by Norman Solomon,
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
At this point, many journalists are speculating about the number of Congressional seats that Republicans will lose on
Election Day. But a boost in the size of the Democratic majority might not count for much if a blue wave simply makes it
possible for conservative and centrist "blue dogs" to end up doggie-paddling into the House.
Less than two weeks before Election Day, the scent of red blood is in the water. "A big wave for Obama might be too
much of a burden for Republican Congressional candidates to bear," the Rothenberg Political Report says, "at a time when
they are already saddled with an unpopular Republican president and an unpopular Republican brand." On November 4,
dozens of GOP candidates are likely to lose contests for House seats deemed "safe" just months ago.
But moving a progressive agenda on Capitol Hill will require more than defeating Republicans. It will require electing
strong progressives. And the most meaningful shifts will come with genuine progressive candidates who actually take
seats away from right-wing Republicans.
That's why Bill Durston's campaign against a very conservative incumbent, the notably arrogant Rep. Dan Lungren, has
symbolic and substantive potential for helping to change the direction of Congress.
In late winter, I visited Durston as he was launching his long-shot campaign to unseat Lungren in a far-flung
Congressional district that extends from the Sacramento area all the way to the Nevada border. The conventional wisdom
was that Lungren couldn't be beat. So, Bill Durston had the Democratic primary all to himself.
Congressman Lungren - whose latest rating from the League of Conservation Voters gives him a score of 0 percent - went
into this election year with a mainstream aura of invincibility. The National Democratic Party apparatus showed no
tangible sign of interest in ousting him.
But after a long grassroots campaign against the odds, polling now says that Bill Durston is in a statistical dead heat
with Representative Lungren.
If Durston wins, he'll be one of the most progressive members of Congress. I'm sure of that - not just because of his background, but also because this year I talked with him a lot and watched him in action many times. It's fitting to say that
Durston is a former marine who fought in Vietnam and is now strongly antiwar; that he's an emergency room physician, who
is adamantly in favor of single-payer health care for all; that he's a genuine progressive on every issue under the sun.
All true enough. But I've also learned, firsthand, about his resolute integrity and determined humility - qualities that
no piece of campaign literature is quite able to convey.
It doesn't surprise me that even now, as far as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is concerned,
Durston scarcely exists. While pouring large amounts of money into dozens of other Congressional races, the DCCC has
done nothing for his campaign. Durston is not a "moderate," and he doesn't trim his sails for prevailing winds.
Thanks to grassroots volunteers and groups like Take Back Red California, Democracy For America and Progressive
Democrats of America, the hold that Lungren had on his seat is now so shaky that Politico recently included him in a
list of several Republicans now "fighting for their political lives, a reversal of fortunes that has caught even the
most astute campaign observers by surprise."
A defeat of Lungren would be something of a political earthquake in Northern California. Similarly, a few hundred miles
to the south, in Orange County, the luck of fellow right-wing incumbent zealot Rep. Dana Rohrabacher may be about to run
out as he tries to fend off a strong grassroots challenge from progressive Democratic candidate Debbie Cook.
Understandably, this year the presidential campaign has largely overshadowed Congressional races. But as a blue wave
appears to be swelling across the country, it's a good sign that progressives are becoming more focused on what they can
do to carry like-minded candidates into Congress.
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Norman Solomon, the author of "War Made Easy," is a national co-chair of Healthcare NOT Warfare. The other co-chairs of the campaign, launched by Progressive Democrats of America, are Donna Smith (featured in
"Sicko"), Marilyn Clement (national coordinator of Healthcare-NOW) and Representative John Conyers, chief sponsor of
H.R. 676