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The Speaker and the Congressman...
Why moderate Democrats are a key to the future of a Democratic majority in the Congress and Texas legislature.
Congressman Chet Edwards has been endorsed for Vice President by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and while the GOP is struggling to change their party’s brand the DNC is looking towards the future. The speakers push of Edwards could be viewed as less a serious consideration as a Vice Presidential candidate and more as a push towards the United States Senate in 2010.
What many of the voices in the blogosphere have repeatedly said was that Congressman Edwards is too conservative; however, they ignore the fact that Edwards is representing one of the most conservative districts in the state. In 2006 Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison took 70% of the vote in Brazos County and 67% of the vote in McLennan County, and in 2004 President George Bush took 69% of the vote in Brazos County and 66% of the vote in McLennan County. According to the Princeton Review’s annual ranking of colleges Texas A&M University is the most conservative campus in the country, and Baylor University is the 11th most religious campus in the country follow by Texas A&M which is ranked 13th. The Democrat representing the Brazos Valley must be a moderate Democrat to remain in Congress, especially when you consider that there are voices in the Brazos Valley that consider Edwards a “left-wing liberal” who has “San Francisco values.”
It seems that many of my peers ignore the fact that the majority of Texas is not Travis County, and for many Democrats the only way to compete is to package themselves moderate Democrats. It was only four short years ago during a general election that you could drive from the Louisiana-Texas border on Interstate 20 across the state and only after merging with Interstate 10 would you drive through a blue county, El Paso County. Of course it would only take you 12 hours and you would only have to drive 800 miles.
There has also been a selective discussion on Congressman Edward’s record and issue ratings. Edwards has voted with the Democratic Party 95.8% of the time in the House, which is three points above the average Congress Democrat. Edwards is Pro-Choice in a very Pro-Life district (the Coalition for Life is based in College Station), and has received a perfect rating from NARAL in 2007, 2004, and 2003. The positions that Edwards has taken on social and civil rights issues have been mixed, but recently he received ratings of 67%, 87%, and 96% from the ACLU, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the NAACP respectfully. Edwards has also received a perfect rating from the Americans for the Arts Action Fund from 2000-2003, and he also received a perfect rating from the National Education Association from 2005-2007.
Congressman Edwards could make a serious run for State Senate, especially with the help of the possibility of Senator Hutchison running for Texas Governor. Edwards can also bring in the money; this year has raised almost $1.9 million (only Texas Democratic Congressman Ciro Rodriguez has raised more) and in 2006 raised almost $3.2 million (which is $800,000 more than Representative Rick Noriega has raised this year). Edwards has the experience; he has served as a Congressman since 1990 and is the Chairman Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. The GOP would have to nominate a serious candidate for Senate in 2010 if Edwards is the Democratic candidate, because if they run a candidate on par with Senator Cornyn Texas will have a high probability of having a Democrat Senator for the first time since 1993.
The Dangers of Overcorrecting Our Course…
After the 2006 elections the Democratic Party has gained the majority in the United States House of Representatives, and this year is posed to possible gain control of the United States Senate and the White House. What my fellow liberal bloggers need to be mindful of is that the majority of Americans are not aligned with the left or right but are somewhere in the middle. I understand the visceral reaction to the years of Republican leadership, specifically the last seven years of leadership in the White House, but moderate Democrats are the key to maintaining the majority.
Of course we should hold Democrats accountable, and when prudent we should not be afraid to put forth primary challenges to Democrats that are not taking into account the best interest of the nation and the party. However, we have to keep from becoming self destructive. As Ed Kilgore points out there is a difference between the Democrat “party base” and the “activist base.”
“The Democratic base voters in the districts that recently elected "Bush Dogs" in Mississippi and Louisiana in special elections probably aren't going to warm to arguments that they need to risk reversing their historic victories in the name of progressive solidarity.”
As much as we would like drastic reforms in our government we have to realize that governing is painstakingly slow, and the moments of radical change are few and far between. Also, we have to remember that we will be facing a country that has had to bear the brunt of eight years of an atrocious White House administration, and that correcting our current course as a country must be done first. After we right the ship then we can worry about improving it.
Maintaining a Democrat in U.S. House District 17…
The dilemma with Congressman Edwards running for United States Senate in 2010 is if he is successful then there is a vacant seat in the House of Representatives. What Democrat could take House District 17 in 2010? There are a few options.
One of the options could come from within Bryan-College Station, a Democrat that has held an office there for over twenty years. Brazos County District Attorney Bill Turner has been in office since 1983, and this election year he running for reelection to his seventh term in office. Turner could be an interesting choice and his reputation in Brazos County could garner him much support among conservatives, however it is unclear what kind of representation in Congress Turner would provide.
Texas House Representative Robert Cook is not running for reelection this year (Donnie Dippel is the democratic nominee for District 17 that Left of College Station has endorsed), and could compete for a seat in Congress. However, Cook is more conservative than liberal, and is pro-gun and anti-choice, and has received high ratings from issue ratings from groups such as the NRA, Texas Right to Life Committee, and Texans for Lawsuit Reform. If there are liberals that have reservations about Congressman Edwards they would not welcome a promotion of Representative Cook.
Texas House Representative Jim Dunnam, who represents District 57 is from Waco and graduated from Baylor University and Baylor Law School, would be a choice that Left of College Station would endorse for the Democratic nominee for United States House District 17 should Congressman Edwards seek a seat in the Senate. Representative Dunnam is the Chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, and has an excellent voting record and interest groups ratings.
Final Thoughts…
I realize that I have only been a voice in the blogosphere for a few months, and that I have been involved in Democratic politics for less than a year. However, I worry that we may forget that governing and politics are not the same thing. If we are not willing to compromise, not our values and our ideals, but in order to create change for the greater good we are no better than those like Karl Rove who do not care about leading the country but only about power and attaining the 50.1% of the votes to gain power.
More importantly, if Senator Obama is elected in the fall and there is a Democratic majority in the Congress and the Senate, Democrats will no longer have to stand up against President Bush but stand up for Americans.