Report Card on Senate Frosh of 2006: Bold, Energetic, Principled Democrats
The eight Democrats newly elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2006 were widely heralded as a new breed of bold, often more moderate, occasionally more populist Democrat.
They've lived up to that billing, and then some. The eight new Democratic senators of the 110th Congress have proven to be a maverick lot of strong leaders, unafraid to voice their views, and energetically engaged in the issues and the presidential race. And unafraid to buck conventional political wisdom.
For instance, the two women senators elected in 2006... Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and and Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri... are the first two (and the only two) women senators to ignore entrenched feminist pressure to endorse Hillary Clinton. Instead, they both have endorsed Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic nomination race.
Sen. Klobuchar has been a leader on renewable energy. In February 2008, she introduced the American Renewable Energy Act which extends tax credits for a variety of renewable sources, and pays by the credits by "closing tax loopholes currently enjoyed by oil production companies." Sen. McCaskill has notably worked on a bipartisan basis to lead a Senate moratorium on funding earmarks.
Likewise, Sen. Bob Casey, Jr., a pro-life Democrat (Yes. Pro-life Democrats do exist!), stood against big-city mayors and the governor of his home state Pennsylvania, and also endorsed Barack Obama... even going so far as to unabashedly travel at Sen. Obama's side for a six-day bus tour across the Key Stone state.
Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, a former Secretary of the Navy under a Republican president, is often mentioned as a 2008 vice-presidential candidate. Famously galled by the hubris of George W. Bush, Webb led the Democratic effort over the Thanksgiving and Christmas 2007 breaks to keep the Senate in session in order to prevent the President from again circumventing the Senate with controversial recess appointments.
Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who previously served 14 years in the House, has been an extremely active Senate legislator. Brown has sponsored more than 80 Senate bills, amendments and resolutions related mainly to education, alternative energy, public health, job creation for manufacturing industries, and especially, his passionate drive to overhaul U.S. free trade policies.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island , former state Attorney General, has repeatedly distinguished himself as a member of the Senate Judiciary committee through tough, principled questioning of Bush admininstration officials and nominees.
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, previously a ten-term House member, has actively and continually voiced objections to Bush policies in Iraq, on the use of torture, and on keeping open the U.S. prison-base in Guantanamo. Cardin strongly advocates cutting U.S. funding of the Iraq War.
And Sen. Jon Tester of Montana is a leader in fighting the Real ID Act, declaring that Real ID "is a disaster for the privacy and freedoms that make Montana and America great."
Frosh Senators Establish Commission on Wartime Contracting
The photo above was taken on July 18, 2007 as the eight Senate freshmen of 2006, all Democrats, collectively co-sponsored an amendment to an Iraq War funding bill. The amendment established the Commission on Wartime Contracting to investigate U.S. contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lamented Sen. Tester:
"Any time a taxpayer dollar ends up unnecessarily in the hands of a contractor rather than going to buy body armor, bullets or other equipment for our troops, it is a travesty. And we have a duty to try and prevent waste and fraud, and come down hard on those who engage in it."
The amendment was passed by the Senate and included as part of the Iraq War funding signed by President Bush in January 2008. However, Mr. Bush attached a "signing statement" to nullify the Commission on Wartime Contracting amendment. Sen. Webb sternly vows, "We are going to go forward with this Commission."
Report Card on the Senate Frosh of 2006
An A!
Collectively and individually, the freshman senators of the 110th Congress have proven to be bold, energetic, engaged and principled.
If each continues as they have since they began their terms in January 2007, Senators Webb, Casey, Klobuchar, McCaskill, Brown, Whitehouse, Cardin and Tester should remain important national leaders for many years to come. And their influence should only grow.
(Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Related Reading
Read in-depth profiles of each of the eight new Senate Democrats at:
Comments
If these eight Senators have been so exemplary, than how come Congress’ approval rating is even lower than the President’s? Is it because of the leadership of the House or something else?
From my perspective, it’s because the Democrats don’t have enough
of a majority in the Senate to overcome presidential vetoes. Also, the fresh perspective of these new senators seems less entrenched in the political loyalty system and bitter political partisanship that binds so many of the long-term senators.
That’s my guess, anyway. Thanks for your comments, Robert.
Congress’ approval is low because many of us who voted for them expecting this congress to bring home our troops and to undo a lot of Bush’s damage have been seriously disappointed by the lack of these actions by congress. They’re a whole heck of a lot better than the ones they replaced. But they’re not doing yet what they were sent to do. Too much capitulation to Bush!