Dinner With Friends

For the second time in my life I had dinner with a congressman. The first was in 2007 when Rep. Jay Inslee(D-WA-1) campaigned for Hillary Clinton during the Iowa Caucuses. Tonight I, and about 20 others, had dinner with Rep. Leonard Boswell(D-IA-3). Thanks to reapportionment, Rep. Boswell's 3rd district will now include Red Oak. To represent Red Oak and the rest of the 3rd district, Boswell will have to win a competitive race with Rep. Tom Latham(R-IA-4). The new 3rd district will run roughly from Des Moines south to the Missouri line, and from Des Moines west to the Nebraska line. Boswell is using these past few days to meet party activists in the southwest Iowa counties that he has never represented.

The big topic was the budget and what to do about the deficit. Boswell, as did every other Democrat, voted against the Republican budget plan that passed the house last week. As a fiscally conservative "Blue Dog," Boswell believes that the deficit issue must be addressed soon. However, he said that he did not want to do so at the expense of traditional Democratic social programs. What was interesting was that Boswell said one of his favored means of reducing the deficit was to begin pulling out of Afghanistan. If even a moderate Democrat like Boswell is entertaining the idea of leaving Afghanistan then there is chance that the war might soon draw to a close.

The rest of the evening passed with a question and answer period covering the basic issues. Boswell appeared fully supportive of alternative fuels and especially the algae fuel plant in Shenandoah. Former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack's campaign in Iowa's 4th district against Republican Steve King was a topic that arnared everyone's attention. Boswell all but confirmed Vilsac's plan and said that she just bought a house in Ames so that she can live in the district. A good turnout, and the graciousness of Rep. and Mrs. Boswell, made this one of the more encouraging evening to be a Democrat in southwest Iowa. The Backbencher is fully supportive of Rep. Boswell and the push for this part of Iowa to finally be represented by a Democrat.

I Read that Book

Ron Chernow's biography of George Washington won this year's Pulitzer Prize for biography. I read Chernow's book and I throughly enjoyed it. There was much about Washington that I did not know, and for filling in a lot of details that I and I suspect many others did not know, Chernow provides a valuable service. However, I thought David and Jeanne Heidler's biography of Henry Clay was the better book.

And They're Already So Good at Doing This

I don't get the obsession of many in Congress to address the deficit and ignore the economic collapse and high unemployment. However, if they were truly concerned about the deficit, and not using it as a pretext for policies that favor the well off at the expense of the middle and working classes, then the best thing Washington could do is absolutely nothing.

On Deals; Budget and Otherwise

There was a certain inevitability of the President and Senate leadership accepting a deal that cuts nearly 40 billion from the budget. Once the President made the inane comparison between the federal budget and a family budget the die was cast, but it didn't have to be this way. If Obama wanted to he could have made the argument that we don't have a deficit problem because we just extended tax cuts that are skewed towards the richest and most well off in our society and we are not going to cut programs that serve the most in need. However, making that argument would not have allowed the President to appear as the grown-up dealmaker that he wants to be. Sure the Republicans got much more in cuts then they initially offered but at last the Obama image and brand were protected.

Oh, the "compromise" that bans the District of Columbia from using local funds on abortions for poor women is still more proof that the deal that is too odious for Democratic leaders to make has not yet been found.

Book Review

I spent a good part of the past three months immersed in the world of colonial and antebellum America. Christmas brought me Ron Chernow's biography of George Washington, David and Jeanne Heidler's biography of Henry Clay, and Joseph Ellis' Founding Brothers. All three were good reads and I would recommend any and all of them.

It is easy to lose sight of the fact that these historical figures were real people reacting to real events and while we know how the events worked out, the people involved didn't. These historical figured were capable great good, and tolerating and even advocating for serious wrongs.

The real strength of all three books is they place the lives and actions of these historical figures into a context. Everything they did or said was in response to certain realities. All 3 books put these historical figures back into the time in which the operated and it is much easier to see why they acted the why they did.

Certain historical realities dominate all three books and should influence how we look at the formative decades of American history. One is that there was no consensus on what the Constitution said and meant. Compromise and ambiguity were needed to write and ratify the constitution. and not everybody agreed with it. Somehow the constitution won the strong support of Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, James Madison, George Washington, and the reluctant support of Thomas Jefferson. Any document that can do that is by necessity full of vagueness and open to multiple interpretations. Even Hamilton and Madison, who helped pen the Federalist Papers, eventually split over the policies of the Washington administration.

It is also important to remember that slavery was always an issue and the spirit that guided the early days of the republic was to keep all discussion of slavery and abolition off the table. However, every issue was always understood in the light of slavery. This created a dynamic where discussion of the issue was viewed as a threat and as a result the U.S. twisted itself into knots over the one issue that dominated all others. The same contradiction, of course, applies to the personal views that individual founders had on slavery.

It is easy to view the founders as caricatures as noble patriots. Instead they were real people who lived in a specific time and place. All three books do a marvelous job of recapturing the the people, time, and place of the founding decades of the U.S.

Where do Backbenchers Come From?

The Backbencher has been quiet in the past few months. Among the many reason is that I am going to be a new father in about month and much of my life has centered around getting ready. Anyway, while the focus of the blog may change a little I hope to get back to some more blogging.

Backbencher of the Week

For the last Backbencher of the Week of 2010, we choose to recognize a Congressman who is soon to leave the House. Rep. Patrick Murphy(D-PA-8) lost his seat in last month's election but he has saved his best work for the lame duck session.

Murphy was the first Iraq War veteran to serve in Congress and he made the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell a top priority. Earlier this week , Congressman Murphy introduced the bill that repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. The bill passed the House on Wednesday and yesterday the Senate voted to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. President Obama will sign the repeal into law this week.

Even though they are too high profile to qualify as backbenchers, we recognize the work of Senate majority leader Harry Reid(D-NV) and Sen. Joe Lieberman(I-CN) who shepherded the bill through the Senate.

For serving the cause of justice to the very end of his term, we are proud to award this week's Backbencher of the Week to Rep. Patrick Murphy.

Doing the Double

During the first week of May 1979, Arsenal won the FA Cup and Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. Noted Arsenal fanatic, and political left winger, Nick Hornby, admits that he was willing to accept a Conservative victory in the general election if it meant that Arsenal would win the cup. Arsenal goes on to win the cup in miraculous fashion, and the Tories won the general election. Reflecting on this week years later, Hornby ponders if this bargain of a Conservative win was worth the bargain of an Arsenal cup victory. Looking back on 11 years of Thatcher, and a total of 18 years of Tory rule, Hornby concludes that he wouldn't settle now for anything less then the double(FA cup and league title in the same year).

I find myself in a similar position. Yesterday, Democrats suffered a large defeat in the midterm elections. The defeat of many politicians(Russ Feingold, Alan Grayson) that I admire saddens me, and the result of the elections here in Iowa leave me on the verge of being despondent.

However, the biggest event of the week was the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series. I have been a Giants fan since I was a toddler in the late 1970's. The very first sporting events I ever attended were Giants games at Candlestick Park and as I boy I would fall asleep listening to Giants games on the radio. I celebrated the hum-baby season of 1987 and I was devestated by 87 NLCS series against the Cardinals. I took great joy in the 89 pennant, and watched with horror and humiliation the 1989 earthquake World Series. I enjoyed the summer of 93 and watched with uncomprehending dread the fall of 93 as the Giants managed to win 103 games but still miss the play-offs by 1 game. In 2002 I thought the Giants were finally going to win it all but with 5 outs remaining the whole season fell apart. Along the way there have been numerous minor heartaches and frustrations.

All of that changed on Monday night as the Giants finally won the World Series and they did it in a season in which no one expected them to make a serious run. Earl Weaver's adage that pitching, defense, and the three run homer are the keys to victory held true for the Giants. 30+ years of devotion and heartache were justified during this magical run.

For me, the elation of a Giants championship makes even last night's election results bearable. For I have been a Giants fan longer then I have been a political junkie, and I have learned that Giants baseball is much more dependable then the electorate. However, unlike Hornby, I did get my double. The college team that I pull for, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, won the College World Series and I even attended a game. Even the minor league team in my hometown, the Jacksonville Suns, won the Southern League title.

So I thank the Gamecocks for a foretaste of the joy that was to come throughout the summer. Most of all I thank the San Francisco Giants who made every night of dressing in layers to attend a ball game June, and every year of being a long distance fan worth it. Mostly I thank the Giants for redeeming every season of heartbreak and frustration in one joyful and exciting play-off ride. Thank you and always Fear the Beard.

Election Predicitions

Here are my predictions for tomorrow's elections:

House: I predict a Republican gain of 48 seats.

Senate:

Republican Wins: North Dakota(John Hoeven), Arkansas(John Boozeman), Indiana(Dan Coats), Wisconsin(Ron Johnson), Florida(Marco Rubio), Pennsylvania(Pat Toomey), Kentucky(Rand Paul), Alaska(Lisa Murkowski).

Democrat Wins: Nevada(Harry Reid), California(Barbara Boxer), Washington(Patty Murray), West Virgina(Joe Manchin), Illinois(Alex Gianoulias), Delaware(Chris Coons), Connecticut(Richard Blumenthal), Colorado(Michael Bennett)

This would lead to a Republican gain of 5 seats

Iowa:

In Iowa I see Republican Terry Branstad defeating incumbent Democrat Chet Culver to win the Governor's office, Republican Senator Charles Grassley defeating his Democratic challenger Roxanne Conlin, and all 5 congressional incumbents winning

There will be lots of talk that the Democrats overreached and this is why they suffered such a massive defeat. I disagree. It is virtually impossible to overreach in politics. The window for getting things done is so small that you get as much done when you can. Democrats had once in a generation majorities and they got everything passed that I think they could have passed.

The real explanation is that the country was in such bad shape that the voters elected many more Democrats than Republicans in 2006 and 2008, and voters put Democrats in charge of returning the country to the right track. The return to the right track has not happened fast enough and so voters are going to show their displeasure by electing more Republicans than Democrats. It really is as simple as that.

Running, Not Walking, to the Left

Doug J, the business and economics editor of Balloon Juice, has post up about how he moved to the left. In the that spirit here is the brief narrative of how I moved leftward.

Ten years ago I was a moderate above the fray type. Three things moved me to the left. The first was the war on terror. Everything from the idiocy and petty abuses of the TSA and Homeland Security, to the wholesale torture and destruction of our values that went on in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, to the murderous delusions of Iraq led to realize the peaceniks and hippies are right

The second event that moved me to left was taking a job in the healthcare industry. Once I saw how the patchwork system of private insurance and for-profit healthcare hindered caring for the sick as much, if not more, then it helped then I wanted a system of universal healthcare.

The final event was the economic crisis and the exposure of what thirty years of conservative ad neo-liberal policies did to the middle and working classes moved me even further to the left.

These three events, plus my theological liberalism leading me to oppose and detest evangelical fundamentalism, is what led me to move firmly to the left

That Took a Bit Longer then We Expected

Today Germany paid the last payment related to the reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles and thus closing and balancing the books on World War 1. Ninety seven years after the war started, the lamps are coming back on all across Europe.

The costs of the war include 9 million soldiers, sailors, and airmen killed and 6 million civilians killed during Europe's four years of murderous insanity. The fighting cost the combatant nations about $180,000,000,000 in 1918 money. The Ottoman and Austrian-Hungarian empires disappeared forever, and the Russian empire was replaced by the Communist Soviet Union.

While today marks an ending, of sorts, of World War 1, we do well to remember how the war began. Capt. Edmund Blackadder explains the origins of the war in this clip from Blackadder Goes Forth(yes, that is Hugh Laurie).

Sibling Rivalry

Some sets of siblings, like my brother and I, play out our sibling rivalry by putting on football helmets and playing tackle football. Others, like Ed and David Miliband play their rivalry out by running against each other for the leadership of a major political party.

The former Energy Minister Ed Miliband won a narrow victory to be elected Leader of the Labour Party and become Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Coming in second was former Foreign Secretary, and Ed's brother, David Miliband.

It is unclear which brother Mama Miliband loves the most but the love that trade unions have for Ed provided the 1% margin of victory. The big questions are whether David will serve in the shadow cabinet and does Ed's election represent a shift to the left for the party?

The Distingushed Bigot From Georgia

Can anyone be surprised that on the day the Senate voted on Don't Ask Don't Tell a computer in Sen. Saxby Cambliss'(R-GA) office was used to send a homophobic message? It's not like Sen. Chambliss has a history of bigoted statements.

Obit

The Backbencher considers Jacksonville, Florida to be his hometown. So, we have to note the passing of the man who lent his name to the greatest band ever named for a gym teacher.

Put on Your Rally Caps

Democrats in southwest Iowa met recently for an election rally. Since the event involved 5 countries, and attracted people from a total of 7 Iowa counties, we were able to arrange for several candidates and politicians to attend.

Lt. Gov. Patty Judge attended, and on behalf of Governor Chet Culver, outlined the incumbent party's strategy for the November election. The Lieutenant Governor said that events out of the Governor's control, like record flooding and a national recession, are making times difficult in Iowa but the state in government is in good shape because of the work of the incumbent Democrats. However accurate, this line of argument will be a hard sale, but I am glad to see that Culver and Judge are ready to fight to defend their record.

Matt Campbell, the Democratic party's nominee for the 5th Congressional district, made another appearance in Southwest Iowa. I had mixed feelings about Campbell. I want so badly to see Rep. Steve King(R-IA-5) defeated that I will support anyone running against him. However, I was worried about Campbell's self description as a "fiscal conservative" and describing his philosophy as being in line with the Blue Dog faction. However, Matt Campbell gave a stirring defense of social security and I left much reassured by Campbell's willingness to fight for the pillar of the Democrat's domestic achievements.

The headliner of the night was Sen. Tom Harkin(D-IA). Harkin took great pride in the fact that he won Mills and Montgomery counties for the first time in his 5 elections to the Senate. Harkin spoke about his service as the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions(HELP) Committee. Taking each of the letters in HELP, Sen. Harkin described how Democrats were making life better for Americans. Harkin even grew tearful when talking about succeeding Ted Kennedy as chair of the HELP committee.

I know it is going to be a rough year for Democrats in Iowa and across the nation. However, the rally was a reminder of why I am a Democrat and I find so much enjoyment in being involved in politics.

What Exactly is Going on in this Passage

Another Baptist preacher has claimed that Mohammed was a pedophile. Last time it was Jerry Vines at First Baptist Jacksonville and now Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas is making the same claim.

I have often wondered how these preachers explain away what happened between the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary; who most scholars believe would have been a teenage girl.

Book Review

Good fiction will often open up a previously unknown world and make you care about characters that you might not even like. That is exactly what Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants does. The world that Gruen opens up is the traveling circus of the 1930s and it is the circus itself that becomes the star of the novel.

Gruen's circus is world of brutality, vice, sex, and humanity and she renders this world is such great detail that you can almost smell the popcorn. Told through flashbacks by the show's vet, Gruen's novel is the story of a man trying to get come to terms with his life.

About halfway to 2/3 of the way through the novel, the direction of the narrative is clear but the precise the daily life of a traveling circus will keep you hooked until the last page.

An End in Iraq

The war in Iraq is just about over. At least that is what we are often told as the last "combat" troops leave the country; conveniently forgetting that there are still 50,00 U.S. soldiers still in Iraq.

Nevertheless this is something of a milestone and there have been no shortage of people talking about what this milestone means. President Obama gave a speech from the Oval Office while others have offered various explanations and justifications for what has gone on in Iraq since 2003.

Looking at all these justifications for Iraq I think all for should take heed of Frederick Ebright's admonition to advertisers making money of World War 2 and realize "There is dignity in silence."

I Don't Want to Work Late

As someone who likes what they do for a living, and often finds meaning in my profession, but who is ambivalent about the aspects that make what I do a job then I recommend Ezra Klein's column opposing rising the retirement age of Social Security.

What is this over here?

A Civil War prison camp.

I know exactly where this is at because when I lived in Augusta I would drive down to Millen for work and Millen was on the way to Florida. Unlike other places in Georgia, Augusta emerged from the Civil War relatively unscathed and unlike Savannah or Atlanta I never got the sense that Augusta was defined, in part, by a connection the war.

When I heard this story reported on the radio, I almost froze. It's always a weird feeling when you here about some obscure corner of the world that you think only you know about being talked about world wide. It makes the world seem a little smaller.