How Iowa Progressives Won in 2010
by Paul Deaton
“
PresidentObama and the Democratic congress saved capitalism, addressed some of
the gross inequities in our health care system and reformed the
financial system, passing landmark legislation in each of these areas.
While skeptics abound, a lot got done while Democrats held the majority.“
In
Iowa, the red tsunami hit, but left us with three Democratic
congressmen and a Democratic majority in the Iowa State Senate. In the
ebb and flow of politics, progressives held the line. Iowa Democratic
Party Chair Sue Dvorsky has received some criticism for overstating the
Democratic “ground game” in the last phase of the campaign. If blame is
to be cast for the results of the election, that blame lies with
Governor Culver for his “I made some mistakes, but look at the other
guy” strategy and with the house leadership, Patrick Murphy and Kevin
McCarthy, who failed to field candidates in 25 house races. However,
assigning blame is a losers game, and Progressives
were winners during the 111th Congress.
Democrats
were willing to risk re-election in the 2010 midterms in order to do
what was right for the American people. They did this by exercising the
power they won in the 2008 election. In Washington, President Obama and
the Democratic congress saved capitalism, addressed some of the gross
inequities in our health care system and reformed the financial system,
passing landmark legislation in each of these areas. While skeptics
abound, a lot got done while Democrats held the majority.
Standing alone in the post-election analysis by the corporate media is Timothy Eagan's article in the New York Times, “How Obama Saved Capitalism and Lost the Midterms.” Eagan writes,
“'We
have done things that people don’t even know about,' Obama told Jon
Stewart. Certainly. The three signature accomplishments of his first two
years — a health care law that will make life easier for millions of
people, financial reform that attempts to level the playing field with
Wall Street, and the $814 billion stimulus package — have all been
recast as big government blunders, rejected by the emerging majority.
But
each of them, in its way, should strengthen the system. The health law
will hold costs down, while giving millions the chance at getting care,
according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Financial
reform seeks to prevent the kind of meltdown that caused the global
economic collapse. And the stimulus, though it drastically raised the
deficit, saved about 3 million jobs, again according to the CBO. It also
gave a majority of taxpayers a one-time cut — even if 90 percent of
Americans don’t know that, either.“
have done things that people don’t even know about,' Obama told Jon
Stewart. Certainly. The three signature accomplishments of his first two
years — a health care law that will make life easier for millions of
people, financial reform that attempts to level the playing field with
Wall Street, and the $814 billion stimulus package — have all been
recast as big government blunders, rejected by the emerging majority.
But
each of them, in its way, should strengthen the system. The health law
will hold costs down, while giving millions the chance at getting care,
according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Financial
reform seeks to prevent the kind of meltdown that caused the global
economic collapse. And the stimulus, though it drastically raised the
deficit, saved about 3 million jobs, again according to the CBO. It also
gave a majority of taxpayers a one-time cut — even if 90 percent of
Americans don’t know that, either.“
Click here to read the entire article on the New York Times web site.
William Saletan argues that Democrats “Didn't Lose the Battle of 2010. They Won It” in Slate.
“But if health care did cost the party its majority, so what? The bill was more important than the election.
I
realize that sounds crazy. We've become so obsessed with who wins or
loses in politics that we've forgotten what the winning and losing are
about. Partisans fixate on punishing their enemies in the next campaign.
Reporters, in the name of objectivity, refuse to judge anything but the
Election Day score card. Politicians rationalize their
self-preservation by imagining themselves as dynasty builders. They
think this is the big picture.
They're wrong. The big picture isn't about winning or keeping power. It's about using it.”
I
realize that sounds crazy. We've become so obsessed with who wins or
loses in politics that we've forgotten what the winning and losing are
about. Partisans fixate on punishing their enemies in the next campaign.
Reporters, in the name of objectivity, refuse to judge anything but the
Election Day score card. Politicians rationalize their
self-preservation by imagining themselves as dynasty builders. They
think this is the big picture.
They're wrong. The big picture isn't about winning or keeping power. It's about using it.”
Click here to read the entire article on Slate.
So
the next time someone attempts to console you about the results of the
2010 midterms, tell them they don't understand what happened in 2010. We
paid a political price, but while were in the majority, we used our
strength to get things done for Iowans and the American people. That is
something the 112th Congress will be hard pressed to replicate. The Blog
for Iowa prediction is that Republican majorities will lead to further
gridlock in Iowa and in Washington and if they had a coherent agenda, it
would fail.
~Paul Deaton is a
native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend editor of
Blog for Iowa. E-mail
Paul Deaton
Blog For Iowa 
Nice piece.
Linda Yanney
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