Sen. Debbie Stabenow seems to be on a roll just as the
Republican primary to determine her November opponent should be heating up.
The Stabenow staff was thrilled by all the praise the
Lansing Democrat received for her even-handed work on the new farm bill as
chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Senate is experiencing a brief
bubble of bipartisanship and cooperation, and the path taken by the farm bill
is cited as the spark for this new atmosphere.
“The outpouring of bipartisan
support was one of those genuine, earnest moments that you don’t see enough of
in Washington anymore. Members from both sides seemed to just be
genuinely happy to be working together in a bipartisan way for a change and
getting something done,” said Cullen Schwarz, spokesman for the Stabenow
re-election campaign.
Even Senate Republican Leader
Mitch McConnell called last week’s passage of the bill “a very fine day in the
recent history of the Senate.” Several other senators said the tone taken
during the bill-writing process created a new “psychology” in the Senate.
Senate veteran Chuck Grassley of the farm state of Iowa said the 2012 process
marked “the most cooperation I have seen in the 10 or 15 years” he has been
pushing for reforms in agricultural policies.
 | |
| (Sens. Stabenow and Roberts) |
Working with Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, the ranking
Republican on the committee, Stabenow crafted legislation that managed strong
bipartisan support on a 64-35 vote.
The new farm bill,
which some political observers are calling the biggest reform of agricultural
policy in decades, cuts spending by $23 billion while substantially altering
the mix of crop insurance and outright subsidies for farmers.
Here’s some of the praise showered on Stabenow:
Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV, Senate Majority Leader:
“[T]he
Republican Leader and I… would be remiss if we didn’t say something to the
entire Senate about how we feel about this bill and the leadership that was
shown by these two fine Senators… We know how hard they worked to get
where we are… I cannot say enough, although I will try, to applaud and
compliment Senator Stabenow and Senator Roberts…”
McConnell:
“Sen.
Stabenow and Sen. Roberts have worked together very skillfully… I think we’re
moving back in the direction of operating the Senate in a way that we sort of
traditionally understood we were going to operate the Senate… .”
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT):
“I do hope
that something happens here, in
addition to passing a farm bill... It’s the psychology of us being legislators
with amendments and working together…. I’m very hopeful that this will help set a tone about working together.”
Sen. Mike
Johanns (R-NE):
“Let me just
start out at congratulating the chair and the ranking member. I have to say I marvel at what you’ve
accomplished here… We haven’t seen this kind of reform in a long, long time…
I mean it’s amazing the steps forward that this farm bill has taken. I
compliment both of them -- I think it is really a solid piece of work.”
Stabenow also
received some good news this morning when a newly released Marist poll showed
her leading the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, former congressman Pete
Hoekstra, by 11 points – 46 percent vs. 35 percent, with a substantial 19
percent undecided.
When the voters who are
leaning toward one of the candidates are included, the numbers go to 49 percent
for Stabenow, 37 percent for Hoekstra, and 14 perc
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