Senators Change, Issues Remain
By George Bachrach, ELM President
ELM congratulates Scott Brown on his election to the United States Senate. We look forward to working with him and advancing public policy that will protect the environment. In the aftermath of the election, certain observations are important.
First, this election ultimately had little to do with Martha Coakley or Scott Brown, both good and decent public servants. The election was overtaken by the same political tsunami that hit Deeds in Virginia, Corzine in New Jersey, Dodd in Conn., Reid in Nevada and affects Patrick in Mass. The American public is no longer primarily Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative. Voters are largely now alienated and disaffected. They are frustrated and angry. They see war and joblessness and spiraling healthcare costs, and they want solutions. No matter that President Obama, in office only one year, inherited two wars, an economic meltdown, spiking health insurance premiums, and global warming. No matter that in one year a massive economic stimulus package avoided a deeper recession, historic legislation on healthcare has already passed both branches of Congress and a climate bill has passed in the House. Anger has overtaken reason. Simple solutions replace more thoughtful but difficult answers.
While the Senate seat has changed, the issues remain the same. We still need national legislation to control climate change, healthcare costs and reasonable constraints on Wall St. The conventional thinking before the election, and now, is if healthcare is defeated, climate legislation will also go down.
The President and the Democratic majority in Congress should once again reach out to the opposition on these key legislative initiatives. Reasonable changes should be made, but on a finite timeline. However, at the end of the day, the commitment to meaningful reform of healthcare, climate legislation and new economic regulations must remain strong. If partisan opponents threaten a partisan filibuster, my hope is the majority will stand firm and call them on it. Let a real, “live” filibuster take place. Let those who oppose meaningful reform stand on the floor of the Senate, speaking daily in obstruction of progress and shutting down all other [meaningful] legislation. In 1948, as Dixiecrats led by Strom Thurmond threatened to walk out of the Democratic Convention over the issue of civil rights, Democrats wondered what they must do to keep them inside the party. A young Minneapolis mayor named Hubert Humphrey rose and simply said: “Let them walk. The party must stand for something.”
This is now the test for Democrats and Republicans alike. What do you stand for? Will you control climate change? Will you deal with spiraling healthcare costs and workers seeking jobs? Or will you just say no? Solutions or filibuster? Senator Brown, will you stand with us?