There are times in history when a political movement becomes a force of nature. For example, after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 within 50 days Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania had all broken the chains of the Communist era and deposed its henchmen.
Today, the worsening financial crisis has caused a seismic shift in this country and not only has it brought down the house of cards known as Reaganomics but it may also bring down some of voodoo economics' high priests - most notably David Dreier of California's 26th Congressional District.
First elected in 1980 as part of the Reagan landslide, Dreier not only faces a difficult political climate but a dramatically different district which is now one quarter Hispanic and plurality Democratic. Although he won reelection in 2006 by a twenty percent margin, by August voters were evenly split as his favorable/unfavorable ratings were both at 32 percent. This is not a good omen for Dreier, who now faces his first serious challenger in Russ Warner who is surging in the polls.
Dreier could be the poster boy for the failure of the Reagan-Gingrich-DeLay revolution. He was a senior member of the hyper-partisan Gingrich-DeLay Congresses, serving as Chairman of the all powerful Rules Committee during the last eight years of Republican rule. Before any bill can come to the House floor, it must first go through the obscure Rules Committee which sets the terms of the debate - including whether and to what extent amendments will be permitted. As Rules Committee Chairman, Dreier promoted the Committee's obscurity through closed-door and midnight hearings where he pushed the Republican agenda by stifling House debates to the point that nearly half of all bills were considered under closed rules preventing debate.
Dreier again demonstrated his respect for open debate last week when he failed to show and face Warner at the League of Women Voters' candidate's forum. Unlike Dreier, Warner is not a career politician but rather a successful businessman whose son urged him to run upon his return from serving 17-months in Iraq. Warner has succeeded in large part due to strong grass roots support. Having met Warner, I can understand the appeal because he exudes a certain "Jimmy Stewart-like" sense of decency and common sense that is rarely found in today's politics. Who better to challenge a Washington insider who has taken 95 trips to 65 countries but only sponsored two measures that were enacted in 28 years in Congress.
While Dreier is a frequent fixture on Washington talk shows, he has consistently refused to debate his opponents over the years. Dreier does not want a debate where he will have to explain his support for the Bush agenda or answer why he voted to raise his pay ten times and made his lover one of the highest paid staff members on Capitol Hill but voted against a $1,500 bonus for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This race deserves a lot more attention, because Dreier embodies the hypocrisy of the Gingrich-DeLay era, while Warner embodies the spirit of change that is at the heart of the Obama campaign. Warner has nearly matched Dreier in fundraising, but Dreier began the campaign with a $2 million war chest which is only partially depleted. For Democrats looking to adopt a friend in the final days of the campaign, Russ Warner is their man.
For those of you east of the Mississippi, you might consider Victoria Wulsin, who is running strong in her rematch against Ohio Republican Jean Schmidt. Yes, "Mean Jean" Schmidt who gained fame by calling John Murtha a "coward" and who has been called "despicable" by a fellow Republican. Schmidt has continued her erratic behavior, such as falsely claiming that China was drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and has fallen behind Wulsin, a doctor and public health expert who has made health care the centerpiece of her campaign.
Like the fall of the Berlin Wall a generation ago, the defeat of Dreier, Schmidt and other Republican hatchet-men also would signal the end of a dark era and the promise of a new day. A new Congress with members like Russ Warner and Victoria Wulsin working with a President Obama would be something to celebrate, but first they need your help in the last few days to make it a reality.