Unifying The Democratic Caucus

Since it's Friday, I'll pass along two good things from "Kos" - unified Democrats producing good results.

In the Senate:
U.S. Senate Democrats admitted on Thursday they did not do enough to protect their ousted leader, Tom Daschle, from Republican attacks and vowed to defend his successor, Harry Reid, who is now under fire.

 Reid's 43 fellow Senate Democrats, along with a Democratic-leaning independent, wrote [Bush] to protest a partisan offensive.

 They called on Bush to halt what they denounced as personal and unfair attacks by the Republican National Committee and the Republican senatorial campaign committee against Reid. The Nevada lawmaker replaced Daschle last month as Senate minority leader [...]

 "Calling him (Reid) names is pointless and silly," Democrats wrote in the letter sent on Thursday. "We feel that suggesting Democrats are simply obstructionists because they have honest policy disagreements with your administration is dishonest."
From the House:
Rep. Paul Ryan (R.-Wis.) was asked at a CATO conference in Washington yesterday whether he had persuaded any Democrats to back his plan to rescue Social Security from its financial troubles. Under his legislation (HR 4851), no new taxes would be needed to pay for "transition costs," participation in the new system would be voluntary and individuals would be allowed to divert a portion of their payroll tax into a mutual fund.

 A questioner from the audience, stressing his own Democratic credentials, said he believed Ryan's plan should attract members of his own party and wondered whether the Wisconsin lawmaker had secured any Democratic sponsors. Ryan said he had been working with friends on the "other side of the aisle" who were favorable toward his solution, but he faced an enormous problem: intense pressure on his colleagues from the minority leadership.

 "We were in planning stages [with friendly Democrats]," said Ryan. But each essentially told him: "I like what you're doing. I like this bill. I think it's the right way to go. But my party leadership will break my back. The retribution that they are promising us is as great as I have ever seen. We can't do it."
Aside from the "posturing" from Ryan - Democrats acting as a unified block is paying dividends, particularly in uniting Democrats to stand against proposals like Social Security phase-out.

Kos also passes along this from the National Journal:
 In the latest example of his muscle flexing, incoming Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean agreed during a meeting Wednesday with Reid to cede full control of the party's policies and agenda to congressional Democrats and to provide financial and message support to Reid's efforts, Senate Democratic aides said.
     
 Dean told Reid "he wants clear lines of communication [with Reid] to ... amplify what the Democrats up here are doing," an aide familiar with the conversation said.
     
 While careful to avoid criticizing former Minority Leader Daschle, many Democrats also privately argue Reid's early emphasis on unity is welcome within both the moderate and progressive factions and has helped bring about the current détente between the two wings after several years of increasing tensions.
     
 Democrats point to the fact that none of the party's moderate senators has broken ranks with Reid's position on Social Security, despite an aggressive White House conversion campaign aimed at "red state" moderates such as Sen. Max Baucus of Montana.

The DNC, state parties and Congressional Democrats working toward the same goal.  I like the sound of that.

Along those lines, Paul Krugman wonders if the Democratic Party will finally stand up to Republican class warfare.
Democrats have surprised the Bush administration, and themselves, by effectively pushing back against Mr. Bush's attempt to dismantle Social Security. It's time for them to broaden their opposition, and push back against Mr. Bush's tax policy.