by J.K. Frazier Zammit
Voters in Tuesday’s 36th Congressional District Democratic primary will choose between progressive challenger Marcy Winograd and incumbent Jane Harman, the self described “Grandma of the Blue Dogs” (Democrats focused on reducing federal spending). Republican political consultant Allan Hoffenblum has described the contest as “an ideological battle for the soul of the Democratic Party.”
The race is a rematch of the 2006 primary when Winograd challenged Harman on an anti Iraqi War platform and won 37.5 percent of the vote, to Harman’s 62.5 percent. The 36th Congressional District stretches from Venice to the beach cities and Torrance, the winds around Palos Verdes to San Pedro.
Winograd sat out the 2008 primary, but is back to attack Harman’s record in a year bristling with anti-incumbent frustration.
Winograd claims to be a “real Democrat” with a Progressive agenda, and uses slogans such “Your street, not Wall Street,” “Jobs not wars,” and “Homes not Banks.” She criticizes Harman for supporting a bankruptcy law that makes it harder for working families to get out of debt, and for failing to do more for homeowners facing foreclosure.
Harman did not return calls requesting an interview for this story. But on Thursday, she issued a press release stating she and Republican Congressional Representative David Dreier of San Dimas have introduced legislation to raise retroactively, from $100,000 to $250,000, the limit on insured savings deposited in banks that collapsed between January and October 2008. In California, the bill would affect the 6,500 depositors in failed IndyMac Savings and Loan.
Winograd describes Harman as “the best Republican in the Democratic Party.”
At one time, that may have been a fair description; Harman reportedly used it herself in 1998 during an unsuccessful run against Gray Davis for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Since then, Harman has toned down her hawkish support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, backed off her support of the Bush Administration’s program of warrantless wiretapping, and become a more reliable vote for Democratic initiatives.
The Washington Post pegs Harman’s loyalty to the Democratic Party at 98.4 percent during the current session. That is a noticeable change from the 90.4 percent party-loyalty grade she earned during the early years of the Bush Administration.
On international issues, Winograd has criticized Harman for saying on Fox News that the U.S. should keep the military option open if Iran moves forward with a nuclear weapons program.
Harman responded by attacking Winograd for criticizing the Obama administration’s Iran policy and for describing the U.S. policy toward Iran as “nuclear narcissism,” in an interview in the Tehran Times.
In a press release last month, Harman called for U.S. sanctions against Iran, including steps to “cripple Iran’s ability to import refined petroleum products.”
While both women are Jewish, the two differ sharply in their approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the 2006 campaign, both candidates supported a “two-state solution.”
Since then, Winograd has spoken out in favor of a single state for Jews and Palestinians in the region.
In a 2008 talk at All Saints Church in Pasadena, Winograd stated, “Not only do I think a two-state solution is unrealistic, but also fundamentally wrong because it only reinforces heightened nationalism. You cannot establish a democracy in a state founded on the institutionalized superiority or exclusivity of one of religion, ethnicity or culture. I do not support the notion of an Islamic state or a Christian state any more than I support a Jewish state.
“As a citizen of the United States, I do not want my tax dollars to support institutionalized racism.
“As a Jew, I do not want my name associated with occupation or extermination.”
Then, anticipating the criticism her position was certain to generate, she said, ‘But it is hard to speak out. You are accused of abandoning the tribe. You remind them there is a larger tribe – the human race.”
The speech became a flashpoint in the campaign in January when Westside Congressional Representative Henry Waxman sent a letter to Harman supporters stating, “Ms. Winograd’s views on Israel I find repugnant in the extreme… Ms. Winograd is far, far outside the bipartisan mainstream of views that has long insisted that U.S. policy be based upon rock-solid support for our only democratic ally in the Middle East.”
“In Marcy Winograd’s foreign policy, Israel would cease to exist. In Marcy Winograd’s vision, Jews would be at the mercy of those who do not respect democracy or human rights,” Waxman wrote.
Despite the criticism on the issue, which lit up the blogosphere, Winograd has continued advocating for a single, non religious state and criticizing Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
On Tuesday, following the Israeli attack on the Free Gaza flotilla, Winograd issued a press release calling on Harman “to break her silence and join me in calling for an international investigation into what happened in international waters.”
“My opponent’s shameful silence only reinforces the status quo, which in this case involves Israeli aggression towards non-violent human rights activists….If my opponent wants to exercise leadership, she would demand the U.S. government condemn these murders.”
On the environment, Winograd questions why Harman has not done more to push for a speedy cleanup of two hazardous waste sites in Torrance — one containing the pesticide DDT and the other residue from making synthetic rubber — which the EPA estimates will take 50 years to reclaim.
Winograd says Harman should divest her holdings in Dow Chemical, implicated in the toxic sites. “You can’t be a true environmentalist and invest in a company the EPA suspects poisoned the ground water.” She also urges prompt action to close or relocate “potentially explosive propane and butane stored in tanks and cylinders” off the 110 freeway at Gaffey in San Pedro.
In a mailer touting her environmental record, Harman says she “aided residents during the cleanup of DDT contamination at two Superfund sites in Harbor City.” The mailer also notes that she is one of 19 co-sponsor of a recently drafted bill that would permanently ban offshore drilling in California waters, and that she helped block plans for a gas transfer station in the Santa Monica Bay. The mailer lists endorsements from Heal the Bay director Mark Gold and Santa Monica Baykeeper director Tom Ford.
A recent Harman press release touted her role in enacting a new law to “ban the famously inefficient 100-watt incandescent light bulb by 2012.” Another voiced support for construction of light rail, subway and rapid transit projects.
Harman serves on two House Committees: Energy & Commerce, and Homeland Security. But after eight terms in office, she is still regarded as a “follower” rather than a leader, according to Govtrack.us, an online “civic project to track Congress.” Govtrack reports that Harman has sponsored 49 bills since 2001, but only one was enacted while 43 never made it out of committee. “Harman tends to cosponsor the bills of other Members of Congress who do not cosponsor Harman’s own bills,” says the site, which gives Harman a leadership score ranging between 15 and 25 percent since 2007.
One of the murkiest episodes in Harman’s Congressional tenure revolves around the loss of her seat on the House Intelligence Committee in 2006. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to remove Harman from the Intelligence Committee, as well as deny her the chairmanship, has never been publicly explained. Winograd says Harman’s loss of her coveted seat on the Intelligence Committee “proves that she is not held in high esteem by the leadership in Congress. I doubt that she has a lot of traction there.”
Pelosi is listed as a supporter on Harman’s mailers.
Early in May, Harman’s campaign released a poll show her leading 58 percent to 17 percent. Winograd’s campaign released a poll two weeks ago showing Harman with 43 percent support among likely primary voters.
As of May 19, Harman’s campaign reported raising $762,841 and spending $520,847. Winograd had raised $338,670 and spent $267,825.
Last Sunday’s Los Angles Times story, titled “Winograd makes Harman take notice,” reports that, “In announcing on March 23 that she had hired Los Angeles-based consultant Harvey Englander to steer her reelection campaign, Harman promised to run ‘a positive campaign focusing on job creation and economic growth…’ But she has begun airing a 30-second television ad charging that Winograd “wants to kill the defense budget, putting thousands more people out of work and exposing our nation to attack.”
Winograd denies Harman’s charge that she would jeopardize defense, but says much of the war on terror has been counter-productive, resulting in more terrorism, not less. She would redirect some federal funding in aerospace “so that our engineering talent and skilled work force can build mass transit, develop solar and wind power, and fix our aging bridges and water treatment plants. We need to bring manufacturing back to the United States and the 36th congressional district could be the anchor for the new economy.”
Winograd, an English and history teacher for 15 years, is on leave from the L.A. Unified School District while she runs for office. Winograd has been endorsed by the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace workers, United Teachers of Los Angeles and Democracy for America.
Harman is the second wealthiest member of Congress, according to U.S. News, which tallied her assets at $215 million in 2008. Winograd recently sent out a mailer pointing out that Harman’s 2008 financial disclosure shows over $1 million invested in Goldman Sachs and nearly $1 million in J.P. Morgan, both recipients of Federal bailout funds, which Harman voted for.
On the question of immigration, Winograd supports comprehensive immigration reform that would allow undocumented aliens to “earn citizenship in a timely manner,” but offers only vague notions of how that would happen, or how new legislation would differ from the amnesty provisions enacted in 1986. She disagrees with President Obama’s decision to send 1,200 National Guards to the Mexican border, saying they should, instead, be sent to the Gulf of Mexico to help with the oil spill. When asked what, specifically, they would do there, she suggested they could help with administrative tasks.
Harman, in a website video about immigration, is also vague on details for addressing the illegal immigration problem. She states, “We don’t want people to break our laws, but the fact is 11 million to 12 million in our country, including a lot of kids…came here illegally…
“I think we have to find a humane way to deal them while we also enforce our immigration laws, going forward. That is why I support comprehensive immigration reform…
Like Winograd, Harman proposes allowing legalization for illegal aliens who are already here.
“A key part of comprehensive immigration reform has to be earned legalization for the 11 million to12 million already here.”
Harman and Winograd take similar positions on key social issues; both are pro-choice, and support full civil rights irrespective of ethnicity and sexual orientation.
A Harman press release states that in 1993, she told Colin Powell, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional. She is supporting a bill to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Both Harman and Winograd support public funding for health care, and oppose privatizing Social Security. Both have voiced support for reforming the war on drugs, and reducing harsh penalties for recreational drug use. Both support gun control (Harman gets an “F” rating from the National Rifle Association). Both candidates also say they favor developing a “green” economy with job-generating projects to improve infrastructure. ER
