New Year’s Resolutions

As I sit today and think about the accomplishments of this past year and what is in front of me in 2012, here are my resolutions:

Number One, I will figure out better arguments for weatherization funding. The program is taking a cut of $106 million. It could have easily been funded at last year’s level. We do not have the White House fighting for this program. We do not have the Department of Energy fighting for it. Supposedly, there are a number of interest groups working on weatherization funding but I have yet to see them. My number one resolution is to figure out better arguments to be made on behalf of weatherization and to better understand the politics around this program.

Two, small states and the CSBG network get hurt by the funding formula for reasons a little bit beyond my comprehension. I want to fix that. We have concrete ideas how to do so and I want to make sure we work on this in the upcoming year.

Three, I think it may be an appropriate time to ask Congress for an increase in funding. I did not think we would be thinking about that for at least three years, but the current status of poverty in America is creating a demand for services that is crushing agencies around the country. I hear about this all the time. We need to think about pushing for an increase in funding in order to respond to this increase in demand.

Four, I want to maintain our bipartisanship standing with Congress and strengthen these bipartisan relationships. It is hard to do. Even as recently as last week a Member tried pulling me into a partisan fight. I would not engage in it, but it is a constant challenge for me to avoid going down that road. I will work to maintain our bipartisan standing.

Five, I need to be very active on LIHEAP. This program will need supplemental funding.

Six, I want to do more bike rides while raising money for CAP PAC. I hope we are able to organize multiple bike rides. I want to organize rides as fundraisers for CAP PAC but additionally I really want to organize rides that allow friendships to develop. I look back at this year, especially as Congress is wrapping up, and I think this was may be the most difficult year I have had. It was the most tiring year. One of the highlights for me was the camaraderie and the friendship that developed during the Minnesota bike ride. I hope to participate more fully in future bike rides. I hope that a number of states and regions take up organizing something like a bike ride. It reminds us that we are young, that we are not going to sit in ruins, that we are up for challenges and that we can succeed. It reminds us that we have friends, be they long time friends or new friends. It highlights our connectedness and our shared commitment to Community Action. My personal goal is to have a dozen of these events organized in the next year.

Seven, I want to be able to travel to agencies and I want to spend more time listening to what others are saying. Often when I travel, my time is limited. I fly in, give a speech, answer questions, and then run off to the airport. I want to take more time to listen to what people are saying. I want to hear what is on their minds, their questions, their successes. I want to hear what is working well, what people are worried about and what they perceive as the value they contribute to their communities. I personally hope spending time in agencies with people is something I am able to do more of next year.

Last, I want to take a vacation. It has been three or four years since my last vacation. I hope sometime in August or September of 2012 I will be able to take a vacation. 

I am excited for 2012 and the opportunities it will provide Community Action.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

May you have a peaceful holiday season with your family and friends.

I look forward to a new year with Community Action.

Time to Reflect

I look forward to the week off between Christmas and New Year. I anticipate catching up on books, reading and exercising.  I look forward to reading about current issues, Congress, the economy, jobs. I look forward to returning in the new year ready with recommendations for books.

Like many others, this is also the time I work on my New Year’s resolutions and goals for the next year. I like thinking about New Year's resolutions. It is the time when I reflect on the past year and think about what is going to be different in the upcoming year. A personal goal for me in the next year is to be able to find clarity and a vision for the future where Community Action is secure. We all did much work this year to make that an achievable goal. I know there is still a long way to go and so that will be on my list of goals.

House and Senate Races

I attended two events last week that were, politically, interesting. Both events were on the topic of 2012 elections. The first event was a briefing on Senate races from the Republican perspective. It was clear to me that the Republican establishment in Washington fears a Newt Gingrich nomination. The establishment fears a Gingrich nomination will result in the Republicans loosing the House and will not help win the Senate. I also heard fears that Gingrich will not win the White House.

The second event was a briefing on House races from the Democrat's perspective. What became clear to me at this event was that the Democrats do not have candidates to take the 25 seats they need in order to win the House. They are substantially below where they need to be, by a surprisingly large number. It was an interesting week to get both the Democrats perspective on the House and the Republicans perspective on the Senate races. It made me think a lot about what we will be looking at in 2012. 

Wrapping Up Congress

Congress is trying to wrap up for the year. I continue to hear rumors about across the board cuts of 1.3% to 1.4% in order to pay for the tax cut and unemployment extensions. That is a tough way to legislate. Yet, it is the easy way to do it. I said before, I thought Congress was going to be done by last week Saturday. The fact that the House was still in session today highlights the ugly ending to this year; more so than I anticipated.

The end of the year is awkward when politics are involved. It is not a smooth process. It is fitting though because this has been a very partisan, unpredictable and rough legislative year. It seems par for the course that Congress ends the year not with a bang but with a number of whimpers. It is good the appropriations bill is taken care of and set to be signed by the President. 

Redistricting

One of the races in next year’s election that I am concerned about is the potential Bachmann-McCollum race in Minnesota. There are a number of Congressional races impacted by redistricting. Redistricting has set up the potential for a number of interesting dynamics in some states. Minnesota is just the first I mention. I follow the redistricting process and it is one I really do not like. The current redistricting presents a number of stark choices for Community Action. In some cases, races pit friends against friends. In some, it pits long time allies against long time foes. One of my favorite members is Betty McCollum. She was kind enough to invite me to the State of the Union (even though that was not one of my more favorable evenings this year). She was kind enough to invite me to the Obama jobs speech. She has been kinder to me than any other member and she may now be pitted against Michelle Bachmann (depending upon how the congressional lines are drawn in February 2012). That race is guaranteed to be the most visible race in the country.

A Time of Uncertainty

I am struck by how many programs are experiencing a great sense of uncertainty. I have encountered this in workforce programs, on the education side, in the health care arena, and in juvenile justice. Domestic programs across the board are experiencing the same uncertainty, the same worries about whether their program or their jobs, will be there in a year’s time. It is astonishes me to see the same fear present in so many different programs. I have yet to run across a domestic program where this uncertainty does not exist and I cannot remember encountering this before in my time. Even during the Reagan years. 

The rampant insecurity that I see today is much different. It has to be demoralizing for our country. A sense of optimism about the future is missing. People are tired and scared. Many of these programs act as though only their programs at risk. I see risks across program lines throughout the entire domestic arena.

I like to be optimistic. I like strategy. I like to be able to say, here are the challenges and here is how we are going to meet them. People have heard this message already, though. They no longer believe the optimistic part. I wonder how that loss of confidence will play out politically. I wonder what impact that will have on our programs. It will have an impact, one way or another. 

Final 2012 Appropriations

The next eight days will determine our funding for a number of years into the future. Hopefully, Congress finishes the appropriations bills for next year by the end of next week. What they agree upon for this year’s funding will provide a solid foundation for what funding will look like for a number of years in the future. There is great danger for us right now.

I remain optimistic about CSBG but I am still concerned for LIHEAP and Weatherization. Weatherization poses the greatest challenge for us because it is so complicated. The issue involves the Administration; it involves the after-effect of the stimulus; it involves lots and lots of press; and it involves problems in certain states. In a way, we suffer from a program that is simply too small within individual congressional districts to get Members of Congress to care about it.

So Many People Interested in the Republican Debates

I am not sure what to make of the viewership of the Republican debates. The number of people watching the debates is really high, in the millions of people. I think the viewership is two to three times the amount it was expected to be. I don’t know if they are watching to catch an “Oh No!” moment or a Libya moment. Or if people are watching because there are so many candidates still in the race. Or if people are watching because the race includes some unusual candidates. Or if people are watching because they interested in voting Republican and want to see what candidates are saying. I have been surprised by the number of people watching and don't know what to make of it.

Catching Up with Politics

Thanksgiving weekend provided me time to catch up on my reading. I spent the long weekend basically reading political documents. I get numerous political magazines – Politico, The Hill, Roll Call, CG, National Journal, amongst others. I probably went through three feet of reading materials. It refocused me on what is ahead politically. I have gotten comfortable thinking that Democrats will have a hard time retaining the Senate, particularly if Obama does not win the White House. I have also been operating under the assumption that it will be a real long shot for Democrats to win the House.

After taking an in-depth look, I think it is unclear who will control the Senate after the elections. I looked at a considerable number of races. I looked at things like financial reports and quality of candidates. The Democrats are exceeding my expectations. There are some stronger candidates than I originally thought. Additionally, there are strong common themes running on the Democrats side. Themes that play well with voters. On the other hand, there are very very few opportunities for Democrats to pick up new seats. There are virtually no Republican seats in play right now, with the possible exception of Neveda and Massachusetts. Clearly the election is going to be on the Democrats side of the field. It will be fascinating to watch. Whatever happens, Congress will continue to be narrowly divided, if not more so after the election. If the public is concerned that the Senate is broken with a 53-47 split, next year's election may lead to an even more divided Senate with a potential split between the parties as close as 51-49.

The approval rating of Congress prior to the failure of the super committee was at 9%. This dismal approval rating gives rise to another possibility. This may be an election when voters throw everyone out. If I were an incumbent in either party, I would not feel safe right now. I looked at polling data. I think there is the potential for humongous change, the likes of which we have not seen in maybe 70 years. Certainly not since 1966. The elections in ’06 and ’08 were about replacing the Republicans. The 2010 election was about replacing Democrats. I think the 2012 election has the potential to be about replacing everybody.

Election Exercise

Reading over the weekend allowed me to spend time thinking about next year's election. Thinking about what will happen with elections is a fun exercise for me. I am curious what some of you think may happen with this election. 

My first question I pose to you readers is this: If Romney or Gingrich get the nomination, who will they pick as their running mate? I wonder if Romney gets the nomination, will he go with a running mate who is politically further to the right? Or does he try to shore up the evangelical vote with Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio or Chris Christie? Does he go for a quality candidate such as Rob Portman or Bob McDonnell, the Governor of Virginia? Does Gingrich bring on a running mate who is disciplined? Let me know what you think. Put your thoughts in the comments area below. I have more questions I will post as we watch the election.

Opportune Time to Meet with Members

I am back on the Hill this week. It had been five days since I was up there and I miss it. I really like to meet with Members and senior staff, talk politics and issues and explore opportunities together. This week, I start reconnecting with some House Republicans who have been very helpful to us over the years, a couple of whom I have not talked with in at least three months. They expect me to stop in every so often and have been complaining that I have not been by to see them lately. Some of the new Members have also been reaching out. I get the sense they want to learn. Once we get beyond big issues, I have found new opportunities with these discussions. Despite all the partisanship, this is an opportune time to meet with Members and cement relationships. On the one hand, I am busy right now and finding the time is hard. On the other, it is good to feel welcomed. I am looking forward to visiting with these friends.

It is not just me Members want to meet with though. I have talked about this all year but I want to reinforce the idea now. Members want to meet with constituents in their home districts. The combination of uncertainty about the 2012 elections and the anger that communities and constituents have toward Washington in general is spurring an interest and willingness on behalf of Members to meet with constituencies. Even new constituencies that in the past may have been ignored. There was never a better opportunity to reach out to Members back in their district than there is right now. I think are some real opportunities back in home districts. I hope we take advantage of this and don't let opportunities pass us by. I don't think this will come again for quite some time.