Have Dems Learned Nothing?

I'm still away on vacation, but couldn't help but make this post...

Seems like Democrats still haven't learned anything from their Republican counterparts. In the same day Republicans sent a strong message to their ideological turncoats by stripping moderate Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) of his Veterans Committee Chairmanship and passing over Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH) for Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Democrats rewarded Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) with the senior position on the Agriculture Committee. While party leaders apparently voiced their concerns over Peterson abandoning the party by voting for things like the GOP Medicare bill and indicating potential support for Social Security privatization, it was apparently all talk - they gave him his chairmanship anyway. (By the way, it appears from the Ag Committee website that the Democrat right behind Peterson - and who might have taken his place - is Rep. Tim Holden, who is a fairly progressive guy).

If anyone ever wondered how the congressional GOP stays so unified - and why congressional Democrats have such trouble keeping together on even the most basic Democratic principles - these examples are an emblematic explanation...