Exclusive: Rep. Tauscher Talks Progressive Politics And The Netroots

Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) has become a controversial figure in the liberal blogosphere. ThinkProgress sat down with her recently to discuss a number of issues, including her views on progressive politics and the netroots.

We asked Tauscher about her warning to fellow Democrats shortly before November’s election not to “go off the left cliff.” Tauscher said she was simply repeating “what hundreds of people have said to me.” She said that “the growth area” for the party is “in red states, in red seats, with mostly moderate or conservative Democrats.” “I don’t consider saying, ‘Don’t go over the left cliff,’ to be pejorative,” she said. “I think it’s about being reasonable.”

But Tauscher defended her progressive credentials. “I have a record that’s pretty much second to none when it comes to progressive politics,” she said, citing her high ratings from reproductive rights, environmental, and labor groups. “They certainly cannot be targeting me because of my record.”

Tauscher told us she doesn’t read Daily Kos, where many diarists have been critical of her, but said, “I read many blogs. … I certainly have bloggers from my district, I have people that I talk to all the time.”

We asked about a recent Washington Post profile of Tauscher, which quotes Calitics blogger Brian Leubitz saying, “You can sense her contempt for the grass roots.” Tauscher responded, “I’m pretty much without contempt for anyone except perhaps for people in the Bush administration.”

But she took issue with what she described as unfair attacks by anonymous bloggers. “I think many of the criticisms from the blogosphere are perhaps a little personal and not really fact-based and certainly not about my record,” she said. “I’m not going to be persuaded that personal criticisms by people that don’t identify who they are, don’t identify where they’re from, and don’t know enough about my record to criticize it in a realistic way are people I’m meant to listen to.”

Rather, she said, “I think there are people that don’t like moderates, don’t consider us to be passionate enough. I consider myself to be a very passionate moderate.” Tauscher added: “As far as I know, the people that are criticizing me have never attempted to reach me. … People who want to engage with me, its very easy to find me, its very easy to call me, its very easy to email me. I’m happy to engage with them.”

Watch the full interview:

Our first Tauscher post on Iraq is HERE.

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Transcript:

TAUSCHER: I’m the chair of the New Democrats. I’m on leave from the Blue Dogs.

NICO: You’re on leave. Are you taking any steps to convince the Blue Dogs, who you may share some views on and some history with, to support this bill…

TAUSCHER: Yes.

NICO: …and if so, I mean, what sort of points are you making to them to help them recognize the importance of it?

TAUSCHER: Well, I think the Speaker has been eloquent, and as I said earlier, masterful, in putting together this package and making sure that the package has real benchmarks to change course. We promised to change course in Iraq. What we’re dealing with is a belligerent and confrontive president who will not only not listen to the American people, his own generals, whether they’re in the service or retired, the Iraq Study Group, and the Congress, and many of our allies who have become part of the Coalition of the Unwilling and left Iraq because they don’t see an end in sight. … The Iraqis have got to stand up and make the political accommodations necessary to cut the insurgency in half and start to begin to deliver security and stability to their own people. We do not have a military mission in Iraq, we have not for a very long time. And to have our fighting men and women in the middle of a civil war is not only an incorrect interpretation of the authority the president was given, but it is, I think, just not going to provide the kind of energy needed to get the Iraqis to do what they are meant to do. The Iraqis have some very tough choices to make, including their government. They have to be a little fearless, not feckless. They have to be a little more about getting things done than using us as a crutch, and the reason I didn’t support the surge is, I think we’ve been too big of a crutch, apparently, for the Iraqi government, and more American troops is just a bigger crutch. I’m for taking the crutch away, and that’s why the Iraq Study Group and the benchmarks we’ve included in the supplemental really give a sense of what the scope of what this mission should be. It should be a mission to very quickly provide stabilization for the Iraqi government, to provide the ability to train their troops, but we are leaving. And we are leaving not because we’re weak, not because we’re cutting and running, but because this is not our mission. … The two assets of the American people that we have expended for four years, we have overused them. One is our people, and the other is our money, and we have domestic and other needs for the money that we have to stop spending in Iraq, and we have to bring our people so that they can rest, and can be rewarded, and spend time with their families and get ready for the next mission.

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FAIZ: Congresswoman, if we could ask just two more questions. I’d like to ask you about the current skepticism about if you in the blogosphere and some of the progressive netroots. I think, as I was doing some research, I saw that many of them mentioned a quote that you had said earlier that you warned Democrats not to go off the left cliff.

TAUSCHER: Yes.

FAIZ: And you also said to C-SPAN the other day, when the questioner followed up and said, you don’t really listen to people like the Daily Kos do you, and you said, no, I don’t. And –

TAUSCHER: No, he didn’t ask me if I listened. He asked me if I read it.

FAIZ: If you read it, and you said you don’t listen…

TAUSCHER: …Right…

FAIZ: …read it…

TAUSCHER: Right, I don’t read it.

FAIZ: You don’t read Daily Kos?

TAUSCHER: No.

FAIZ: Do you read any other blogs, though?

TAUSCHER: Yes, I do, I read many blogs. But let me be clear. I was repeating what my constituents said to me.

FAIZ: Right.

TAUSCHER: I was repeating, when I said, “Don’t go over the left cliff,” what hundreds of people have said to me. When we achieved the majority after 12 years of fighting to do it, we achieved the majority by winning in red states, in red seats, with mostly moderate or conservative Democrats, because that’s where the growth area for us, by the way, is. That’s where the seats are that we needed to attain to get to 218 to be in the majority. I don’t consider saying, “Don’t go over the left cliff,” to be pejorative. I think it’s about being reasonable.

FAIZ: But on Iraq specifically –

TAUSCHER: On Iraq…

FAIZ: You’ve taken a centrist position, or at least you’ve articulated what you believe is a centrist position for Democrats as a whole.

TAUSCHER: Yes, and so does the Speaker.

FAIZ: What does that mean for Iraq?

TAUSCHER: If you listen to what the Speaker says, the Speaker also says that she believes we have to govern from the middle. And I think that that — you will see that in the many of the things we have done, because we have many new members that are from jeopardized seats, you know, that already have a number of Republicans running against them. We would like to stay in the majority, and I think that there’s nothing wrong with being a moderate or a centrist. I think that my progressive record is second to very few members. I have a hundred percent pro-choice record. Hundred percent with the environment. I always have the AFL-CIO endorsement. I am the original co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I think that I have a record that’s pretty much second to none when it comes to progressive politics. So I’m not going to feel — I don’t feel defensive about it, and I think many of the criticisms from the blogosphere are perhaps a little personal and not really fact-based and certainly not about my record. … And so I think that outsiders can say what they choose. I am only concerned really with what my constituents have to say.

FAIZ: I wanted you to address one thing. I just want you to take on this one issue because I read this one quote from this online activist who was quoted in the Washington Post saying, “You can sense her contempt for the grassroots.” And as I searched around, I saw this quote, where you said, “She also called the netroots ‘an important group to engage with and we are determined to listen to everybody.’” So it seems that either your message isn’t getting across or that the netroots feels that you’re just somebody who doesn’t support them. You’re conducting this interview now with a leading progressive blog. Can you tell us a little bit about — what is your feeling towards the progressive movement in the blogosphere, particularly on Iraq. I mean, that seems to be the issue that really motivates them, and when they feel a sense of contempt towards their position, I think they react in these kinds of ways that you’re seeing. Maybe you can try to address some of this criticism about — do you have a sense of contempt for the blogosphere?

TAUSCHER: Well I think that I’m pretty much without contempt for anyone except perhaps for people in the Bush administration. I don’t know where this idea that I don’t have a relationship with the blogosphere comes from, but I will tell you I certainly have bloggers from my district, I have people that I talk to all the time. I’m happy to sit and talk to you. I can not speak to as why they have decided to target me. They certainly cannot be targeting me because of my record. They certainly cannot be targeting me because of the work that I’ve done. I don’t be believe they can be targeting me, either, because of the relationships that I have and the bills that I’ve espoused, the things that I’ve done and said. I do think people can be critical when they choose to be. Part of my job too, is not only for me to reach out and listen to people, but also for people to reach out and talk to me. As far as I know, the people that are criticizing me have never attempted to reach me. I certainly spent a lot of my time talking to my constituents the people that I support and work for at home.

I would say these are not people that I work for at home. I’m perfectly happy to engage with people when they choose to engage with me. But it’s difficult to engage with people when their first attempt to engage with you is a significant criticism, especially one that is not, I consider, fact-based. So, I don’t know where this all came from. I think there are people that don’t like moderates, don’t consider us to be passionate enough. I consider myself to be a very passionate moderate. And I consider myself to be someone that as worked enormously hard over the last 11 years to achieve the kind of pragmatic, progressive politics for my constituents. I think I’ve been rewarded with their support at the ballot box. And people that want to engage with me, its very easy to find me, its very easy to call me, its very easy to email me. I’m happy to engage with them. I’m not going to be persuaded that personal criticisms by people that don’t identify who they are, don’t identify where they’re from, and don’t know enough about my record to criticize it in a realistic way are people I’m meant to listen to.