First I want to say I like Simon Rosenberg, but I feel like the people on this blog are ignoring some cold hard facts about him as DNC chair. But the following was sent to me by a person I know very well and I felt like it needed to be posted:
Stirling Newbury sarcastically lays out the reasons Rosenberg should NOT be DNC chair. However, the only place Rosenberg looks good as DNC chair is in the world of generalities. As we have an honest discussion about what kind of person we want to lead our party, lets have an honest discussion of Simon Rosenberg and who he is. You can make your own decision about whether you want him at the NDN or as DNC chair but there are things that some people aren't going to tell you.
1)
Rosenberg comes from the DLC as a protégé of AL From.
Depending on whom you talk to the creation of the NDN is either a split from the DLC or a spin off of the DLC. This is not the evil thing many people say it is, in fact, some great people came from the DLC. It is important to note that Rosenberg's traditions and political beginnings come from the DLC - he founded NDN's PAC with Senator John Breaux and Joe Lieberman. Rosenberg explained in 2001 that the NDN's "role is to add political muscle" to the DLC/New Democrat movement. He parted with the DLC in their support of Dean
.
2) NDN staff comes from the backboneless DNC circa 2002.
Who a person surrounds himself with is always important. Much of the Staff at the NDN are former DNC staffers from the 2002 cycle. These are the staff members that made progressives across the country cringe, until the primaries when Howard Dean gave the party a backbone transplant. For instance the Senior Vice President of the NDN Maria Cardona was at the core of the DNC in 2002 telling the AP on November 8th, "There was a tactical decision to not go after Bush on the tax cut," said Maria Cardona, a DNC spokeswoman. "There can be millions of sessions of Monday morning quarterbacking ..."
3) He "supports the President" often.
Here are just three quotes from Rosenberg while on FOX News:
- "I think the debate that is not happening is whether or not the war was a good idea. The war was a good idea. I think the American people were behind the President."
- "... look, the President has done certain things very well. This guy has made some big mistakes, he's had big successes."
Whether your want to call it being "too nice" like Kos did or lack of backbone like we all once did. Rosenberg is non as strongly defending the Democrats as many in the party want out of a spokesman.
In my opinion, as many know, Rosenberg is not the right leader of the Democratic Party. That said I think he can do great at NDN and continue his work there to be one of the many people pushing the progressive movement forward toward victory
