Now that the election is over and the Democrats are preparing to take over both houses of Congress, congressional reporter Carl Hulse apparently feels free to relax a little and toss around the term "liberal" to describe the veteran Democrats who will have to work withan influx of new congressmen. "Liberal" is a word that didn't often make it intoHulse's reporting in the weeks leading up to the election- though he certainly enjoyed the term "conservative [1]."
In the benignly headlined "New Mosaic [2]Of Democrats Is Challenge For Leaders [2]," Hulse writes: "They are still trying to get a handle on exactly who some of these people are, but it is clear they present a different tableau from the liberal lions who will be taking and retaking the chairmanships of some important House committees....In the House, Democratic unity could also be tested in relations between the new committee chairmen - many of whom are liberal veterans who wielded power years ago, when the party last controlled the House - and new lawmakers who have no recollection of the days when chairmen ran the show and the rank and file followed along."