EJ Dionne on the new Democratic House majority

In his Friday column, EJ Dionne makes an important observation about the emergence of a new 21st century set of leaders, policies and strategies for the Democrats.  It begins:  

"The most important tension within the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is not between liberals and conservatives or free traders and fair traders. It is between older members who once enjoyed the power and perks of majority status, and their younger colleagues who will experience real power for the first time."

This piece should be read along side our "New Politics" argument, Matt Bai's recent piece in the NYTimes magazine, Sidney Blumenthal's excellent new essay in Salon, Tom Schaller's new book and our recent 2006 election analysis.

There is a growing sense that we are entering a new political era, one no longer dominated by the conservative movement, one that offers progressives a tremendous opportunity to take our values, our vision and our ideas and apply them, ably, to the great emerging challenges of the 21st century.  It is an exciting time my friends.