Democratic leaders in Congress have not been able to keep all party members in line when it comes to certain issues. In particular the health care debate, and others like climate change, have sent moderates and Blue Dogs looking into alliance with members across the aisle, or at least sent them in search of middle ground.
Max Baucus (D-MT) has been the most prominent of these of late. His use of the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee to forge a compromise health care bill has not pleased the more liberal members of his party. And now two liberal watchdogs are going after him.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America are running television ads in Washington DC and in the state of Montana urging Baucus to give up the center and the hopeless dream of significant Republican support and get behind the so-called public option.
RBR-TVBR observation: It is really unusual to see this kind of intramural warfare, but it is still a good 13 months before the next federal election. Left-leaning political organizations have really become much more pragmatic going back to 2006, and have been willing to forgive a less-than-perfect record on a pet issue in order to get enough Ds in Congress to hold all important committee chairs and control the floor agenda. We suspect that a truce will be called in the intramural warfare sometime next summer, if not before.
