Bennet Reinforces His Left Flank

Mar 9, 2010 — Politico

Manu Raju

Facing a fierce primary challenge from the left, Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet is stepping out of political obscurity and embracing a cause that has galvanized liberals: frustration with the Senate.

In recent weeks, Bennet has taken a lead role in pressuring Democratic leaders to move a public health insurance option through the budget reconciliation process. He has proposed a sweeping measure freezing congressional pay, restricting lawmakers’ health subsidies until a health care bill is approved, prohibiting members of Congress from becoming lobbyists and clamping down on earmarks for private companies. And he has suggested severely curtailing the power of the filibuster.

Bennet’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by liberal groups around the country and in Colorado as he gears up for a bruising fight from his left with former state House speaker Andrew Romanoff, who is seen as having deeper ties to political figures and activists in the state because of his longer tenure in elective office.

Mike Cerbo, executive director with the Colorado AFL-CIO, which has yet to endorse a candidate, said that Bennet’s recent push on health care “resonates very well with the progressive community.”

Adam Green, whose Progressive Change Campaign Committee has targeted Democrats who have been wishy-washy about a public option, said Bennet stands to gain politically from his latest effort to revive the proposal.

“Bennet earned a lot of cred in progressive circles, nationally and back home in Colorado,” Green said, and he pointed to efforts by liberal activists to direct $1.5 million in online donations to Bennet’s campaign coffers.

Bennet’s aides say his actions on the Hill are not connected to his primary campaign, arguing that he’s been consistent in his approach as a “reformer” in his years in public service and that a number of the issues he’s been advocating — such as deficit reduction — appeal to the broader electorate.

Many on the left initially viewed Bennet with skepticism. A former superintendent of Denver public schools, Bennet entered Washington as a relative unknown, appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter in January 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Ken Salazar, now President Barack Obama’s interior secretary.

Some on the left questioned whether Bennet was a moderate after he took a noncommittal stance on the labor-backed Employee Free Choice Act. And while he backed the public option for months, he repeatedly indicated that he’d take a “no lines in the sand” approach to health care reform, citing the need to control costs and improve coverage for working families. The National Journal rated Bennet as the 34th most liberal senator in 2009.

Both Bennet and Romanoff have scored early endorsements from labor unions — and labor groups applauded Bennet’s vote last month to advance labor-backed nominee Craig Becker to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. A couple of weeks later, the Service Employees International Union endorsed Bennet’s candidacy, citing, among other things, his stand for the public option.

Bennet’s critics say his latest approach is an act of political reinvention — to appeal to liberal activists whose support he’ll need in the primary.

Romanoff spokesman Dean Toda questions “where [Bennet] is coming from and what motivated him to change his mind,” citing Bennet’s support for a Senate health care bill without a public option and his campaign’s accepting donations from political action committees.

Bennet, who ended 2009 with $3.5 million in cash, has pulled in $885,000 from PACs, as well as $163,000 in bundled donations from registered lobbyists, according to Federal Election Commission records. Romanoff, who has about $480,000 in cash on hand, hasn’t raised any money from PACs, records show.

Bennet campaign manager Craig Hughes said that Romanoff accepted PAC money in his previous runs at elective office — and that Bennet believes the status quo on health care is “completely unacceptable.” Hughes said his boss supported Becker because he was well-qualified for the post and to ensure that there is a functioning NLRB to enforce labor laws.

Hughes said Bennet has long been a “reformer,” from his days working in Denver public schools through his time in the Senate, saying that reforming Washington is “something that appeals to Democrats, independents and will be able to help us in the general” election.

“People value the work that Michael has been doing, and they recognize the different approach he’s been taking,” Hughes said.

And aides say Bennet’s approach is hardly designed to pander to the left. They point to initiatives that might not be popular with liberals. In particular, he has joined a bipartisan group of senators that has called on leaders of the Budget Committee to advance a proposal that would require using repaid Wall Street bailout money and other returned emergency funds to reduce the deficit. Some on the left want the repaid bailout funds to be redirected at measures to boost employment.

Bennet can more easily position himself as a political outsider than other incumbents, given his very brief tenure in Washington and in elective office. At 45, Bennet is 18 years younger than the average senator; with about 13 months of service, he’s served far less than senators’ average of 13 years in the upper chamber.

But being an outsider could hurt him next Tuesday when Colorado holds caucuses to determine which candidates will be on the primary ballot in August — caucuses that are dominated by party insiders and activists.

Bennet backers are already downplaying the significance of the caucuses. Democratic strategist Mike Stratton notes that Salazar lost at the state’s nominating convention only to win the primary later.

Stratton, who supports Bennet, said the senator is starting to gain traction in his race and that just a few months ago “you could make the case that he may not even have made the ballot.”

Still, a Rasmussen survey last week found Bennet trailing the likely GOP candidate — former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton — by 9 percentage points, while Romanoff was down to the Republican by just 2 points.