People tended to be taken aback to learn that an old lefty like me supported Tom Vilsack. And many progressives I know were surprised that Tom, who had been chair of the DLC over the last couple of years, had been the first candidate to come out swinging against John McCain on his Iraqi escalation proposal, the first candidate to call for defunding the war, and the candidate who laid out the most far-reaching and progressive plan on energy and global warming.
I was never surprised. Tom has been a friend of mine for a quarter century now, and I knew that he was a strong progressive. He risked his re-election in a knockdown, drag-out budget fight with the Republican legislature over expanding children's health care. He did more on renewable energy than any other Governor in the country. He welcomed immigrants to Iowa, years ago, while many politicians were bashing them, and he warmly supported gay rights in a small Midwestern state not real comfortable with the idea. He walked picket lines with unions in a right-to-work state.
I wasn't happy when I learned that Tom took the chairmanship of the DLC, but people in national progressive politics need to understand that all most folks outside of DC know about the DLC is that it is "moderate," and when you are a small red state Midwesterner with Vilsack's record on progressive issues, your first instinct is naturally to associate yourself with "moderates." And the first thing Vilsack did when he took the job was to tell Al From he didn't understand all the feuding the DLC had done with labor unions, and then he forged an agreement between the DLC and labor leaders to work together on some issues.
So now he's out, because there was no way raise money in a field where donors have megawatt candidates and chairs of powerful Senate committees to choose from. Probably most of you don't think that's a big deal, just another unknown candidate bites the dust. But Tom's outspoken leadership on the Iraq war has already pushed that debate farther down the road, and his bold and comprehensive energy plan will force other candidates to go further than they would have, even in his absence. The quality of his ideas and his genuineness would have added a lot to this race. And I think all progressives should regret that the money chase has become so dominant in presidential politics that people of Tom's accomplishments and biography can't make the cut.
Mike Lux is the President of American Family Voices, an issue advocacy group sometimes described as the "free safety" of the progressive movement, and does consulting for progressive organizations and donors through his consulting firm, Progressive Strategies LLC.