An Army of (The) One

I linked to this piece by Linda at Something…and Half of Something in an update to one of my previous posts; however, I think the story deserves its own post.

According to the article in the Birmingham News, to which Linda refers, one Chris DeHaven, an organizer in Alabama for Obama’s perpetual campaign machine, made the following revealing statement: “”We’re not looking for a fight. That will come later, when we have an army.”

I would think that this is the sort of talk that even Democrats (even liberal Democrats) would find somewhat disquieting. A highly personalistic, imperial presidency with its own grassroots Praetorian Guard is more likely than not to marginalize the Democratic Party apparatus, by drawing support to a cult-like leader at the expense of other elected officials – a possibility that also increases the danger that the Party and the President may be seen as one, in which case a backlash against Obama could lead to severe damage to the career prospects for Democratic legislators. Something similar happened during Bill Clinton’s two terms, when his own popularity became inextricably bound up with the Democratic Party. As Clinton increasingly became a lightning rod for scandal, the public reacted by penalizing his party and returning the Republicans to power in the House and Senate.

Of course, you won’t see notable Democratic figures denouncing these tactics. Right now, they’re more than happy to crowd onto the Obama Express, along with the True Believers, because they think it’s the quickest route to what would effectively be a one-party state. I suppose the regrets won’t start to sink in until the technicians start airbrushing images of Pelosi and Reid and the rest out of the official Party photographs.