Subject: [big campaign] New Huff Post from Creamer-Time to Give Thanks for Profiles in Political Courage
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:20:04 -0500 (EST)
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

Time to Give Thanks for Profiles in Political  Courage 

A lot has been written by the pundits about the Democrats who lost their  
House seats in the mid-term elections.   
From some you hear that the Blue Dogs – and others from swing districts  -- 
did not do enough to prepare for the battle this fall – that they should 
have  raised more money, or run more robust campaigns. 
From some Progressives you actually hear that the House will be better  off 
without so many Members representing moderate districts. 
And from some conservatives you hear that Democrats representing moderate  
districts were stupid to vote for measures like health care reform, energy  
reform, the stimulus bill and even Wall Street reform.  
This Thanksgiving, I want to thank those Democrats from moderate  districts 
who voted to do what they thought was right for the country, even  though 
they knew there might be negative short-term political consequences. They  
are the true heroes who made possible some of the many important reforms that  
were enacted since President Obama was elected, and they deserve our 
admiration  and thanks.  America needs  more political leaders who will do what is 
best for the next generation, not  just the next election. 
Let me be clear that I do not mean to imply that I think their support  for 
any of these measures was a bad political decision.  Supporters of the Wall 
Street reform  bill occupied, and continue to occupy, super high political 
ground.  In fact, if Wall Street had been made a  bigger issue during the 
recent campaign, most Democratic candidates – everywhere  – would have likely 
received more votes.  
And let us recall that the fundamental factor that cost Democrats control  
of the House had nothing to do with any of these issues – but rather the 
broad  anger about the state of the economy. 
Remember that  in 2008, President Obama won the  votes of people who said 
their personal economic situation had gotten worse by a  43 percent margin. 
In 2010, Democrats lost those voters by 29 percent.  Those numbers tell the 
story about what  really caused so many Democrats to lose. 
The stimulus bill was not a net positive for Democrats in swing districts  –
 as it should have been, since it helped prevent a depression.  But the 
fact is that the one thing that  could have been done to truly diminish 
Republican successes this fall would have  been passage of a much larger stimulus 
package that was necessary to truly  jumpstart the economy.   Ironically, at 
the time the vote was taken, that would have been even  more politically 
difficult for some of the Democrats who lost – though it may  have saved many 
of them by Election Day.  
Votes for the health care bill and energy reform certainly did little to  
help many candidates in these districts – and may have further damaged a few 
--  even though those votes were absolutely the right thing to do.  
To make fundamental change, you anger those vested interests with a stake  
in the status quo. And the most politically vulnerable often pay the price.  
It’s not a new story.  In the mid-term elections following the  passage of 
Medicare and the other critical “Great Society” programs of the  1960s, 
Democrats lost 48 seats. But who among the Democratic Members of Congress  
would have wanted his grandchildren to remember that he voted against  Medicare? 
Progressives, in particular, often forget that it is much easier to stand  
up straight for the progressive policies that are so critical for our nation’
s  future if you represent a heavily Democratic district. Like Medicare, 
these  positions represent incredibly good politics over the long run pretty 
much  everywhere, but in the short run it’s easy for Republicans and their 
corporate  allies to use some progressive votes as cudgels against Democrats 
who represent  more conservative districts like Southwest Virginia or Bucks 
County, Pennsylvania. Of course, that is especially  true when you are not 
constrained by the truth.  
The health care bill is a particular case in point. Republicans and their  
allies in the insurance industry spent millions distorting the provisions of 
the  bill – lying about “Obamacare,”  “death panels” and “the Government 
 takeover of health care.”  They used  the bill to inflame passions, and 
channeled the anger about the economy at  Democrats instead of at Wall Street 
and the policies of the Bush Administration  that lead to the 2008 economic 
catastrophe.  They didn’t just start attacking  Democrats a month or two 
before the election.  The Chamber of Commerce, insurance  industry front 
groups, and the other special interest hammered on Democrats who  voted for the 
bill for a solid eighteen months. 
We went into the  day of the health care vote in the House six votes short, 
and in the end, the  first major reform of the health care system -- since 
Medicare -- passed with  just a two vote margin.  Had it not  been for 
people like Tom Periello, Phil Hare, Steve Kagen, Dan Maffei, Betsy  Markey, Mary 
Jo Kilroy, Pat Murphy – and many, many others -- that historic,  critically 
important reform would never have been passed.   
It would have been easier – at least politically – for some of those  
Members to vote no. But they didn’t – and many of them have stood proudly for  
health care reform and the progressive agenda for their entire professional  
lives. Some Democrats that represented swing districts required some  
arm-twisting to vote yes – but not most.  Most didn’t have to be convinced that  
health care is a right.  They voted  aye because it was the right thing to 
do.  A lot of the Members who lost earlier this month ran for Congress to do 
something – not be something. 
The night of November 2nd, as she conceded defeat in her bid  for 
re-election, Congresswoman Betsy Markey said: "This is where I end the discussion 
about whether the policy of the  health care bill was worth the politics of it. 
It was. And I am uniquely  qualified to know that." 
After the Health Care reform bill passed in the House, I saw Congressman  – 
and Doctor -- Steve Kagen getting his colleagues in the House to autograph 
his  copy of the bill. He said: “You know, this is what I came to Congress 
to do.”  
Kagen ran  a terrific campaign.  He stood up  proudly for the progressive 
agenda.  He framed his message in clear, populist, resonant terms.  He had a 
massive get out the vote  operation. He was beaten by the bad economy and by 
the millions of dollars of  largely secret corporate money spent to drive 
home the lie that the health care  reform bill had “cut Medicare.”  
Kagen, like many  of the other Democrats from moderate districts may be 
back in 2012.  They deserve to be.  And this Thanksgiving they deserve our  
thanks. 
Robert Creamer is  a long-time political organizer and strategist, and 
author of the recent  book:  Stand Up Straight: How  Progressives Can Win, 
available on _Amazon.com._ 
(http://www.amazon.com/Listen-Your-Mother-Straight-Progressives/dp/0979585295/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie
=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213241439&sr=8-1)  

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