Rob's Politics Blog

EJ Dionne is right this time. The coming Democratic debate won't really be that tired old Left or Right? debate. No, no, no. It's about how to match the GOP's organizational advantage. What's surprising about the debate is the extent to which everyone is talking about running across the map. Retire that old Left v. Right schema. That dog doesn't hunt anymore.

For once, I find myself disagreeing with EJ Dionne. That may be healthy.

Part of the problem of coining a name for what you see as an ideology is that you get to make implications for the motivations of those you see pursuing it. Thus, Getalongism is coined, implying a weaker will on the part of those Democrats pursuing it. Actually the emphasis of this article is on how bizarre it is for Republicans to propose this to Democrats, having themselves opposed a moderate Democrat president with a scorched earth strategy.

Still there is an implicit presumption in the term. It might seem more grounded if Dionne had named specific actions by specific Democrats, but he didn't. There are (believe it or not) non-liberal Democrats motivated by personal belief or ideology. Bummer that they're not liberals, but consider the alternative. This bird ain't gonna fly if we're so dismissive of occasional dissenters.

Silvio Berlusconi truly has nine lives.

Good Riddance to Tommy Thompson

In the Washington Post:

Thompson used an afternoon news conference about his departure to reveal that he worries 'every single night' about 'food poisoning' on a massive scale.

'I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not, you know, attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do,' Thompson said. 'And we are importing a lot of food from the Middle East, and it would be easy to tamper with that.'

Some experts have warned about the vulnerability of the U.S. food system. It is unusual for a top administration official to publicly point out such a problem in such vivid terms.

Osama probably appreciates the hint, Tommy.