Rahm Emanuel Declares Candidacy for House GOP Whip

I thought the House Democratic Caucus Chairman was a position whose mission is to help elect more Democrats, so that Democrats can do more things Democrats promise to do. According to Inside U.S. Trade, I'm wrong.

Here's the snippet (no link because the publication is subscription-only):

"Among the House Democratic leadership, Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) is actively advocating that Democrats would be better off having the votes on pending [free trade agreements] this year for a number of reasons, sources said. They said that one of the reasons Emanuel cites is that there are likely more Republican members in this Congress than there will be in the next, which would mean that fewer Democrats would have to take a potentially divisive trade vote now."

Correct: Emanuel -- one of the original architects of NAFTA -- wants congressional Democrats to pass controversial NAFTAs with Colombia, South Korea and Panama right now, so as to avoid inevitably STRONGER opposition from his own party in the next Congress.

To really fathom how incredible this is, understand that Emanuel -- the Democratic leader -- is effectively acting as the House Republican whip. He's saying that he wants these bills up for a vote because there are enough Republican votes right now in the House to pass it over current Democratic objections -- and there won't be enough GOP votes in the next Congress.

How many polls have to come out showing that the vast majority of Americans do not want their jobs and wages crushed by hacks like Emanuel? And how come Democrats are led by con artists who spent their White House career shilling for Wall Street, then cashed in as an investment banker, then bought a congressional race, only to go back to Washington to continue his corporate crusade over the dead body of his own caucus?

Comments

[SamEllison]

Pull a Hastert, a majority of the majority or it doesn't come up for a vote.
Rahm and Steny have been the lobbyist dream.

[Opus007]

That's the DLC for you! This really makes me mad!

[SamThornton]

Rahm Emanuel -- reputedly the inspiration for the character Josh Lyman on The West Wing -- can be a polarizing figure. His realpolitik approach to one of his favorite hobby-horses (Free Trade, in this case) certainly fits into that characterization.

Like most politicians, Emanuel's a mix of pluses and minuses. I'm guessing his Free Trade fixation stems from his investment banking experience and contacts. Free Trade has been very, very kind to investment bankers and investment bankers have been very, very kind to Rahm Emanuel. He reportedly earned $18 million while employed by the investment banking firm of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Chicago, where he worked from 1999 to 2002.