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February 06, 2009

Stimulus and Senators

A few points which are very important to me in light of recent Oregon political speculation:

Speculation and rumor has Oregon Senator Ron Wyden in the running for the vacant Health and Human Services secretary job. This is a very bad idea.

Democrats and Oregon need Ron Wyden in the U.S. Senate. He is approaching seniority, with plum committee assignments. He has the best, most bipartisan health care plan working its way through government (the Healthy Americans Act). And we need his vote.

Why do we need his vote so badly? As is evidenced by the struggles of Obama's stimulus plan, there are not enough Democratic and progressive votes to accomplish major, major legislation. Sure, we got the Fair Pay Act and SCHIP, but what about this stimulus, or even the Employee Free Choice Act? Without Wyden's vote, we won't get it done.

More after the cut.

With center-right Senators like Nebraska's Ben Nelson (D) and Maine's Susan Collins (R) doing the negotiating, we can't be guaranteed to cross the 60-vote threshold needed to end the filibuster on key progressive legislation. And with Kennedy down for the count, who knows if we can get to 60 without Wyden.

We will get certain pieces of legislation done, sure, but we need Ron Wyden and his progressive values in the U.S. Senate. He is a leader, and we need his dynamic leadership and reliable vote.

Oh, and do you really want to see a special election for a vacant Senate seat? I'm sorry, but another election with former Senator Gordon Smith is like rolling the dice: we might keep the seat, or we might cough it right up.

It was said a lot during Senator Merkley's campaign, but Oregon needs two Senators fighting on the same side. We can't endure any more vote-canceling, especially not at such a pivotal crossroads.

Posted by Ben at February 6, 2009 02:12 PM