C&L Chat: Please welcome netroots hero Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa
By howieklein Wednesday Jan 14, 2009 9:55amOne of Blue America's earliest and most heartfelt successes came in 2006 when we helped Bruce Braley turn Iowa's first CD from red to blue. After a stellar first term, Bruce didn't need help being re-elected. His 64% win in November was the highest margin of any candidate in the state (including Senators Harkin and Obama!).
His success has been especially sweet because of the way his candidacy started out. You may recall that in 2005 Rahm Emanuel was running around the country sabotaging progressives and bullying anti-war candidates. He managed to ruin Democratic chances in district after district with his wrongheaded insistence that voters backed his own pro-war position in Iraq and that progressive candidates needed to soft-pedal their opposition to Bush's (and Emanuel's) agenda.
When Emanuel went to candidate Braley with that line Braley didn't buckle; he pushed back and pushed back hard. Emanuel backed down. "I wouldn't change who I am to run for office. I am running to be a strong voice for change and to speak out for people who don't have a voice in Washington," he told us at the time. "I met with Rahm several times and I convinced him that my positions are the mainstream positions in this district. He listened and he understood."
After his initial win, Congressman Braley caught our attention in 2007 when he took the lead on questioning Bush Regime hack/GSA head Lurita Doan and exposed the Regime's illegal use of government resources to target Democrats. (See the video up top.) Since then he's established a solidly progressive voting record in the House and has become a leader at the DCCC. Last cycle he was one of 3 co-chairs of the Red to Blue Program. In the 2010 cycle he is the sole Red to Blue Chair.
You can get a fuller picture of Congressman Braley's activities over at DownWithTyranny but before he joins us in the comments section here at Crooks and Liars, I want to emphasize one of the exchanges we had on the phone yesterday. When I recounted hard feelings in the netroots about how much money the DCCC spent on conservative Democrats like Bobby Bright and Parker Griffith, both of Alabama, who have already started crossing the aisle and voting with the Republicans on issues as basic as equality for women in the workplace, this was Rep. Braley's response:
I can't dispute that characterization. It's extremely frustrating to me. It doesn't seem like one of those defining issues that is going to be used against you to paint you as a tool of the Speaker, which is usually what happens in these races in the Deep South. It does seem like this is an issue that is a defining issue for Democratic voters and I would hope that Democrats in those districts in Alabama and around the country would make their feelings known to help educate these new members to the fact that just because you have received support in the past, to pick up an open seat, does not mean that you can ignore what your party stands for when it comes to basic tenets.
He also spoke about the intricacies of prioritizing races across the nation and says he would be delighted to have assistance from grassroots sources:
The challenge for us always is trying to weigh all of the objective data and balance that with subjective input we get and try to make informed decisions that are going to help us expand our majority. Sometimes it's more of an art than a science and that's why I would welcome input from the netroots early on and have that as part of an ongoing conversation as we move forward.
Now, please join us in the comments section and help us ask Rep. Braley about building a better Democratic Party and a better USA.
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Thanks for taking the time out to come by and chat with us. Congratulations on your re-election landslide and on being named chair of the Red to Blue program. Can you give us an idea how grassroots Democrats can help you identify good candidates and races. A lot of time people feel that the Inside the Beltway Dems at the Committees just see the grassroots as ATM machines and expect us to write checks and then shut up.
And to address Howie's question right away about how grassroots Democrats can get involved, we are always looking for dynamic candidates who are electable in their districts. Grassroots Democrats can help us by sharing information and ideas about candidates who have the background and experience to be successful in 2010. So, grassroots Democrats can play a role from the beginning, and I hope to continue to reach out to you and the netroots as the 2010 cycle gets underway. I can also assure you that I welcome your ideas and inspiration, and not just your checks.
Thanks, it's great to be here. I'm looking forward to spending the next hour answering your questions and talking broadly about some of the DCCC's offensive efforts in the 2010 cycle.
Do you feel any districts were left on the table in November-- the way Larry Kissell's seat was in 2006? Districts you feel especially good about going in and rescuing from the bad guys?
There are always districts that don't play out the way we hope or anticipate. I feel that we learned lessons from the 2006 cycle when we came close with Larry Kissel and my friend Dave Loebsack's race in Iowa's 2nd District flew under the radar.
I participated in regular conversations during the 2008 cycle where we analyzed data from the field, and worked to make sure we weren't missing out on these opportunities. Politics is an inexact science, and sometimes late-breaking trends are hard to detect.
Without getting into too many specifics about the coming cycle, I can say generally that there are districts we feel optimistic about based on Democratic performance in 2008. We'll be sitting down in the coming days to crunch the numbers and learn the lessons of last fall to see how we can improve our efforts going forward.
How do our readers send you imput on races in their district?
Welcome Congressman!
I guess the ten thousand dollar question is: will their be hearings to get the bottom of the war crimes committed in our name?
Speaking of hearings, because Congress relies on the executive branch to enforce the law, we have been delayed in moving forward with hearings because of the resistance of key Bush Administration officials to subpoenas issued by Congress. I'm committed to seeing that those subpoenas are honored and that we move forward with investigation and oversight.
I'm so very happy to have you on my site...
Is Congress going to have a role in extricating us from Bush's wars or is everyone just going to defer to President Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan?
It's obvious our strength is technology and the use of the internet. Their advantage seems to be ownership of the media, ownership of the voting software, courage, and the knowledge of how to manipulate the political process without being prosecuted.
How can we use technology to organize and prevent the massive bullying and abuses of power that we've seen over the last eight years from occurring so easily and unchecked again.
Great question. I had the good fortune of spending some time in Chicago last fall with the Obama communications and new media teams. We have much to learn as a party on implementing this powerful resource in our down-ballot races.
I just spent last weekend with my staff during a retreat analyzing how we can employ "new media" resources to expand our communications reach. Most pollsters acknowledge that there is undersampling with younger voters, many of whom do not rely upon landline telephones and traditional news sources. This is going to continue to be a focus of our outreach and networking strategies and I'm very excited about continuing to build on the momentum generated by the Obama campaign.
During my years as a lawyer, I was often outspent by my opponents, who had far greater resources. I was never outworked. Communications technology gives us an advantage and we need to do everything we can to push the envelope in this area.
Should I come by the DCCC office to talk with you and your staff about how we can work with you guys to expand the majority and bring more progressives into Congress?
John, I would love to schedule a time to talk with you about how we can expand the majority and bring more progressives into Congress. The best way is to contact my Chief of Staff, Sarah, and schedule a time. My office number is 202-225-2911.
Also, if anyone has ideas or feedback they want to share with me, feel free to shoot an email to this address: bruce at brucebraley dot com
I will do that....I know next week will be pretty crazy...
That was a campaign address. Here is his official address.
bruce.braley@mail.house.gov
Maybe he'd answer the questions there?
Congressman
I read your answer above regarding hearings and it leaves me feeling a little bit unsatisfied. When Congress subpoenas a Karl Rove or Harriet Meirs and they ignore said subpoenas only to have Congress give a collective shoulder shrug it makes me want to scream "what's wrong with you guys?".
Big Boppa, you have no idea how frustrating it is to me when it takes so long to move forward on something that sounds as simple as issuing, serving and enforcing a Congressional subpoena. I spent 23 years working in a system where subpoenas were an everyday fact of life that were served and honored or someone would be quickly found in Contempt of Court. In Congress, we have to go through a lengthy process where the committees of jurisdiction sign off on the subpoena request before it is brought to the floor for a vote, which usually happens after lengthy efforts to bring about voluntary appearances by the witnesses.
Then we wait for the subpoenaed witness to show up. If they don't show up, further negotiations take place before a contempt of Congress citation is voted upon. If that citation is passed, we have no enforcement mechanism other than the courts, which brings a round of lengthy litigation to enforce compliance. That's where we are with the leftover proceedings from the 110th Congress, and no one is more frustrated by that than me.
but I don't see a glimmer of hope in there that I'm going to see anyone from the Bush admin held accountable in my lifetime. Funny how things seemed to move so much more quickly when the nation was imperiled by the Lewinski scandal....
rotflmao!!!
It does seem like Democrats are afraid of their own shadows sometimes. That's why it's good to see guys like Bruce moving up in the Leadership. Our party is so dysfunctional.
Welcome to our threads, Rep. Baley. You do great work.
Incidentally, I'm sure you can tell that prosecution of Bush admin lawbreakers is foremost on the minds of netroots audiences these days. Whenever we post about it the discussion is long and animated, and generally unanimous in sentiment.
Namely, people believe that if we let it slide again it will happen again. It's not "looking back" to properly pursue these crimes. It's very much looking forward too.
Congressman Braley,
Thank you for taking this time to talk with us - it's very exciting to learn of your new role and very encouraging.
I would like to second Howie's question - many of us are very concerned that we may remain stuck in Iraq and fall deeper into an Afgahnistan quagmire with no real strategy except to stay because we are there. We really need a genuine debate on what we should do rather than a simple extension of the Bush wars - and creative thinking that does not default to military force. Can you fill us in on how the new congress might raise these issues?
BTW, Rep. Braley, I know the mindset of Congress right now is to get the economy fixed, and everything else is going on the backburner for the nonce. Which makes sense. If Obama can get the economy back up on its feet, he'll have the most incredible political capital of anyone since ... 9/11.
And of course he won't want to fritter that capital either. So I'm wondering if we can expect to see some progress on some other significant pieces of progressive legislation:
-- The Employee Free Choice Act.
-- Comprehensive immigration reform.
-- A federal bias-crime bill.
Can you give us any insight on these?
David, I happen to be one of those members who is into multi-tasking. In other words, even though the economic meltdown is a huge priority in the first days of the Obama administration, I'm confident we can get to work on some major pieces of progressive legislation that were bottled up in the Senate in the 110th.
For example, I will be leaving in a few minutes to go vote (AGAIN) on the SCHIP expansion bill, which I expect will pass with an even larger bipartisan majority in the House, and will not face the same obstacles in the Senate (when we get everyone seated on our side).
I also expect the Employee Free Choice Act to move out of the House in the near future. I'm less certain about the timing of a comprehensive immigration reform bill, but know that Obama administration is committed to moving forward. I would imagine that the Senate will be key to the timing of that push, since the Senate's inability to move anything in the 110th created gridlock.
As some of you know, I had the largest immigration raid in the history of this country in my District (Postville) last year, right before we were hit with the most powerful tornado in the country last year, which was right before we were devastated by record flooding in my district.
I was extremely critical of the management practices and the handling of that raid, testifying before the House Judiciary subcommittee on some of the lessons learned from that experience. I even went on Conservative talk radio in Iowa to demand accountability from employers who exploit workers and are not held accountable and was amazed to find a sympathetic audience, showing how these issues sometimes bring people of vastly different political ideologies to similar conclusions. I was surprised at the level of empathy voiced for the humanitarian crisis brought about by this raid, and think it demonstrates why this country needs immigration reform.
That's excellent work, Congressman.
And FWIW, I've done reportage on one of the more pernicious aspects of the Postville raids: namely, the Justice Department's coercive tactics in sending so many of the detainees off to prison. It was a very disturbing spectacle.
Of course, the whole raids program has turned into a debacle, as we noted the other day.
I mention the bias-crime bill because it's part of the humanitarian -- and civil rights -- picture in the immigration debate too. As you know, hate crimes against Latinos have been skyrocketing, and a large part of the problem is the inability/inadequacy of local law enforcement in handling it. The legislation that's in Congress is built around bolstering the local response.
Welcome, Congressman, and congratulations!
I'd like to echo howieklein's question. What is your stance on Bush's wars, specifically Afghanistan. As you may have heard, a bunch of bloggers are working this week to raise awareness around the planned Afghanistan surge over at Get Afghanistan Right (http://www.getafghanistanright.com). We know Senator Russ Feingold is with us in opposition to the Afghanistan surge. Where do you stand?
As a member of Military Families Speak Out-MN I appreciate your work on behalf of our military, can you give the people on this site some info on your bill (opposed by Bush & McCain) to give recourse to our troops who were tortured by Saddam's men in Gulf War 1. You sir are a patriot and deserve our respect, welcome. Your friend in peace , Mike Perkins
Mike, thanks for asking about the status of my Justice for Victims of Torture and Terrorism bill. I was pleased when Rachel Maddow invited me on one of her first shows to talk about this bill.
You can check out my appearance on the show here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlUjCdeYM80
Despite heavy lobbying against my bill by the Bush Administration, we were able to pass the bill in the House, but were unable to get it on the Senate calendar for a vote before adjournment, despite past bipartisan Senate support for restoring these claims.
We continue to work with the Obama administration, the tortured POWS and human shields and their attorneys to bring this issue to closure. These citizens have waited over 17 years for justice, and they are a symbol of our disregard for international law and the Geneva convention during the Bush Administration.
DO u support the closing of GITMO asap?
How did you vote on resolution supporting Israel’s recent attack on Palestine?
Thanks so much for hosting me here today, it was a pleasure chatting with you.
And thank you for all the help you provide to elect progressive Democrats to Congress. We're going to need to keep working hard in 2010 to expand our majority, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it could be done.
I have to run over to the House chamber to vote, but feel free to send feedback, comments, or suggestions to bruce at brucebraley dot com.
That what I thought!
H. Res. 34 - Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel
Here's the answer: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll010.xml
Here's the co-sponsors: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:...
I just like stirring up the sh*t to see what kind of bugs crawl out.
A simple question. I really wish he would have answered that and Howie Klein's question about Congress's role in the wars. At least he came here, but I think he got off easy. Good effort anyway.
Here is an alternative email address for the Congressman:
bruce.braley@mail.house.gov
His office number is: 202-225-2911
it really goes fast....
"... I convinced him that my positions are the mainstream positions in this district. He listened and he understood."
My question is, if this was the counter-argument to Emanuel's efforts to suppress progressive policy positions and anti-Bush rhetoric during the 2005-06 campaign cycle, wouldn't the same argument hold true for representatives in much more conservative districts, such as those cited in this article?
How does Rep. Braley define the balance between party loyalty and holding on to seats - if for no other reason than to stop anti-progress candidates eschewing further-right positions from winning?
I guess if you are a repug, all you have to say is I don't remember. I hope you make All the repugs squirm in there chair. Then take them to court. Get carl rove next.
I missed it.
they remember NOTHING!! "i have no recollection...." Such assholes. Lyings sons-of-bitches. This whole administration is criminal, right down to these little cogs that will simply play "stupid" to avoid any wrong doing.
Such a proud party of thieves and crooks. They either FLAT lie or they flat fall back on "i don't recollect..." bull shit.
And this country is down on Congress??? Try "down on these lying sons-of-bitches"!!
Any democrat from Iowa is okay in my book.
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