When did I hear this before?

An irritating, gossipy, and interesting article in the Huffington Post has some nasty suggestions to make about how Progressive Caucus co-chair Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey feels about activists who insist on dogging their members to produce what we elect them to do:

Woolsey would rather wage an internal struggle free from interference. "They're outside groups and they belong -- it is not their job to give direction to the progressive caucus, who are working, all 83 of us, at breakneck speed, to get things as progressive as possible," says Woolsey, who doesn't appreciate her door being knocked on. "To go to the most progressive members of the House and tell them they're not progressive enough is not healthy."

In the 1980s when progressives were working night and day to keep the Reagan administration from invading Nicaragua to overthrow its elected popular regime, we used to hear similar things from another stalwart. Former Congressman (now Oakland mayor) Ron Dellums had no equal as a Democratic spokesperson against Reagan's militarism and a high perch on the Armed Services Committee. But he didn't want to hear it from his constituents.

Send them to Washington long enough and they forget who put them there.