Kagen was state’s star in Congress in 2009

[undeterred]

John Nichols | Capital Times associate editor | Posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2009

When Steve Kagen was elected to Congress in 2006, as part of the great wave of reaction against the Bush administration’s imperial and economic excesses, it was presumed by many a pundit that he would serve as a cautious centrist who was more concerned about keeping his seat than doing right by the republic. Instead, Kagen has turned out to be a refreshingly independent representative.

Few members of Congress, be they Democrats or Republicans, have been as willing as Kagen to challenge the political orthodoxies of his party and of official Washington. As such, Kagen was the most inspired member of the Wisconsin congressional delegation in 2009.

To be sure, others rendered fine service. Congressman David Obey, D-Wausau, used his chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee to craft an economic stimulus bill that might have averted the sharp rise in unemployment, which was the year’s most unsettling domestic development. Unfortunately, Obey’s good work was undermined in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., bartered away $300 billion in spending for job creation to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy favored by supposedly “moderate” Republicans.

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, joined Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., in keeping alive concerns about lost civil liberties and our battered Constitution. Sadly, former constitutional law professors Barack Obama and Joe Biden did not share their passion.

much more at: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/article_b7ee41f8-a367-53a3-b54b-c7007bd7468c.html

[midnight]

1. Nice article...

[Jackpine Radical]

2. John Nichols--a great commentator and analyst

in the Wisconsin Progressive tradition.