Charlie Stenholm served in the House of Representatives for 26 years as an influential member of the “Blue Dog” coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats. In 2004, he lost his seat after his district was controversially redrawn as a part of a redistricting plan spearheaded by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Stenholm sat down with HPR during a recent visit to Harvard to share his thoughts on Congressional moderates and the political effects of redistricting.

HPR: Why do Congressmen form coalitions like the “Blue Dogs,” and how do they affect the operation of the entire House?

CS: That’s always been our answer to multiparty countries. Most countries of the world have a multiparty system—if you get unhappy with your party, you get out there and form your own party. I believe that the two party system serves us well. But if your party is controlled by the fringes you need to be able to have an answer to that—in my case, if the left wing got too far in control, we had to mobilize together to have some influence, and say, “Look, we’ll go with you up to here, but we won’t go any further.”

HPR: How would you compare the Blue Dogs to the Democratic Leadership Council? Which group more comprehensively embodies the interests of moderate Democrats?

CS: Well, the Blue Dogs have concentrated mostly on fiscal policy. There’s no litmus test on social issues; there wasn’t any effort to become an arm of the party. We tried not to become a challenge to our leadership, but we organized to share our concern about fiscal policy and especially about balancing the budget. The DLC was more of a structured attempt nationwide to deal with the moderate wing of the party, and most Blue Dogs are members of the DLC. It’s becoming more difficult to become a Blue Dog now, unless you really advocate for fiscal responsibility—balancing the budget, making tough calls.

HPR: How difficult will it be to balance the budget anytime soon?

CS: You’ve got the extremes. You’ve got the extreme of the Republican Party that says “no tax increases, whatsoever, for any purpose.” We fight three wars, borrow the money off our grandchildren: that’s dogma. On the left, they say that “you’ve got to spend more money. You’ve got to spend more money.” And the Blue Dogs are right in the middle, saying that we don’t mind spending for good, worthy causes, but you need to be able to pay for it. And that’s tough to do.

HPR: How have recent redistricting efforts affected the makeup and social climate of the House? Is there a way to redistrict constructively?

CS: The political environment in Washington right now is the worst I’ve seen it in my lifetime. The anger, the partisanship, the fighting—it’s just unbelievable. When people ask me what I would change about how Washington operates to help the political environment, the answer is easy: redistricting. I would have every state do it like Iowa and Arizona: let computers do it, focus on communities of interest, and don’t draw lines to protect incumbents. We have far too many safe Democrat districts and far too many safe Republican districts. I represented a Republican district for 26 years. My district voted Republican in most state and national races 65 to 75 percent, but I carried it with around 65 percent until they redrew my lines. It was impossible to overcome. This is a contact sport—they played politics, and they got away with it. But this has not been good for the country, and it certainly wasn’t good for constituents back home.

I would redistrict by communities of interest. When I talk about redistricting done right I use the example of Martin Frost, who represented the inner city of Dallas. In the 1990 redistricting, he was given 5 rural counties. I went in and campaigned for him. I told him, “Sure, we’re friends, but the main reason I’m doing it is that you’re going to be a better Congressman.” Just that he had to change his focus, and consider the rural questions in addition to the urban questions—stuff like that makes you weigh the pros and the cons of any given bill more than if you can just vote any way you want to, knowing you’ll still get re-elected. ]]>http://hprsite.squarespace.com/lessons-of-a-blue-042008/rss-comments-entry-1801628.xml