The problem with Congress right now is that the Democrats aren’t acting like a majority party. In particular, they continually capitulate to the Bush administration over two issues, Iraq and the Patriot Act (FISA). These capitulations are in a large part due to a lack of party discipline. There is a large conservative Democratic voting block in the House which consistently votes like moderate Republicans and against party leadership. This is unacceptable.

Matt Stoller of Open Left has started a campaign to push back at these Bush Dog Democrats. The first step in the ambitious plan is to profile the Bush Dogs one by one (you can write one too!), and so I present you with an overview of Ohio Representative Zack Space’s career, voting record, and political context.

Zack Space is a freshman Congressman from Ohio’s 18th District, just east of Columbus. Since 1994, the district had been squarely Republican and was led by former Representative Bob Ney, who won 6 straight terms. In 2006, Ney was implicated in the Jack Abramoff scandal. He ran for reelection anyway, but he resigned from Congress and dropped out of the race shortly before pleading guilty on charges of conspiracy and making false statements. Ohio Republicans failed to put forward a competent challenger, largely due to the allegations of Republican misconduct surrounding Ney and the Ohio Republican party, and so Space won the election by the largest margin of any Democrat challenging for a Republican held seat in 2006, 22%.

It is worth noting that Space had three challengers in the 2006 Democratic primary, Jennifer Stewart, Ralph Applegate, and Joe Sulzer. Space won handily there too, by 14 percentage points.

On the surface, Space actually looks like a decent progressive candidate. The vast majority of his campaign contributions (67%) came from individual donors. His PAC donations came mostly from labor or single issue sources and not from business. And he fully disclosed 95% of his donations. Space is an advocate for stem cell research and has been a guest on the Colbert Report, both sure to win him points with the progressives I know.

However, Space is out of sync with the progressive movement on two key issues, and I bet you know what they are. If you guessed Iraq and FISA, you win a toaster!

Space voted for H.R. 2206, authorizing more money for the Iraq war without putting any timelines or conditions on the Bush administration. While he has been with the progressive majority in the House on most Iraq related bills, when push came to shove and Democrats were asked to hand over the money, Space gave in. Space also voted for S. 1927, expanding FISA and giving Bush the legal right to warrantlessly wiretap American citizens.

These two votes make Space a problem. It’s all well and good to have a progressive agenda when things are easy. According to Progressive Punch, Space has a good progressive record when it comes to the environment, labor rights, ethics, and social security. But when things get tough and the politics gets vicious, that’s when we find out what side our representatives are really on. The Iraq war and the larger war on terror are the defining issues of our time. If Space comes out on the wrong side of those, he’s not a progressive.

The argument in Space’s defense is that he comes from a Republican district where 57% of people voted for Bush in 2004. The New York Times says that OH-18 is going to be the top Republican takeover target in 2008. Some argue that Space is simply fighting to keep his seat and voting in step with his district. This argument doesn’t hold water.

For instance, a 2006 Ohio poll (pdf) found that 50% of likely voters would like to see a timetable set for the Iraq conflict, as opposed to 49% who are against. These margins are slim, but they are also 2006 numbers. Indeed, in a national poll taken around the same time, only 48% of respondents said they were in favor of a timeline. However, in polls taken last month, 55% of respondents supported a withdrawal by next spring and 61% believe US troop presence should decrease or be removed altogether. It is reasonable to assume Ohio’s numbers have moved in this direction as well.

So, beyond the point that you can’t be a progressive and vote for the war, Space doesn’t even seem to be in sync with his district on Iraq. And trust me, his constituants are angry. Ohio blogger CZawadski put it well (with respect to FISA, but it applies to Iraq too):

I find the argument “they were only representing their district” to be a mockery of the whole system. Aren’t they supposed to be leaders? Aren’t leaders supposed to lead their districts into supporting actions that will help our country?

[snip]

How can the Democratic party define itself if it is always capitulating to the Republicans? These type of votes make it seem like the only thing Dems stand for is getting re-elected. We need more “Be who you are, say what you mean and let the chips fall where they may” attitudes on our side. “Republican-Lite” doesn’t appeal to Republicans or Democrats.

And Mark W Adams chimed in with a further point:

Zack, Charlie [Wilson, OH-06, another Bush Dog Democrat], a lot of real Democrats across Ohio fought for you guys. You got some serious problems if you think that catering to the conservatives will help you keep your seats. Get a clue, they hate you anyway. Now you pissed off the rest of us.

Clearly, Zack Space needs to be brought back into line, and we are in a good position to do it. Recently, Space made some encouraging comments:

…I’m ready to say enough is enough – it is time to redeploy our troops from Iraq so they come home and truly strengthen our security. I simply cannot defend a policy that is so expensive in terms of dollars and in life and limb. It would be wrong, morally and militarily, to continue a war our President cannot plausibly defend.

I feel there is a real opportunity here to push Space back towards the progressive agenda. If we can make him realize that Ohio progressives, his core constituency, are very unhappy with his performance on these issues so far, and make him realize that voting as a moderate Republican isn’t going to win him right wing votes when a real Republican steps in to challenge him, then we can make sure his next vote on Iraq and the Patriot Act when it counts is the right one.

The first step in pushing Zack Space left is to join the Bush Dogs campaign. I hope you’ll come with me and help push the Bush Dogs left.

Update:

Seems Space might be more of a problem than I initially thought. Matt Stoller has the full update, but here’s the quote:

“As for Iran, I believe this nation is one of the most threatening entities of our day,” Space wrote.

Uh oh. Either way, some serious pressure is required.

WHAT'S NEXT?

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