Congressional Representative/Politician to Admire

We spend so much time condemning the politicians that we don’t like and seem just like pawns of the wealthy, the lobbyists representing the interests of the wealthy, and the poll followers, we often lose sight of congressional representatives that do possess great integrity and want to do right by the country whether it is popular or not.

As I set out to make such a list I struggled. I came up with Elizabeth Warren who is the only member of congress that has been reported by the media as a woman of good common sense who in clearly on the side of the middle class. Herb Kohl who is retiring has also done great work. I get his web page and it is clear he does good things. I also get our Governor’s web which is unimpressive unless you are fond of spin. I also thought of Russ Feingold who did really good work, but lost his last election. I still get his web page or emails and am impressed by his continuing commitment to good government. After than I ran out of ideas. Below are ones I picked from Mother Jones (quoted material) who I trust to give good insight that matches my own values system. I would be curious as to others input.

Elizabeth Warren

The Boston Globe calls her “… the plainspoken voice of people getting crushed by so many predatory lenders and under regulated banks.” TIME magazine has called her a “New Sheriff of Wall Street” and has twice included her among America’s 100 most influential people.

”There are plenty of people in Washington looking out for the billion dollar corporations and lobbying for Wall Street. I’ve been an outsider, but for years, I’ve been fighting for middle class families, taking on big banks, putting forward new ideas, and working to turn those ideas into a reality that makes a difference for people. That’s what I’ll keep doing once I’m in the U.S. Senate. I’ll be there fighting for small businesses and middle class families.”

http://elizabethwarren.com/

Herb Kohl

Herb Kohl was elected to the Senate in 1988 and re-elected to a fourth six-year term in 2006. Kohl was born and raised in Milwaukee, where he attended public school. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1956 and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1958. Kohl served in the Army Reserve from 1958 to 1964. [see his website for more information.

http://www.kohl.senate.gov/

Hakeem Jeffries (New York): "Income inequality is worse now that it has been since prior to the Great Depression," the state assemblyman said during a passionate speech at an Occupy rally in Brooklyn this fall. In January, Jeffries announced that he'd run for Congress in New York's Tenth Congressional District against 15-term incumbent Ed Towns, who'd angered labor unions when he cast the deciding vote in 2005 for the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Since then, Jeffries has picked up endorsements in the Brooklyn district from prominent unions such as the Communications Workers of America.

Lori Saldaña (California): "Lori Saldaña has leapt headlong into the Occupy movement," writes the San Diego Union-Tribune. While that may be a bit of an overstatement, the Democratic former assemblywoman certainly caters to the cause with her campaign slogan: "Fighting for America's middle class." In January, she joined a rally organized by Occupy the Courts in protest of Supreme Court rulings that give corporations the rights of people.

Alan Grayson (Florida): Nobody running for Congress has done more to side with Occupy Wall Street than the outspoken former  congressman from Orlando. In October onReal Time with Bill Maher, Grayson destroyed conservative pundit PJ O'Rourke with a fiery defense of the movement. A clip from the segment now features in an Occupy-themed video that automatically plays on the Grayson campaign's homepage. Beloved by progressives for his voting record and willingness to go on the attack—he likened Dick Cheney a blood-sucking vampire and summed up Republicans' health care plan as "die quickly"—Grayson lost his reelection bid in 2010 but is attempting a comeback in Florida's new Democratic-leaning 9^th Congressional District.

Norman Solomon (California): A well-known political author and activist, Solomon is a feisty underdog in a race to fill an open congressional seat that includes ultra-liberal Marin County and parts of Northern California's pot-friendly Emerald Triangle. He has visited Occupy protests in seven towns across the district, making the movement a central focus of his campaign. "From Manhattan to Marin County and beyond people are anguished, disgusted, angry, and—increasingly—determined," Solomon wrote on his website after attending an Occupy protest in San Rafael. He pledges not to accept any donations from corporate political action committees, arguing that "corporate money is habit-forming."

Eric Griego (New Mexico): One of the most progressive members of the state senate, Griegogave a speech at Occupy Santa Fe this fall denouncing corporate personhood. He's also one of a handful of elected officials who signed Occupy Santa Fe's "99 Pledge," a commitment to vote for rigorous campaign finance reform.
Prospects: Good. Griego's centrist primary challenger for the vacant seat, former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez, is tainted by the arraignment* of his live-in girlfriend on embezzlement charges. But another contender in the race could divide the progressive vote to Chavez's advantage.

Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts): In an interview this fall with the Daily Beast, the Harvard Law prof took credit for creating "much of the intellectual foundation" for Occupy Wall Street. (Read our profile of Warren here.) She didn't back down when Republicans tried to tie her to the movement's extremist factions: "She understands why people are so angry and why they are taking the fight to the street," her spokesperson told the Washington Post, adding that Warren will "take the fight to the United States Senate."

Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin): In 2010, the National Journal called Baldwin the most liberal member of the House. She earned kudos in November from the Occupy crowd for sponsoring a resolution opposing any government deal that grants criminal immunity to banks. "When the conventional tools for expressing yourself...are closed and your voice is cut off," Baldwin has said of Occupy Wall Street, "what else is left but to use the possibility of standing on a soap box and screaming to anyone who will listen?"
Prospects: Excellent. She is the likely Democratic nominee to replace the retiring Sen. Herb Kohl.

Wenona Benally Baldenegro (Arizona): Two years after Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick lost her Arizona congressional seat to tea party Republican Paul Gosar, she's campaigning to retake it. But she could lose in the primary to Baldenegro, who blames her for alienating supporters with votes against the pro-union Employee Free Choice Act and for job-killing foreign trade bills. A Harvard Law grad who'd be the nation's first Native American congresswoman if elected, Baldenegro has renounced campaign donations from corporate lobbyists and supports taxing the rich and public financing for elections. In late October, she joined six other progressive House candidates—including Griego, Sheyman, and Saldaña—to hand-deliver House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) 35,000 signatures from people who "stand with the 99 percent."

Hansen Clarke (Michigan): Sponsoring legislation to forgive student debt has made the Detroit Congressman a hero to thousands of college kids involved with Occupy. During the movement's March 1 "Occupy Education" protests in Washington, DC, activists relayed a statement from Clarke using the famous people's mic: "Young people in America should be able to pursue higher education to achieve their dreams without worrying that this decision will devastate their financial futures."

Ilya Sheyman (Illinois): A 25-year-old former national mobilization director for MoveOn.org, Sheyman has made Occupy's message of shared prosperity a key theme of his campaign. "Right now, the wealthiest 400 Americans in this country have as much wealth as the bottom 150 million," he said during a Democratic primary debate this fall. "We are seeing those at the top get wealthier and wealthier while the middle class gets squeezed. So yes, I am a supporter of Occupy Wall Street."