Wall street types are primaryi ng Carol Maloney. It is part of the true colors of the powerful oligarchs who call themselves Democrats to sleep better at night and appear cool coming to the forefront. So here is my question. Will President Obama and the White House go out of its way to protect Maloney the way they protect other "incumbents?" Is Rahm Emmanuel going to call his friend Steve Rattner a f***ing a**hole like he did to progressives thinking about primarying? Is some unnamed source at the White House going to crow and call Maureen White a dumb jerk when Reshma Saujani loses her primary bid? Or are they going to decide to "stay out of this one?"
I think Steve Rattner and Maureen White have done an enormous service to the progressive movement. They are helping stoke a Wall Street challenge against Carol Maloney because she back credit card protections. They don't like it when their chattel break the rules. In another profession they would have sliced Carol Maloney's cheek with a razor blade. But instead they are mounting a primary challenge. How the White House comes down in this challenge is going to say a lot about whether the Democratic establishment aren't really Democrats at all. That the incumbent protection racket is actually misnamed. Is it the "good boy and girl" protection racket? We protect those that protect the money? I am actually not sure.
So let's watch closely. Will Obama cut a commercial for Maloney? Will he use White House resources to help her as much as he can? Will he send Bill Clinton in to campaign for her? This primary may turn out to be the most important political race of 2010. We will not a great deal more after the smoke has cleared.