The Democrat 'Grandees'

I did not read the NYT piece, but I thought a "grandee" was a nobleman or someone with high status. So, it would seem odd for me to have a division by ideology on the one hand and status on the other. I would think "grandees" would be those with big seats on committees regardless of where they fell on the ideological spectrum.

My guess is that the NYT is dividing the Dems by age. IE, the Grandees are Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The real lefties are young hotties like Debbie ...