The Whining Moderates

Man, those House "centrists" are about the whiniest sons of bitches you've ever seen.

In an acknowledgement that fences within her Caucus need mending, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) scheduled private meetings Wednesday evening with leading House Democratic moderates, including Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.).

Pelosi was set to sit down individually with Hoyer, while a similar meeting with Rep. John Tanner (Tenn.), long a leading figure among conservative Blue Dog Democrats, was being rescheduled because of Wednesday evening's ethics vote. She also had asked for a meeting with Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.), a leader of the centrist New Democrat Coalition.

Sources suggested that the Minority Leader recognizes that a rift exists between different factions of her Caucus and that she wants to reach out to moderates in an effort to unite the party. Those sources said Pelosi called the meetings to hear the concerns of centrists, who for some time have felt growing alienation from the leader and other liberal Members [...]

The need for such healing became clear after a blow-up in last week's whip meeting over a vote on bankruptcy legislation. Accusations flew and tensions flared at the session when Pelosi sided with liberal Members angry over Democratic defections, and Hoyer defended the moderates who supported the measure [...]

The bankruptcy split underscored a larger divide over the competing interests of liberals and centrists in the Caucus. Moderate Members have long felt slighted by the progressive wing of the party, and their recent successes on the campaign trail have emboldened them to flex their muscle within the Caucus.

Sources at last week's meeting said Pelosi didn't help repair the rift, and perhaps even inflamed it, when they said she accused moderates of selling out to special interests on the bill and betraying the party by urging the GOP leadership to bring the measure to a vote. Several of those sources said Pelosi has an obligation not only to bring Members together, but also to apologize to the moderates.

"Actions speak louder than words," said one source from the conservative wing of the party. "No meeting will undo what she did, and it will take a while for her to repair the damage with Democratic centrists."

Look, there was nothing "moderate" or "centrist" about the bankruptcy bill. Nothing. It was a payoff to the credit card industry, and frankly, I don't see how siding with MBNA over working Americans has anything to do with the ideological spectrum. This was a giveaway to a special interest, plain and simple.

Pelosi is right, and the "moderates" are wrong -- there's nothing to apologize for. These guys didn't just vote with the GOP on a bill. They sent a letter urging Hastert to introduce and pass the legislation. When David Sirota called them on that travesty, the Whining Moderates ran and cried to John Podesta (who runs the Center for American Progress where Sirota is a fellow). Now, they're crying to Pelosi when she calls them on the bullshit.

Atrios has some helpful numbers:

Call the offices of Steny Hoyer [phone], John Tanner [phone], and Ron Kind at [phone], and tell them to apologize to Pelosi for being babies and apologize to America for voting for and vocally supporting that bankruptcy bill. Remind them that they did indeed sell out to special interests, we know they did, and we will not stop pointing that out. If they make these decisions, they will be called on it.

Hoyer is minority whip. He's obviously unsuited for the job, as he seems uninterested in doing it. Ask him to resign.

Indeed.

The vote on the bankruptcy bill did not win these congressment a single vote in their "moderate" districts. Not one. It did, however, win them a lot of campaign contributions. For them to hide behind their "centrism" as an excuse is simply an afront and insult to every true centrist.

Last time I checked, being "centrist" did not mean selling out to the highest bidder.