Rahm Emmanuel

Nationally, one of the hottest topics in progressive politics is whether or not the Democratic Party should consider the South a lost cause.

Thirty years ago that subject would have been considered absurd on its face. Back then the South was the indispensable partner in Roosevelt's New Deal coalition. The South was the lynch pin, the hinge, the fulcrum of Democratic power. Now some believe that it is the great nemesis of the Democratic Party, and chasing after the South is about as useful, and ennobling, as calling your ex-wife and asking her for a date.

This argument has both its advocates, and its critics throughout the progressive movement. Howard Dean has staked tremendous political capital on his "50 State Strategy" and the contention that a truly national party must compete everywhere. Other influential leaders in the party, like Rahm Emmanuel, would argue that spending fifty cents on grass roots organizing in Mississippi is fifty cents wasted.

True to earlier reports that Patrick McHenry has become the designated pit bull for House Republicans, there's a quote offered from the quarrelsome Congressman in today's Washington Times. This staunchly conservative paper has been making much of a mention in the Ethics Panel report on the Mark Foley scandal that Rahm Emmanuel may have had early knowledge of Foley's unpleasant e-mails. The Washington Times is trying to expand this insinuation into a story, without any corroboration, that Emmanuel shopped the e-mails to newspapers before November's election.