THE ELECTION INSIDE THE BELTWAY | 2006-11-10
I suppose the old rules apply. There are about 30,000 people working on Capitol Hill, most of them in the House. The majority party hires something like two-thirds of them. So thousands of people who have been working for the Republicans for the past twelve years are now out on the streets.
In 1994, when Republicans abandoned their old "the votes are in the middle of the road" strategy the GOP had been following for decades and won the House. Dems had controlled the House since 1955 so for forty years career staff had lived and died on the Hill. Suddenly thousands of middle-aged Democratic staffers, people the media knew and loved, were out on the street. Their problems were big news.
Any of us who hve faced being on the street past forty can feel their pain. But in my case my heart does not go out to the thousands of respectable conservatives being bounced in January 2007. My heart did not bleed for the liberal staffers who were tossed off the Hill in 1995.
It couldn't happen to nicer guys.
My opinion is that all those black committee chairmen for the Democrats are going to be a real minus for the Party. If they appear on national television, they will be saying leftist crap the public hasn't heard since 1972. But with both the Party and the media to vet them, this may be minimized.
Meanwhile those who are obseesed with Iraq can discuss the significance of this event.
We should be concentrating on making history right here.