Posted April 24, 2007 to Politics | Section Home | Print

Style versus substance, which one is lasting?

WASHINGTON -- April 14 marked the first 100 days of a new Democratic Majority. We have much to show for our work: Honoring our "Six for '06" campaign promises with passage of six bills that included raising the minimum wage, cutting interest rates on student loans and support for stem cell research, among other things.

We averaged 62 Republican votes, but many described the legislation as low-hanging fruit, easy to pass.

What Washington insiders prefer to focus on however, is the political theater created by President Bush's veto threat of the emergency spending bill passed by the House and Senate. It's the perennial issue -- style versus substance. And substance has always been my priority.

Over the past several weeks, the Congress has tackled one of the toughest issues to face our country in a very long time, the Iraq war. After much deliberation and debate, the United States House of Representatives passed the "U. S. Troop Readiness and Iraq Accountability FY07 Supplemental Appropriations Act."

There were 431 recorded votes and the bill was approved 218 - 212 - 1, two votes more than was necessary to pass the legislation.

Recent polls show that a majority of Americans are opposed to the president's surge plan, and want to see an end to U.S. military involvement in Iraq. Those same polls, however, indicate that most Americans do not want to see an immediate cut-off of funds to the war. This seeming contradiction highlights the schism that exists in our nation over this issue. And exactly how to address these sentiments and merge our approaches to achieve a resolution is, and should be, the subject of honest debate. The days of rubber stamping the President's positions are over.

President Bush has vowed to veto the legislation and some observers seem to agree with his assessment of the House's action as political theater. On the other hand, Mr. Bush and some of his supporters spent weeks leading up to this vote accusing Democrats of not having a plan. Well not only is this our plan, it is a good plan. It incorporates the benchmarks that the President says he has imposed upon the Iraq government. It also contains timelines similar to those proposed by the President's Iraq Study Group. And it mandates an orderly de-escalation and phased disengagement if the Iraqis fail to keep their end of the bargain.

This new Democratic majority did not rush through this process. We took time to listen to divergent perspectives and ideas, develop legislation that reflected those ideas and give members sufficient time and space to address and resolve their concerns. Our caucus is a microcosm of our great nation and we respect the diverse backgrounds and divergent views of all our members.

The Democratic Caucus is made up of seven distinct groups from the conservative Blue Dogs to the more liberal Progressives; and in between are the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the New Democrats, the Asian Pacific Islanders and the Women's Working Group. Our perspectives and views are broad and diverse like America's. Our diversity is our Caucus' greatest strength and my greatest challenge. It is my responsibility to gather consensus behind legislative initiatives. That's why we have eight chief deputy whips.

Some Washington pundits were eager to see us use the strong-arm tactics of the previous majority, and seemed highly disappointed when they were not accommodated. What these detractors saw as a lack of discipline was to me the presence of civility. My colleagues in the 103rd Congress elected me President of that Freshman Class for the 2nd Session and I became part of a Democratic Whip organization that I seek to emulate. One would have a hard time convincing me that people would rather be coerced and threatened than counseled and respected.

Taking a steady and deliberate approach and respecting people's diverse backgrounds and experiences takes time and effort. But in the long run, I believe it yields the respect and confidence needed to keep our Caucus together. I have a different style that is based on substance, and that may take some Washington insiders time to get used to. *