Steve Israel (D-Long Island) is going to be chairman of the DCCC, replacing Chris Van Hollen. I don’t have strong opinions about Mr. Israel, although I would like to note that he voted for the Authorization to Use Military Force against Iraq, and that he was a vocal critic of Jimmy Carter’s book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Perhaps this isn’t surprising considering Mr. Israel’s background and constituency, but it isn’t exactly laudable, either. He’s also a co-founder of the Center Aisle Caucus. McClatchey wrote about their aims in a September 2008 article.
In politically divided Washington, the idea of Republicans and Democrats trying to find ways to agree might seem as improbable as a blizzard in Tahiti. But that’s the goal of a little-publicized group of House of Representatives members known as the Center Aisle Caucus.
The 60-member bipartisan group, which will rev up again next week when Congress returns from a monthlong summer recess, operates with the lofty objective of finding common purpose at a time when much of the public is fed up with congressional gridlock in Washington.
Applicants for membership aren’t admitted unless they recruit companion members from the opposite party. Caucus members avoid lightning-rod issues and focus only on areas that most likely would produce agreement. Under one unwritten bylaw, members never engage in political campaigns against other members…
…Reps. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., and Timothy Johnson, R-Ill., founded the caucus in 2005, but it’s largely operated under the public’s radar. Most of its members, Israel said, are “defiant centrists” from both parties, hence the name Center Aisle.
Now, I don’t want to go war with this guy before he can even begin doing his new job, but doesn’t it strike you as a profoundly bad idea to have a DCCC chairman who has taken an oath (of sorts) against campaigning against about 30 Republican members of the House? I have to say, this concerns me.
And then there is his lack of prescience. Here’s what he said on the eve of the 2008 elections:
In addition to issues, caucus leaders hope that the group’s very existence can engender a more genial atmosphere in a Congress torn by political discord.
Israel thinks that the caucus could have dozens of potential recruits from the November elections.
“There’s going to be a tidal wave of new members, and those new members are going to want to show their constituents that they’re not part of the old inside-the-Beltway Washington culture,” he said.
How many of the Republicans in the Center Aisle Caucus contributed to a more genial atmosphere over the last two years? How many freshmen joined his caucus?
Mr. Israel may have some useful skills. Speaker Pelosi didn’t select him for no reason. But I’d rather have Rahm Emanuel’s attitude and skill-set at DCCC than this guy. At least Rahm knew how to deal with the enemy.
I wish Mr. Israel success, and I hope he proves me wrong. But I am not encouraged by this choice.
