I wouldn't consider his position the equivalant of wall paper, but his personal views on policy are less relevant in a position like this as opposed to his current position as a congressman. It seems that in choosing a position and all it entails, an ability to carry out that position's duties would seem more important than the person's personal position on the Earned Income Tax Credit. I can think of few people active in the Democratic party that would be suitable to people on this list anyway for these positions, and since the President-Elect's own stated positions on these issues don't appear to be particularly different from Mr. Emanuel's I don't see what the fuss is about.
And yes the DLC is dead. It has zero power or influence over the party and the brand itself is radioactive. The majority of people currently or previously associated with it are not thought highly of (Emanuel in particular) if you go by most liberal, comment oriented weblogs that deal with Democratic party oriented politics.
--- On Fri, 11/7/08, Dennis Perrin <dperrin at comcast.net> wrote: From: Dennis Perrin <dperrin at comcast.net> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] and you thought the DLC was dead? To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Date: Friday, November 7, 2008, 11:58 AM
>> "Congressman Rahm Emanuel Named Chief of Staff
>> to President-elect Obama,"
>> Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama appointed Congressman
>> Rahm Emanuel, co-chair of the DLC's Bi-Partisan Congressional
>> Debate Series, and co-author, with DLC President Bruce Reed, of
>> "The Plan: Big Ideas for America," as White House chief of
staff.
Meaningless, Doug. Utterly meaningless. Haven't you heard? Obama picking Emanuel is the political equivalent to picking out White House wallpaper. Onward!
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