Clearly, there is a strong tendency toward the Progressive caucus among the Populists, even though they were organized by a New Democrat. Further, Progressive punch puts the median lifetime score on "crucial votes" for this group at 55.5 of 256 (between [Joe] Courtney at 54 and [Dave] Loebsack at 57) in the Democratic caucus, placing it decidedly in the left-wing of the party.
[...]
Notably, the Populists are also heavy on the class of 2006, as 14 of the 20 members listed by the Huffington Post were first elected to Congress that year (and Massa came within an inch of being a 15th that year). Only Boswell, DeFazio, Filner Sanchez and Schakowsky were first elected to Congress before 2006. As such, while it displayed the same fractured tendencies of all ideological caucuses across the three bailout votes, the Populist Caucus appears to be primarily a caucus of progressive sophomore Representatives. This is particularly interesting since the class of 2006 was supposed to be a conservative dominated class ushered in by then -DCCC chair Rahm Emanuel. Now, the progressive members of that class appear to have organized a new caucus for themselves.
I do most of my writing at the Iowa progressive community blog Bleeding Heartland.
Last year at this time I was scrambling to make as many phone calls and knock on as many doors as I could before the Iowa caucuses on January 3.
This week I had a little more time to reflect on the year that just ended.
After the jump I've linked to Bleeding Heartland highlights in 2008. Most of the links relate to Iowa politics, but some also covered issues or strategy of national importance.
I only linked to a few posts about the presidential race. I'll do a review of Bleeding Heartland's 2008 presidential election coverage later this month.
Democrat Ed Fallon, who has been endorsed by the bloggers of EENR just received a huge boost to his campaign just days before the June 3rd primary. The Des Moines Register has thrown their support behind Ed Fallon, who is challenging blue dog Democrat Leonard Boswell for the Democratic nomination. Here's a snippet:
So voters face a difficult choice. As an incumbent, Boswell has greater name recognition, a lead in the polls and more money than Fallon. Returning him to Washington would further build his seniority and potential clout for Iowa through choice committee assignments.
But currently holding the job of congressman doesn't mean a candidate automatically deserves to be re-elected. After interviewing both candidates and reviewing their records, the editorial board can no longer embrace the congressman as the best person to represent Iowa in Congress. Fallon is running under the slogan "new energy for Iowa." On June 3, Democrats in the 3rd District should give Fallon a chance to unleash some of his ideas and energy in Washington.
At 1pm et or 10 am pt, Iowa state legislator and candidate for Congress Ed Fallon will be joining us for a live blog. Get your questions ready and let's get the conversation going! First, I'd like to tell you a little about who Ed Fallon is and why myself and my fellow EENR bloggers support him for Congress.
One of the first candidates the bloggers of EENR decided to endorse was state legislator Ed Fallon running for Congress in Iowa's 3rd c.d. It wasn't a difficult choice. Ed Fallon is a progressive's progressive. In his 14 years as a legislator in Iowa's House, he never accepted PAC/lobbyist money. Fallon had his values in place long before it was the progressive thing to do to refuse lobbyist/PAC money. Here's a statement from Fallon about why he's running for Congress:
Our country needs and wants change. I'm ready to take on the corporate interests who have corrupted our federal government. I'm ready to give working families and the poor a voice in national politics. I'm ready to do what I can to see that environmental issues are taken seriously inside the beltway. I'm ready to apply what I've learned during 23 years of public service in Iowa and be a part of the solution in Washington.
I'm a young, single, liberal political addict. I can admit this freely. Sometimes political freaks like myself are outspoken, self righteous, and completely obsessed. I don't believe in not bringing up politics around the dinner table or even with strangers. I'm so hopelessly addicted that I can't help myself but tell people what I think. For political addicts like myself it helps if we can find like minded people to put up with our antics. Sometimes, we are just too much to handle. When I visit my friends in CA, they put a moratorium on blogging for me. I'm not allowed to be near a computer. I was also recently dissed by a crush of mine for being too involved in politics. The absence of understanding of my political freakishness from people like Joe (that's what we'll call him) hurts for a little while...and then.....I'm back to being a proud political freak!
After Edwards suspended his campaign I thought that I would have a lot of free time. I spent so much time focusing on the Edwards Campaign, I didn't realize how much I was missing out. Congressional races!!! I've been very interested in multiple races, most notably the Oregon Senate battle which will come to a head on Tuesday. I also am pulling for Ed Fallon to pull out an upset and beat Boswell on June 3rd.
Do political freaks have other interests? Of course we do! I may love me some politics, but I've also been writing poetry ever since I was a little girl. I love playing guitar and singing. I love taking really long walks and visiting my favorite rose garden. I love driving long distances by myself. I love taking photos and I love vintage shopping. What about my fellow political freaks...what do you guys love besides the political grind?
What races are you obsessing about? How do your family and friends feel about your political involvement? Are you married to a Republican? Do you ever leave the computer?
A little more than two weeks before the Democratic primary in Iowa's third Congressional district, Ed Fallon has challenged Congressman Leonard Boswell to shift his support as a superdelegate from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama.
It's a shrewd move for several reasons that I will describe after the jump.
Less than a month before the Democratic primary to represent Iowa's third district, Ed Fallon is trying to make Congressman Leonard Boswell either debate him or pay a political price for refusing to debate.
Join me after the jump for more on that and other recent developments in the race.
I haven't posted here in a week or so, but I've been covering the primary in IA-03 more regularly at Bleeding Heartland.
This is just a quick-hit diary to let you know about a new website created by Progressive Kick, which focuses on Leonard Boswell's voting record and campaign funding. It packs a ton of information into a really fun format.
(Ed Fallon is a progressive that we support - promoted by pioneer)
It's been a while since I've posted here about the Democratic primary to represent Iowa's third Congressional district, but I've been busy covering the race at Bleeding Heartland.
Today I want to bring you up to date on the increasingly negative campaign that six-term incumbent Congressman Leonard Boswell has been running against Ed Fallon.
For more background on the race, here are links to some of my previous diaries:
Welcome to the latest diary in my series on the Democratic primary in Iowa's third Congressional district. Ed Fallon is challenging Leonard Boswell, who was first elected to this seat in 1996.
Today, I consider who would represent this district more effectively in Congress.
Here are links to my previous diaries on this campaign:
