If you know the name Joe Sinsheimer, you probably know him as a key player in efforts to expose corruption in North Carolina state government.
Newsweek interviewed Sinsheimer this week for another reason: his connection with Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel. The magazine speculates that Emanuel could play a role in settling the “chaotic” fight for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Joe Sinsheimer, an old friend of Emanuel’s and onetime staffer on
the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, tells NEWSWEEK that
Emanuel can’t serve as a broker because the Clintons don’t totally
trust him, in large part due to his alliance with Axelrod. Emanuel has
always been closer to Bill than Hillary. Indeed, Hillary tried to get
Emanuel fired as a White House aide in 1993 (reportedly because he was
too abrasive with others), but Emanuel refused to leave until the
president personally told him to pack his bags. Bill couldn’t bring
himself to do it. Sinsheimer says that Emanuel may have selfish reasons
for wanting to stay uninvolved and avoid playing the role of party
elder. “Rahm has his own ambitions,” says Sinsheimer. If he runs for
Speaker in four or six years, “why does he want to have 5, 10, 15
people on one side of this chasm or another mad at him over something?”
