It’s becoming a tradition at Democracy for America to announce twelve candidates who will receive the maximum effort from DFA and its members. They’re called the Dean Dozen, and they are selected after a nationwide search, including visits to their campaigns and their districts. DFA doesn’t look for long-shots or people running in safe districts. They look for progressive-minded candidates who are running in difficult, but winnable, districts, and who have something special to offer. I wrote about the first six selections earlier in the month. On Friday, the governor announced the final six members of the Dean Dozen. Here they are:
U.S. Senate- Hawaii: Rep. Mazie Hirono
U.S. Senate- Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren
U.S. Senate- Wisconsin: Rep. Tammy Baldwin
U.S. House- CA-36: Dr. Raul Ruiz
U.S. House- NH-02: Ann McLane Kuster
U.S. House- PA-06: Dr. Manan Trivedi
I gotta be honest; I love this list. I might have come up with exactly the same list if I had been responsible for making the selections. Starting with the senators, we’re talking about potentially adding three progressive women to a pathetically conservative and male-dominated political body.
Mazie Hirono has been making progressives happy ever since she arrived in Congress. You really should read her biography because it is pretty amazing. She was born in Japan in the Fukushima region which just suffered so much from the tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Escaping an alcoholic father, her mother took her to Hawaii at the age of eight. None of them spoke English. Nonetheless, Rep. Hirono wound up getting a law degree from Georgetown. I have a clear preference for political leaders who come from humble beginnings because I believe there is a better chance that they will serve their neediest constituents rather than just their biggest donors. Ms. Hirono definitely fits that model. She’d also be the first Asian-American member of the Senate, and just the fourth senator (after Tom Udall, Sherrod Brown, and Bernie Sanders) from the Progressive Caucus. As a non-practicing Buddhist, she’d also be the most overtly secular member of the Senate, which is something I’d particularly value.
You probably need no introduction to Elizabeth Warren, but it should be obvious that we couldn’t find a better advocate for consumers in this country. The financial industry doesn’t just dislike her; they fear her. And that’s a shame because Warren’s ideas for reform would actually help the financial services industry function better, in my opinion. I am really excited about what Ms. Warren could accomplish over a long career in the Senate, and she’d be a much better heir to Teddy Kennedy’s seat than Scott Brown.
Tammy Baldwin is a member of the House Progressive Caucus. She’s openly lesbian, which would be a first for the upper body. She brings a Madison-style progressivism to the table. That’s her appeal, but also her challenge. She has a tough battle ahead against fairly popular ex-Governor Tommy Thompson. At this point in his life, Thompson seems more like a doddering old fool than the reform-minded pol he resembled in the 1990’s, but that doesn’t mean beating him will be easy. Baldwin needs our support, especially considering the voter-fatigue in Wisconsin.
Raul Ruiz has an awesome story. He grew up in California as the son of farmworkers. In 1990, he went to the businesses in his community and asked them to invest in his education. In return, he promised to get a medical degree and return to serve the people of the region. Then he went out and got an undergraduate degree (cum laude) from UCLA, and a Medical Doctorate, a Masters in Public Policy and a Masters in Public Health from Harvard. If you walk with him through his district today, everyone refers to him as ‘El Doctor.’ Meanwhile, his opponent Mary Bono Mack no longer lives in the district. She married Florida senate candidate Connie Mack a few years back and she lives in the Sunshine State. Polling shows that this race is competitive, and I like Ruiz’s humble origins and meritocratic accomplishments. He’s exactly the kind of person I’d love to see in Congress.
Ann McLane Kuster has served her community as an adoption attorney, which must be the next-best thing to being an OB/GYN. She grew up in a political family which trained her for a life of public service. She’s been a health care advocate on many different initiatives over the years, including on Alzheimer’s and mental heath. She’s a progressive-minded candidate and her poll numbers look great. This could be a definite pick-up in November.
Manan Trivedi is running in my district against Rep. Jim Gerlach. He ran in 2010, too, and you may remember that I interviewed him in May of that year. Dr. Trivedi is an Iraq war veteran. He’s also an Indian-American. His immigrant parents worked in the Red Cheek apple juice factory in Berks County. Is this beginning to remind you of Raul Ruiz? Here’s some material from Dr. Trivedi’s bio:
Manan Trivedi’s passion for community service began at a very early age. As a young boy, he won a national contest for launching a healthy eating initiative. In college, he received a community service award for his work with HIV/AIDS patients. As a physician, he has treated the poor and uninsured in the inner city.
From 2001 to 2003, Trivedi served as the battalion surgeon for the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment Marine Corps Infantry Battalion. His battalion was among the first U.S. ground forces to enter Iraq. Trivedi served on the front lines of battle, commanding a medical team that cared for over 1,200 of our troops and hundreds of Iraqi civilians. For his service, Lt. Commander Trivedi earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Commendation Medal, and his unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
After his service in Iraq, Trivedi received a Master’s degree in health policy. He drew on his experience with combat medicine to become one of the early researchers to investigate the unique mental health issues affecting our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Trivedi went on to serve as health policy advisor to the Navy Surgeon General and was an assistant professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.
Since leaving the Navy, Trivedi has been a primary care physician in the region . He met his wife Surekha while they were in college together. They live with their daughter in Birdsboro, Berks County, where they enjoy outdoor activities and are avid Philadelphia sports fans.
Is that the kind of person you want serving in Congress? I’d be thrilled to be represented by Dr. Trivedi. But it won’t be easy to get him elected. Romney is doing terribly in the Philly suburbs, which gives Trivedi a fighting chance, but the district has been redrawn to make it even more difficult to unseat Gerlach. Still, Trivedi has been running non-stop for two years and has raised enough money to get his message out. He has a viable campaign, and he passed DFA’s vetting process. He deserves your support.
These are six progressive candidates who have a real chance to win. They are all great people who are running impressive campaigns. They are certainly not your typical politicians.
So, here’s the ask. Can you chip in $12 for each of these candidates? You’d make me look good, cuz I do consulting work for DFA.
And don’t forget about the other six candidates in the Dean Dozen!!
