Dem Leadership Rolls "Over the Dead Bodies" Of Its Rank-and-File

Per my Creators Syndicate column from last week, check out excerpts from this midday New York Times dispatch.

Here it is:

"A trade pact between the United States and Peru won bipartisan support in a crucial Congressional committee Tuesday...The vote Tuesday was a victory for the Bush administration and Representative Charles B. Rangel, the New York Democrat who is chairman of the Ways and Means panel. Mr. Rangel argued, against the opposition of many Democrats...[Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-NY)] noted that he may not be able to win over most of his party, adding, 'Our membership on this committee means that we will have to do things that at times will not be as popular as we would like them to be.'

[...]

Democrats regained control of Congress last year after a campaign in which many candidates promised to block future trade deals...While many rank-and-file Democrats fear that trade deals erode American jobs, Democratic leaders have developed close ties with Wall Street and with many high technology and industrial companies...

[...]

Critics of the deal say that it represents an extension of Nafta...Lori Wallach, director of Global Trade Watch division of Public Citizen, assailed the Peru vote as bad policy and politics. 'This is especially incomprehensible,' she said, 'after many of the freshman Democrats, who tipped the balance of power in Congress, were elected by focusing on ending more-of-the-same trade policies.'"

Notice that this Rangel admits he is passing the deal over the objections (ie. "over the dead bodies") of his own party. Notice too that he added that ramming the deal through the committee over the objections of rank-and-file populist Democrats represents "a very special day in my legislative career."

All I'm gonna say is this: Democrats, come election time, don't say we didn't tell you so. We told you so - and then some.

Cross-posted from Working Assets