The whole argument about Rahm Emanuel's been that he favored conservative Dems. Check this . . .

[bigtree]

The House that Rahm Built

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0611120215nov12,1,2323509.story?page=1&cset=true&ctrack=1&coll=chi-news-hed

{snip}

The tongue-lashing was another example of how Emanuel took a sledgehammer to intraparty niceties, making plenty of enemies along the way.

The gravitational center of Democratic antagonism toward Emanuel was the Congressional Black Caucus. Many of the caucus' 43 members complained that Emanuel had not hired enough African-American staffers. They also protested that when he harangued lawmakers to pay their DCCC dues, he did not recognize how hard it was for black politicians, many of whom represented poorer areas, to raise money. The protests often erupted into shouting matches. "If a person says, `Danny Davis, where are your dues?' I may have a particular difficulty getting my dues that you don't know about or you don't relate to," Rep. Danny Davis, the West Side Democrat, said last summer. "Rahm don't take no prisoners."

Emanuel was privately contemptuous of such complaints. He saw the Black Caucus as one more party faction, like conservative Democrats, that would rather complain than work. Asked about the number of black staffers at the DCCC--two African-Americans were on his senior staff of about 10 people--he waved his hand dismissively. "You know that every chairman has faced the same criticism?" he said. "OK. So I don't give a ," he added, literally spitting.

Then he began ranting about his conservative party colleagues. "They hate me too, because I'm arrogant and pushy with them. . . . Because they've never, ever WORKED! NOBODY! NONE OF 'EM!"

more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0611120215nov12,1,2323509.story?page=3&ctrack=1&cset=true&coll=chi-news-hed


I think he's a nut who was hard on everyone, but, I like the agressive campaign management style described in the article. Good article, even though it's pro-Emanuel. (as opposed to all of the anti-Emanuel ones)


http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree