Loebsack of the Left

In the already short period that Congress has been in session, one of Iowa’s two newly elected Democrats, Dave Loebsack, has been carving out a distinct niche for himself on the left wing of the House Democratic Caucus. He’s signed as a cosponsor, not just of John Murtha’s resolution to withdraw from Iraq at the earliest practicable date, but also Lynn Woolsey’s much more extreme resolution that requires all U.S. troops to be withdrawn within six months. In addition, he’s also signed to John Conyers’s universal health care bill. For all this talk about newly elected Democrats who are trying to keep in touch with their moderate districts, Loebsack is doing almost the complete opposite and clearly identifying himself as a liberal. But then again, very few other newly elected Democrats represent districts that John Kerry won with 55% of the vote. It’s a sign not only that Loebsack is feeling very comfortable in his ideological skin and but also that he feels very confident that he’ll be in Congress for a long time to come.

2 comments January 25th, 2007