Deborah Orin measures the potential backlash against the Democrats from the John Kerry led filibuster attempt and notes the effects that tilting far leftward are having on the party:
Not only did Kerry lose, he lost big time — just 25 Democrats were willing to join him as the party split apart over Alito [19 Dems voted for cloture], just as it has ripped apart over the Iraq war.
. . . Worse yet, plenty of Democrats who did vote for the filibuster — like New York's Sen. Chuck Schumer — left little doubt that they were livid at Kerry's stunt, since it turned into a dream come true for Bush political guru Rove.
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It's the second warning for Democrats over the past few weeks about tilting too far to the angry left — the other being Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean's stunning failure at fund-raising.
Dean's team has just $5.5 million cash on hand, according to the latest reports, while the Republican National Committee has $34 million — a $29 million advantage for Bush's team. Anger doesn't seem to fill the coffers.
"The liberals in the party are marching like lemmings into the sea again," laments a veteran Democratic activist. "Sometimes I think the left wing is turning into a cult. It just doesn't allow for disagreement. If you disagree, you're a traitor."
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