| Politics is not for the faint of heart. You'll have noticed I never run for anything. |
He and other backbencher Democrats thrown into the front lines of the debate are caught in a crossfire between their congressional leaders to the left and conservative constituents to the right. These newcomers hold clout that could determine if health care legislation passes -- and in what form.
Perriello won by just 727 votes last year, and with re-election looming in just 15 months, he has no choice but face critics in town hall meetings around his rural swing district in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As his car rolled into an overflowing parking lot, he was greeted by protesters on both sides of the debate: "Public Option or No Re-Election," read one sign. Another declared, "No Obama Care."
"I certainly catch it from both sides," Perriello said.
In the House, the freshmen bloc has the ear of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Conservative Democrats delayed the health care bill for days as tenderfoots such as Ohio Rep. Steve Driehaus asked for time to study the proposals, and Pelosi eased away from a tax surcharge on the wealthy at the request of others.
"They know where the majority comes from," said Driehaus, who faces a rematch in 2010 against former GOP lawmaker Steve Chabot, who was ousted last year. "On the one hand, they want to make sure that we hold the base of the Democratic Party. One the other hand, they're working hard to ensure that we protect the seats that we've picked up over the last two cycles. That's a tricky balancing act."
Unlike 1994, when the GOP freshmen made their party more conservative, the three dozen freshmen the Democrats brought in this year have pushed the party toward the middle.
Some, such as Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Alabama Rep. Bobby Bright, come from the South. Others, including Colorado Rep. Jared Polis or Nevada Rep. Dina Titus, come from wealthy districts where constituents are worried about a greater tax burden.
Other lawmakers are simply working in unknown territory. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan are holding seats their party hasn't had for decades. At times, the freshmen have joined as a team. Nine freshmen senators sent a letter of support last month to Sen. Max Baucus, head of the finance committee, expressing concerns about spending on the health care bill.
"We hear daily from our constituents about this issue; many of them are concerned that we are not doing enough to control costs," they wrote.
Of course, challenging the party's leadership and some of the more liberal ideas comes at a cost. Activist groups such as MoveOn.org have publicly denounced skeptical Democratic lawmakers, running ads or threatening to do so against the likes of Hagan, who wrested a seat from Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole -- a seat that had been in GOP control since arch conservative Jesse Helms started there in 1973.