Democrats are now in charge of Congress. Voters have given us an opportunity for leadership, and we will need to repay their confidence with results. I believe we are up to this challenge, but only if we deliver leadership that unites, rather than divides, our country.
No one understands the stakes better than the next speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. She may now represent San Francisco, but her roots are in the Italian-American neighborhoods and pragmatic politics of Baltimore where her father was once mayor. My guess is that her leadership in Congress will reflect the realistic and problem-solving mandate that Americans from coast to coast voted for on Election Day.
Democrats from the Rocky Mountain West, including me, are more interested in solving problems and bipartisanship than in punishing Republicans or deepening the blue-red ideological divide. Colorado serves as a good example, since the recent elections have demonstrated that an emerging majority of voters is looking to support leadership that is pragmatic, optimistic and largely centrist.
In 2005, the passage of Referendum C divided the Republican Party, but showed the business community that Democrats were united on fiscal sanity and the importance of investing in higher education. Democrats in Congress must show the same kind of unity and become standard bearers for fiscal discipline, spending restraint and tax policies that do not create a burden on the next generation.
I agree with those who say that the 2006 federal elections were a referendum on the Bush administration’s failed leadership in Iraq. George W. Bush has broken the post-Vietnam era myth that only Republicans can be trusted to ensure a strong national defense. Democrats in Congress will need to lead the way in restoring the strength and effectiveness of our Armed Forces, including rebuilding and expanding the Army. More than anything else, we must work toward a successful exit strategy in Iraq and an effective war against Islamic terrorism. This has to be a shared objective that unites all Americans regardless of party.
Beginning with the passage of Referendum 37 in 2004, Coloradans have shown that renewable energy holds the promise of enhancing our national security and creating a stronger economy. Democrats have led on renewable energy before, and it ought to be on the front burner of the new congressional agenda.
The 2006 elections also have shown that polarization and extremism make for good headlines but they are not effective tactics for solving problems. With few exceptions, the vast majority of voters in 2006 called for immigration reform that includes a rational guest worker program. Conservative-minded voters have not forsaken their commitment to faith and values, but they are tired of the politicization of science, stem cell research, and gay bashing. Republicans like ousted Virginia Sen. George Allen didn’t get this; I know Colorado Democrats get it.
One-party rule also led to ethical scandal on an unprecedented scale. In fact, according to exit polls, corruption was the No. 1 issue on voters’ minds, and they responded by ousting “safe” Republicans from power. Democrats in Congress will need to pass tough ethics reform and change the currency of politics in the halls of Congress from “who has the most money” to “who has the best ideas.”
Will Democrats earn the continued trust of voters?
The answer is to govern well and broaden the Democratic tent. The answer is to demonstrate, as a Democratic State legislature in Colorado has shown, that our party can be trusted to listen, learn and lead with results.
Bill Owens has been a better governor in Colorado because a Democratic legislature forced him to compromise. My hope is that a Democratic Congress will have the same effect on the last years of the presidency of George W. Bush.
If Democrats are successful, President Bush will have a more productive presidency, our country will be stronger in two years, and we can pave the way for a new alignment in American politics that looks to the West for inspiration.
Rep. Mark Udall just won his fifth term representing the 2nd Congressional District and is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
