Do House Moderates Lose When Emanuel Moves?

Mike Soraghan reports that some are concerned that Rahm Emanuel's move from the House of Representatives to the White House will remove a powerful centrist voice from the House Democratic leadership: Dem's worry they'll miss bad cop Emanuel:

Altmire, a freshman returning from a conservative district, said he is among those who worry that Emanuel’s centrist voice will be lost.

“When I talked to Larson [the man who will take Emanuel's place - Ben], I told him I was concerned about a move to the left,” Altmire said. “Leadership gets the danger that exists. It remains to be seen how this group interacts.”

A Democratic leadership aide says it’s less a shift in policy orientation than a concentration of power.

“The balance of power shifts up to Pelosi and [House Majority Leader Steny] Hoyer [D-Md.],” the leadership aide said, “not left or right.”

Rahm Emanuel had a relatively good trade record in the House.  The Cato Institute says that over his career, he voted against trade barriers 66% of the time, and against trade subsidies about 29% of the time.