Six Questions for Carl Wagner

Carl Wagner is a Washington, D.C.‒based political strategist who works closely with House Democrats. He came to Washington in 1970 and cut his teeth working for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign; he's worked for progressive candidates and causes ever since. In a conversation last year, Wagner told me that big money had squeezed populism out of Congress. The Senate, he said, resembled nothing so much as that house in the nineteenth century, when senators were chosen by state legislatures who were controlled by the railroads and the banks. Given the new Democrat-led Congress, it seemed like a good time to check in with Wagner.

1. How significant a change can we expect in Washington under the new Congress?

It's a dramatic departure, both in terms of policy and in the way Congress will be run. Pelosi and Democrats in both houses have pledged to increase the minimum wage. That hasn't been done since 1979, and for 7.5 million Americans working at $5.15 an hour, it's a big deal. Sixty percent of college students come from households with incomes under $50,000; they're going to get help and they'll notice it. The Democrats are going to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for seniors, most of whom have modest incomes. Are they going to address the question of poverty as dramatically as I'd like? Maybe not, but nothing like this has been done in more than a decade. It's not going to get us to income equality, but it's a start and it sets important priorities. The reference point for policy questions in Washington has shifted from hedge funds to households.

2. You also mentioned a change in the way Congress would be run. What's most significant there?

In the last decade, we have gone through some terrible scandals with no oversight. Discussion and review of policy has been shut down. Under the Republicans, nearly every piece of (if not all) legislation that's been voted on has been introduced with a “closed rule.” That means that you could vote ”yes” or “no,” but the legislation couldn't be debated or amended. A few years ago, when there was public outrage over the high price of gasoline and fears of price-gouging, the Republicans were forced to hold hearings and bring in oil industry executives to testify—but not under oath. The next time they come I expect them to have their hands on a Bible.

3. How will the new Congress deal with Iraq?

Right now there's a lot of talk about the president's war policy, and it looks like he's going to expand the war. Since the invasion, policy on the war has been set by executive decisions, and the attitude of the Republicans in Congress has been “don't ask, don't tell.” Now Bush is going to have to explain how much it's going to cost and how many troops the White House expects to lose. Bush has borrowed $3 trillion. If he wants $100 billion for the war, he'll have to explain where that money is going to come from. The administration has said that its model for rebuilding Iraq was the rebuilding of Germany and Japan after World War II. But not a single contract was given to an American company to rebuild Japan. In Iraq, there's been a feeding frenzy.

4. Okay—but given the role of corporate money in the political system, and the way the Democrats have been moving to the right for so long, isn't the scope of changes we can expect to see rather limited?

Money is a big issue, but the Democratic leadership represents the party's most progressive wing. Four years ago, Nancy Pelosi led House Democrats in voting against the Iraq War resolution. It took backbone to do that back then. As of this afternoon, David Obey is going to be chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, George Miller will be chairman of the Education Committee, and Henry Waxman is going to be head of the Government Reform Committee. That's power. If you walk into the House Judiciary Committee this morning you'll see life-size portraits on the wall of James Sensenbrenner and Henry Hyde. Hyde has devoted his political life to restricting choice for women and Sensenbrenner has repeatedly gone after illegal immigrants. Tomorrow, their portraits will be gone and so will the values they represent. [Note: John Conyers of Michigan, one of the most liberal of House Democrats, is taking charge of the Judiciary Committee.]

The administration's energy policy was written in secret by Cheney. They refused to say who attended the meetings during which it was drafted. Now we're going to have Ed Markey making energy policy—not a lapdog for the industry like Joe Barton. The fact that the Democrats are rolling back billions in tax breaks is huge.

5. And what about ethics? The Democrats have promised reform, but the lobbying bill they're pushing seems to have some big loopholes.

It's encouraging that Fred Wertheimer, the former head of Common Cause and usually pretty tough on these issues, has said that the Democrats are off to a good start. There's no question that political reform is key. When a competitive Senate race costs $20 million and a competitive House race costs $2 million, you're going to have a very short line of potential candidates at the door. Last year, more than $1 billion was spent on congressional elections, and there'll be $2 billion spent on next year's presidential election. The leaked Giuliani memo said he was going to try to raise $100 million this year, and I suspect every candidate has the same goal. When Bush set out to raise $100 million in 2000, people were awed. Now it's the standard. It's essential that the Democrats confront this issue.

6. What about the Republicans? How has life changed for them?

I don't think they're going to be marching down the road with Bush and Cheney. Arlen Specter is running for reelection ~~next year~~ in 2010. Is he going to vote to expand the war? I don't think so. There's going to be a very different chemistry on both sides. The day of lockstep obedience by congressional Republicans is over.

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