Forget Evan Bayh and the gang of centrist Senate Democrats.As the Obama White House pushes to reform Wall Street, control global warming, achieve energy independence and step up the war in Afghanistan, its real problem could be Sen. Byron Dorgan.
“I’m not in Washington, D.C., to serve President Obama or to serve any interests other than the interests of this country or the interests of this state,” Dorgan said in an interview with POLITICO. “North Dakotans know — they know that I’m fiercely independent.”
For Dorgan’s sake, they’d better. The Democratic senator is up for reelection in 2010 in deeply red North Dakota, and the state’s Republican Party is eager to tie him tightly to the most liberal elements of President Barack Obama’s agenda.
That may be easier said than done.
Dorgan is skeptical of Obama’s choice of Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner to resurrect the economy, arguing that the two men helped build the financial system that is now in shambles.
Hailing from an energy-producing state, Dorgan holds critical committee positions that will allow him to push for expanded energy production and fight a global warming bill if it’s too tough on coal. - Politico Story
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