FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Betsy Markey leaves Congress after two years without regret—and with a feeling that more public service lies in her future.
“I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. When you think that only 10,000 Americans ever have served in Congress, it’s an incredible honor to be there,” Markey said in an interview with the Coloradoan.
In 2008, riding a Democratic tide, Markey ended 34 years of Republican control of the 4th Congressional District seat. Two years later, an equally strong GOP tide swept her—and dozens of other Democratic House members—from office.
Her single term in the House, the 111th Congress, was one of the most tumultuous sessions in recent history. The Democratic-controlled Congress passed sweeping overhauls of the nation’s health-care and financial systems, as well as a massive stimulus bill aimed at lifting the nation out of the worst economic crisis in 70 years.
Republican Cory Gardner cited those votes—as well as the House passage of a “cap-and-trade” energy bill—as a reason for voters to remove Markey from office. GOP candidates across the country repeated similar arguments to end four years of Democratic control of the House.
“I don’t think there’s any one particular vote that necessarily hurt me. I think it was a tough year all around,” Markey said of the factors that led to her 12-point loss.
Markey, who ran as a fiscal conservative in 2008 and supported a balanced-budget amendment and other deficit controls in Congress, acknowledged that it was hard to tell voters that the country needed both long-term deficit reduction efforts and short-term economic stimulus efforts.
“It was counterintuitive to people,” she said.
Markey said she doubted that changing her votes on any of the most controversial legislation would have impacted the eventual outcome of her re-election bid.
“The fact of the matter is if you look at the races around the country, 63 Democrats lost. People like my friend from Idaho, Walt Minnick, who was the only Democrat who was endorsed by the tea party, who voted against the stimulus bill, voted against the energy bill, voted against health care, and lost anyway,” she said.
She said the vote she was most proud of was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the 2009 “stimulus bill.”
“I am very proud of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act. There were a number of things in particular that helped the 4th Congressional District,” she said, such as nine grants to expand rural broadband access and loan guarantees that helped new energy companies.
Republicans criticized the deficit impact of the stimulus bill—about $800 billion—but most congressional Republicans voted in December for a compromise tax bill that had an equal or greater deficit impact. Markey also voted for that bill.
“The fact is Republicans and Democrats just passed a second stimulus bill. They just didn’t call it a stimulus bill,” she said with a chuckle.
Markey’s term in Congress effectively ended just before Christmas, when the House adjourned. She had been without offices since early December as the government prepared for the 112th Congress, which will be sworn in Wednesday.
She hasn’t yet decided what’s next for her, but Markey makes it clear she wants to stay involved in public service. She worked in the executive branch during the Reagan administration before she and her husband started their own business, then worked as an aide for Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado before being elected to Congress.
“I am just taking some time off right now to spend with my family. I have not made decisions about anything right now,” she said.
President Barack Obama singled out Markey several times for making what he deemed courageous votes, including a couple of times leading up to the election.
She acknowledged that she has had “very, very general conversations” about a possible role in the Obama administration, but said no specific jobs have been discussed.
“I love public policy and so I will stay involved,” Markey said.
What about running again for Congress in 2012?
“Possibly, possibly, depends on what the circumstances are,” she said.
One part of her experience that Markey clearly found distasteful was fundraising. She was quite good at it, raising about $3.6 million for her re-election bid, a record for the district. That means she raised an average of about $5,000 each day she was in Congress.
“We need campaign finance reform,” she said.
“This year I raised a ridiculous amount of money. I don’t think people realize how much time a member of Congress has to spend raising money,” Markey said.
She expressed empathy for Gardner, who is attending a lobbyist-hosted fundraiser in Washington the day after he’s sworn in.
“Almost every day you’re doing something. You might have a breakfast or a couple calls to make, but it’s time that you really should spend doing your job as opposed to raising money,” she said.
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Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan,
