The progressives over at The Nation want Rahm Emanuel’s head. Get this from Ari Berman a contributing writer for The Nation:
The sooner Rahm leaves Washington, the better for Barack Obama. His
White House is desperately in need of a serious shakeup, especially
with Democrats facing a tidal wave of losses in the midterms. Replacing
Rahm is the best place to start.I?ll never quite understand why a transformational candidate who ran
under the banner of a new style of politics chose the ultimate
old-school inside operator to control his administration. Rahm isn?t
solely to blame for diluting Obama?s unique outsider brand, but he?s a
major reason why. After all, in the Clinton White House and in
Congress, Rahm was often at odds with the very grassroots activists who
powered Obama?s presidential campaign. As head of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee in ?06, he famously clashed with party
chair Howard Dean and recruited conservative Blue Dog candidates at the
expense of legitimate progressive challengers.
Rahm brought his corporate centrism to the White House, pushing for a
smaller-than-needed stimulus bill, urging Obama not to pursue healthcare reform, watering down the bill when he did and calling progressive activists who wanted to pressure obstructionist Democrats ?fucking retarded.? He later apologized to Sarah Palin but not to the Democratic activists he insulted.
