Two Trips; Two Differing Parties

One of the good and bad parts of my job is that I get to participate at a pretty high level politically with both parties. The good is that I have been invited to a lot of neat things over the past couple weeks. The bad is that, during these events, I hear a ton of heated rhetoric.

I recently attended Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s policy retreat in Napa Valley. It was great to be among Vice President Gore, about 30 House Democratic members, Robert Redford and some top-notch economists. There were some incredible discussions on the hottest of issues.

I flew into Napa a Pelosi fan and came back to Washington even more of a Pelosi fan. The more I am around her, the more these positive qualities emerge. Again, I was blown away by Pelosi’s strength as a leader, her focus and her determination. So many people attack her in the press – half of which do so out of fear. She is one able leader for the Democratic Party!

I spent time talking to several members from the 2008 election who are running their first races as incumbents this year. What struck me -- and I’m sure it’s the same on the Republican side of the aisle – was the courage that many of them had to take tough votes and do what was in the nation’s best interest, not just of local interest.

I had a good discussion with Vice President Gore on weatherization. We chatted about where we would like to take the program in terms of reducing energy dependence, improving the environment and the potential for partnering with solar and some of the other clean-energy sources.

Later that week, I flew to Iowa and spent some time in Des Moines with my friend of 28 years, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. I think he has changed less than any of the members I know. He is still the same guy today as he was when I met him in 1982. I was with him in a town hall format, and it was a lot of fun. He certainly does know his programs.

The differences in the parties continue to be highlighted for me. One big difference is how they view domestic spending. Democrats are looking at reducing the deficit, but are talking a lot about protecting low-income programs. Some Republicans (and I didn’t necessarily pick this up from Grassley) will propose some pretty draconian cuts on domestic spending early next year.

One thing that both parties have in common: they both want to get home to be among the voters. I think they will both do their part to avoid tough votes in September.