There's a new one, loosely forming in the Senate and comprised of some apparent slow-learners on the Dem side.
Seven Senate centrists — two Republicans, four Democrats and one Independent — are stepping up their activity after a bipartisan group on the Senate Finance Committee produced a bill with only Democratic support after months of negotiations....
The new Senate group includes GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Landrieu and Ron Wyden (Ore.). Four of the members — Snowe, Collins, Lieberman and Nelson — played a significant role in helping pass Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package.
But these lawmakers are hesitant to call themselves a Gang of Seven, or any other type of gang. They are still wincing at the memory of the weeks of protracted negotiations among members of the Finance Committee that failed to produce a much-hoped-for bipartisan agreement.
Note that that this group who were so "significant" to passing Obama's stimulus package were also instrumental in stripping it of what arguably would have been the most direct and effective means of stimulus--aid to states. That Wydena nd McCaskill are working with the same group that would also strip healthcare reform of its most effective elements is frustrating, to say the least.
But if the Gang of Six model that they are all so supposedly wary of is any guide, they'll be doing themselves no favors. Take Chuck Grassley as one example:
Just as the health care debate has taken its toll on Mr. Obama’s popularity, Mr. Grassley’s long-iconic status in Iowa has suffered. A poll last week for The Des Moines Register put Mr. Grassley’s support at 57 percent, down from 75 percent in January.
Nate has more:
It's no big secret where the decline is coming from:
Grassley’s approval among Iowa Republicans has risen 10 percentage points, although he took big hits from Democrats, whose approval dropped 24 percentage points since April, and independents, whose approval fell by 11 percentage points in the same span.
Iowa, true to its swing state reputation, is split almost exactly evenly between Democrats (34%), Republicans (33%) and independents (33%). A senator there will get himself in trouble if he pisses off two Democrats for every Republican he wins over -- especially if he's losing support from independents in the process.
Nate also takes note of recent Daily Kos/Research 2000 polling on the Gang:
Grassley is not the only Senator so affected. Snowe's favorability is down to 54 percent in the latest R2K/Daily Kos poll -- a marginal result for a senator used to polling in the 60s and 70s. Baucus's favorability is now just 50 percent, according to the same poll.
This polling largely suggests that ganging up to pass a shitty bill isn't going to help anyone with their base, something Dems really need to keep in mind. There's long been the attitude among Dems that the base will always be there, where else are they going to go. Looking ahead to 2010, if they pass a shitty bill, the question is going to be where we choose not to go--to our checkbooks and wallets to make donations, to phonebanks and to canvassing efforts, and ultimately to the polls.