economic
issues and Pelosi knows this. It is seriously unwise for this new
Speaker to leave an impression she has already chosen sides. The
interpretation by Washington insiders will be: Pelosi is "safe;" she is
not going to threaten Rubin's Wall Street orthodoxy. Far-flung voters
will begin to conclude Democrats are the same-old, same-old money party.
This is the sort of party "unity" that can earn Pelosi a very short
honeymoon.
Copyright © 2006 The Nation
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