A quick first thought on the (not soon enough) sunsetting of the reign of terror of Boss Rahm: Better late than never? (Let us hope!)

So Boss Rahm Emanuel is stepping down as czar of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)!

As I've told Howie a number of times, I'm one of those people who used to think of Boss Rahm as our pit bull, our political clawer-and-scratcher, someone on our side capable of countering the likes of the other side's Karl Rove. Until, in Down With Tyranny, Howie documented way beyond my satisfaction level that this isn't what Boss Rahm has been doing at all.

Instead, under the guise of focusing on Democratic "electability," Boss Rahm has been hand-picking, financing and generally doing whatever it takes to win Democratic nominations for candidates essentially indistinguishable from Bush Republicans—and in cases all over the country throwing all of his resources against vastly superior grass-roots candidates, people who might contribute to genuinely rebuilding the Democratic Party, remaking it as a majority party that works for the betterment of all Americans.

Officially, of course, the DCCC doesn't even get involved in primary fights. It's strictly forbidden! But tell that to the idealistic candidates with strong local support who've found themselves in the path of Boss Rahm's candidate-crushing machine.

Alas, this Congressional election of 2006 will be all Boss Rahm's handiwork. In the event that Democrats fail to take advantage of the unique opportunity presented to them this year by the across-the-board catastrophe that Republican governance has become, Boss Rahm will already be on the lam.

And in the event that enough of those phony-baloney Democrats in Name Only slip into the next House of Representatives, we're likely to have a Congress approximately as useless as the present one—or even worse, with Boss Rahm's Republican Lite DINOs having a deciding voice in most matters. Including the choice of his successor. No doubt they'll be hankering for a guy just like the one who brung 'em there.

Of course, there's still the alternative proposed by DNC chair Howard Dean: a 50-state strategy, where we try to rebuild the party all over the country, with real Democrats committed to real Democratic principles that offer a real alternative to Republican fat-cattery, neocon-think-tankery and right-wing-nuttery. Needless to say, Boss Rahm has been fighting this with all the considerable resources at his disposal.

But then, Howie already made the point that the people Boss Rahm likes to fight aren't Republicans, but Democrats--especially Democrats with real principle and a vision for the country.