So the chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Rahm Emmanuel, had this to say regarding the agenda ahead for Congress: “There are four reforms. There’s financial regulatory reform, tax reform, health care reform and energy. Regulatorywill kinda come down the chute fast. Tax reform will take a little longer, because it’s not until 2010 that Bush’s tax cuts expire. Energy, you can do some things immediately. And with health care, you’ve got the children’s health insurance as the first piece of a series of things you gotta do.”

Emphasis is ours on tax reform. Because considering that Emmanuel’s job is to set the agenda for his House Dems, we’re wondering if he’s canvassing the Blue Dogs at all. On November 5th, it’s likely that the fiscal conservatives of the Democratic party will be pivotal, and according to Charlie Stenholm, his former Blue Dog colleagues have put tax reform at the top of the list.

Why? Because an increasing number of members are increasingly concerned about the new note-holders of our $10 trillion debt: China.

There’ll be more in our eighth and final episode of this season’s “Common Sense” later this week.

–Michele Mitchell