Here is one of the more baffling aspects of the modern Democratic Party:<\/p>\n
It is a largely urban, multi-ethnic and gender-diverse coalition.<\/p>\n
But for half a century, the party’s leadership in the Senate has been made up exclusively of white men from rural states, where the Democratic agenda is increasingly unpopular.<\/p>\n
The two standard-bearers for this tradition are Tom Daschle and Harry Reid.<\/p>\n
Despite being one of the most powerful men in Washington, Daschle was voted out of office by voters in South Dakota in 2004.<\/p>\n
Reid flirts with the same fate currently in Nevada.<\/p>\n
Before them, the Democratic Party’s leadership in the Senate came from Maine, West Virginia, and Montana.<\/p>\n
There are historic reasons for this “small state” dominance of a “big state” party — but the logic for a Reid-Daschle style of leadership is fading fast.<\/p>\n
Once upon a time, some small states sported serious progressive movements, especially in places like the Dakotas.<\/p>\n
Grange-style activists could still support a serious center-left candidate who was generally in sync with his party’s national agenda.<\/p>\n
What’s more, thirty years ago, the cultural and political divide between urban and much of rural America wasn’t quote so powerful.<\/p>\n
In those days, small-state Senators also simply had to do far less to get re-elected.<\/p>\n
Sitting Senators were rarely challenged and rarely unseated, especially when they had only a few hundred thousand voters to keep happy through pork-and-constituent programs.<\/p>\n
Finally, the weird structure of the Senate has meant that there have traditionally been a lot of rural Democrats.<\/p>\n
Those small-staters don’t represent many actual people.\u00a0 Harry Reid’s entire state population could fit within a single borough of New York City.<\/p>\n
But because they get equal voting power even within their party caucus, the rural bloc could often sway the pick of the Democratic Party’s minority- or majority-leader.<\/p>\n
What’s clear is that this approach no longer works.<\/p>\n
The Democratic agenda is toxic in most of rural America.\u00a0 And no Democratic Senator is ever secure in a state where there is a significant pool of small-town voters.<\/p>\n
This year, even Russ Feingold is vulnerable in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
By choosing small-town politicians to lead their Senate caucus, Democrats by definition are putting some of their weakest, most vulnerable members out front.<\/p>\n
That’s a hard way to advance an agenda.<\/p>\n
It’s worth noting that the Republicans learned this trick a long time ago:\u00a0 They choose leaders from the safe and cozy heart of their geographic base, which\u00a0 means (in the case of the GOP) going Southern.<\/p>\n
As a consequence, their leaders are free to campaign, raise cash, and work on policy — without spending months and years fighting for their political lives, the way Daschle and Reid have been forced to do.<\/p>\n
Even if Reid survives in November, it’s difficult to imagine him re-emerging as a strong, confident leader capable of shepherding a national agenda.<\/p>\n
Which means that it’s time for a big-state urban Senator like New York’s Charles Schumer to make a serious, pull-no-punches bid for leadership.<\/p>\n
Obviously, this kind of additional clout would be good for New York.<\/p>\n
But Schumer is also a\u00a0 logical national candidate for majority- or minority-leader.<\/p>\n
First, because his seat is absolutely 100% secure.\u00a0 Barring scandal, Chuck Schumer will be Senator as long as he wants to be Senator.<\/p>\n
Secondly, he shepherded the national push to rebuild the Democrats’ majority.<\/p>\n
That means he has strong ties to state party organizations across the country and knows the sensitivities of politicians and voters outside the Northeast.<\/p>\n
Because Schumer’s own state includes huge swaths of small towns Upstate — indeed, our rural population in New York is much bigger than the rural population in Nevada or South Dakota — he’s learned how to communicate with that culture.<\/p>\n
Schumer has emerged as one of the most knowledgeable Democratic lawmakers on farm- and rural-development policy.<\/p>\n
He’s also far more media- and message-savvy than Reid, who seems to lose ground even when his party is passing major legislation.<\/p>\n
What’s certain is that a politician like Schumer would be far more in sync with the message, the policies, and the demographics of the modern Democratic Party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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