For that reason, the CAP proposal will be an early test of Obama's willingness to take political risks on behalf of important principles without powerful constituencies behind them.
Frank W. Hunger, Mr. Gore's brother-in-law and confidant, worried that such a move should not be made without consulting constituencies with large stakes in Mr. Gore's candidacy, like labor and minority groups.
But in order to do this, in order to survive without the constituencies that have now rejected the Republicans, the party will, at its core, have to stand for something other than the rich and powerful against the poor and powerless.
Before it replaced the moribund C line for local stops in Brooklyn last week, the V, created in 2001 to improve service in Queens, was a train without a constituency.
Politically, the pro-death philosophers are leaders without a constituency.
The problem right now, says Carlson, is that Merck and the other big pharmaceutical companies are "without a constituency" of investors.
"A lot of the craziness in the gun issue is now a result of the fact that the Democrats, not intentionally, are without a constituency of gun owners... that kept the issue grounded," Feldman said.
The trick in European politics is to appeal to some religious and cultural constituencies without alienating others.
Liberals have spent decades trying to adjudicate the claims of their conflicting constituencies without focusing sharply enough on the economic well-being of a broad section of Americans.
