Harry Reid, Occasional Leader

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid(D-NV) told Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus(D-MN) to "stop chasing Republican votes on a massive health care reform bill."

I have not understood Sen. Baucus' fetish for a bi-partisan bill.  Perhaps, in the some odd-chance someone who understand the interpersonal relationships in the Senate reads my blog, someone could explain why Senator Baucus could not sit down with Sen. Charles Grassley(R-IA) the Ranking Member of the Finance Committtee and say, "Senator Grassley I can't compromise without bringing down all sorts of fury on my head and the same goes for you.  I will keep us from having to go through a painful series of compromises.  I have the votes to pass health care reform out of the committee.  Democrats will vote for it and Republicans will vote against it.  That way everyone knows who is responsible for the success or failure of health care reform and they can act accordingly at the ballot box."  

Book Review

Let me start off by saying that unless you are a big UK political nerd then Chris Mullin's A View From the Foothills will be of limited interest to you.  However, for those you who are fascinated by the mother of all parliaments, then Chris Mullin's diary is a wonderful read.

Mullin is the Labour MP for Sunderland South and served as junior minister during the middle years of the Blair government.  The diary covers the years between 1999 and 2005.  During this time, Mullin served as junior minister in the Department of Enviroment, Transport and Regions; where he served under Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.  Mullin then moved over to the Department of International Development.  After the general election of 2001, Mullin moves to the backbenches and chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee.  Mullin then concludes his career in the foothills by serving in the Foriegn Office as Minster to Africa before being shuffled to the backbenches after the 2005 general election.

Mullin is clearly less than enthused about his initial foray into ministerial life and he approaches his job with a wry skepticism.  During his stint under John Prescott, Mullin apparently feels that many of his assignments are no win affairs that are subject to forces greater then he possess.  Mullin's attempts to focus on the few initiatives he cares about, and he feels he can address, causes him no little amount of grief with the civil servants who seem to want more from a junior minister.  Mullin's look at Whitehall from the bottom of the ministerial ladder is equal parts bemusing and exasperating.  Much of the first part of the book, for example, deals with Mullin's conflict with the government agency that provides car to governmental officials.  The car agency wants him to ride in a government car everywhere he goes but Mullin would prefer to walk or take a bus if he is just traveling a short distance.

Mullin's later stops are much more positive experiences.  He enjoys working at the Department for International Development and thinks it is one of the best departments in all of Whitehall but there is not enough work for a cabinet minister and a junior minister.  Mullin enjoys a brief return to the backbenches.  He resumes his committee work(where he works alongside future Tory leader David Cameron) and enjoys the freedom that comes with being a member of parliament with no governmental obligations.  He feels free to focus on issues he wants to focus on and that he feels like he can contribute something to.  During his time on the backbenches, Parliament votes on the war in Iraq.  Mullin votes no because there is not a second UN resolution.  However, the section on the Iraq war does give a view into the pressures facing MPs during this period.

The last stop on Mullin's trip through Whitehall is the Foreign Office where he serves as the Minister for Africa. he enjoys the work and actually does a little bit of good in negotiations between Ethiopia and Eritrea.  However, Mullin never loses the fact that he is a bit player in these affairs and that he possess little power to do more then nudge events a little way forward.

Mullin's book is a diary and the usual caveats about this being one person's view apply.  However, the real value and joy in this book comes from the fact that Mullin's view is that of a partial insider.  He does not have the complete view but he can catch glimpses of what is going on above him.  At the same time, Mullin is sufficiently rooted enough to not get carried away by these glimpses of what he calls the "Olympian Heights" and he is often cognizant of the fact that he was often not much more then a minister in the "Department for Folding Deck Chairs."

The real juicy bits are Mullin's observations of New Labour in the middle of it period in government.  Mullin maintains a high regard Tony Blair("The Man") but does not care much for the New Labour movement that brought Blair to power.  Other major players do not come off so well.  John Prescott has a lot of good qualities but reading Mullin I get the sense that none of those qualities were enough to run the Department of Enviroment, Transport and the Regions.  Mullin are goes into some lengths on the tension between the supporters of Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.  These tensions are reported second hand but they give the narrative a lot of its external tension.  David Cameron and William Hague both have cameo roles, and both(especially Cameron) earn Mullin's respect.  President George Bush also makes a few appearances and if the book has a villain it is President Bush who Mullin calls "an intellectually and morally deficient serial killer." 

This book might be the most accurate 1st person account of the Blair years.  Mullin was high enough to catch glimpses of what went on when Labour was at the peak of its power but he is sufficiently low enough that Mullin does not have an agenda to pursue or scores to settle.  This relatively straight view of the Blair government, when combined with Mullin's gift at documenting petty absurdities, make this book a real treasure to read.

Backbencher of the Week

Just before Congress took its July 4th recess, the House passed the Waxman-Markley climate change bill that included a primitive version of a cap-and-trade system.  The bill barely passed 219-212 with 44 Democrats voting against the bill.  With 44 Democrats voting no, the bill passed, in part, because 8 Republicans voted aye.

One of the 8 Republicans is Rep. Mary Bono Mack(R-CA-45).  Rep. Bono Mack was first elected to Congress to fill the open seat of her late husband Rep. Sonny Bono(yes, that Sonny Bono).  Currently, she is married to Florida Congressman Rep. Connie Mack IV.

Rep. Bono Mack, and the other 7 Republicans who voted aye, are now targets of conservative ire.  Unlike the other 7, Rep. Bono Mack also voted on the opposite side from her husband.  For standing against both party and family connections, and voting for a first step in addressing climate change, we are glad to award this week's Backbencher of the Week to Rep. Mary Bono Mack.

Blogging Grand Rapids, Summation

On Wednesday night, I returned from Grand Rapids.  I spent the last part of my trip looking at lighthouses.  On Monday, I drove to the towns of Grand Haven and Holland to see the lighthouse on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.  It was a cloudy, windy day and the waves broke hard against the pier.  

Tuesday was a quiet day and I spent most of the last day of synod around Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids is nice little city.  The eating was spectacular.  I recommend, eating at Bistro Bella Vita, The Sunset Grill, and at the BOB.

My favorite moments were seeing the watergate tools at the Gerald Ford Museum and hearing Barbara Brown Taylor.

I am glad to be back and have a happy 4th. 

He's Good Enough, He's Smart Enough...

And doggone it, he's a Senator.

Blogging Grand Rapids, The Return

Today, I accomplished a lot.  I helped a couple cement their relationship and led them to make plans to marry.  Since these plans are not fully public, I will refer to the the people in this couple as man and woman.  Man is a good friend to liturgygeek and someone that I know as a casual acquaintance.  Woman is somebody I just met this week.  We had a good conversation on Friday night and we discussed how to conduct a long range relationship.  Last night she was part of the group that went out to supper at Bistro Bella Vita.  When we got back to our hotel last night, liturgygeek and I both said that we thought highly of woman.  I said if man does not marry woman, and marry her soon, then I would have to beat up man.  Liturgygeek relayed the message to man, and this afternoon they confirmed their wedding plans.  All thanks to me and my willingness to use force to bring forth an epic romance.

Some of you must be asking, "Backbencher does this trip have a soundtrack?"  The answer is a resounding yes.  The soundtrack is the Dave Matthews Band new Album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.  This is a great and funky album.  This a perfect album to crank up in the car stereo and drive through Western Michigan.  The song Why I Am(track 5) is just a great party song; which is kind of neat considering the song is a tribute to Leroi Moore the band's saxophonist who died last year.  The whole song, and really the whole album, just captures the hope that many of us have that the resurrection and life to come will be a party with music, dancing, and plenty of good drink.  

Even More From Grand Rapids

Yesterday was the day that I actually spent doing synod related stuff.  First off was hearing Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson.  Filing what I call the Bill Moyers Slot in the synod line-up, Robinson talked about race; specifically he focused on the diversity found the African-American community.  His talk got a little wonky at times but still good.  Robinson's best moments came when he talked about new development in the the African-American community; for example the increasing immigration from African countries to the U.S.  According to Robinson this group of African immigrants are most educated and well-off group of people to ever move to the U.S.

Then it was on to Barbara Brown Taylor.  Rev. Taylor talked about the importance of narrative in the age of Twitter.  The focus of her talk was the need for people to engage in a narrative that gives meaning to their lives.  She talked at length about how being a southerner means that she is immersed in a culture that is narrative based and one of those narratives is the Bible.   Taylor was great to listen to and as always its nice to have a southern voice at these proceedings.  

After a lunch at Quiznos I went with Pope Laura to her Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14) talk about H.R. 676.  H.R. 676 is the house version of a bill to bring single-payer healthcare to the U.S.  Rep Conyers looked a little tired and scattered during his presentation.  However the bulk of his point is that healthcare is a continuation of the Civl Rights Movement.  A single payer would be cheaper because any raise in a person's taxes would be offset by savings in health care costs.   There would also be a health tax on the top 5% and 1% of earners.  Conyers said he would vote for a bill with a public plan if the public plan is strong.  He also said there are plans to offer an amendment to the House's "tri-committee" bill to make the single payer be the public plan.  One of the interesting things was Rep. Conyers snark and seemingly contemptuous attitude toward President Obama's healthcare plan.  Conyers said he remembers when Obama supported single payer as a state senator and "I have the tapes" where Obama supported a single payer.  He also said that the strength of the public option depended on the President and "my former colleague" White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel.  Conyer's tone indicated that he doubted Rahm could write a bill with a strong public option.  Conyers did give Laura and I a nod when he mentioned Obama's victory in the Iowa Caucuses.   Sitting with Pope Laura was great because at one time she worked as a staffer for a Senator and she gave a these little insights about what the staffers were doing.

The rest of the day was taken up by a great Italian place.  A group of us went to supper at Bistro Bella Vita.  I recommend the Spaghetti Bolognese.  So far two good places to eat and one just kind of so-so; 2 out of 3 restaurants is not a bad ratio.