Katrina vanden Heuvel: The Progressive Caucus and Obama

[babylonsister]

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut/431234?rel=hp_picks

The Progressive Caucus and Obama
posted by Katrina vanden Heuvel


The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) met with President Obama for one hour in the East Room of the White House yesterday.

CPC Co-Chair, Congressman Raúl Grijalva, said that 50 of the 77 Caucus members attended, and they honed in on two major issues: their commitment to only supporting a healthcare reform bill that includes a public plan option that is "more than a gesture"; and the $83 billion war supplemental.

"It was a serious meeting," Rep. Grijalva said. "It moved quickly, there was a lot of candor from both sides."

snip//

Grijalva said this wasn't a meeting where they "pinned down" the President and that "he handles tough questions very well." There was mutual respect and the meeting "helped solidify the relationship between the CPC and the White House."

The meeting was a good one for conveying the Caucus' key concerns on critical issues which will loom large in the next 100 days and beyond. It also represented an important and hopeful moment for the CPC itself. Rep. Grijalva explained, "It was good for the Caucus to be unified. There was no questioning the opinions the Caucus members gave to the President. With 50 people -- very few of us were able to speak -- and it demonstrates that members were there to support the Caucus and support each other. That's significant. Today everybody hung together and stuck to these two issues. I think that kind of discipline is very important."

Rep. Grijalva is right. At a time when the significantly smaller Blue Dog Caucusthreatens to impede passage of a much needed budget and real healthcare reform, the CPC's work as a more unified team -- allied with the work of millions of progressives across the country -- could translate to real reform at the federal level.

In the past, Caucus members have had a hard time doing their politics together. This afternoon's meeting with President Obama may signal a new unity that bodes well for the tough fights ahead.

[polichick]

1. Good to know - thanks! (I love Katrina.)

[bertman]

2. Being a "political outsider" I have often wondered why the Progressive Caucus didn't flex

its muscle more often.

Now that we have a President who is willing to reach out to all sides maybe we progressives will get to have a seat at the table. Who would've guessed?

I need to renew subscription to "The Nation". Katrina and her group are a strong voice for the progressive agenda.

Thanks for the post, babylonsister.

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[MasonJar]

3. Thank God!