Clarke meets expectations
Don't say you weren't warned in advance. Politico has an unsurprising story about freshman Representative Yvette Clarke, winner of the bitterly contested 2006 primary in the Eleventh District.
It’s been eight months and 22 days since Rep. Yvette Clarke was sworn in as a member of Congress.
Yet more than a third of the way through her two-year term, the New York Democrat has yet to introduce any bill, resolution or amendment on the House floor.
That fact makes her unique among 54 House freshmen; every other new lawmaker has proposed some floor legislation, if only a symbolic measure to congratulate a victorious golfer (from Iowa Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack) or celebrate the bald eagle (from Tennessee Republican Rep. David Davis).
As a whole, the freshman class has averaged nine legislative measures per lawmaker.
Clarke said in an interview Wednesday that she has been occupied with other responsibilities.
“I have not really concentrated that much on crafting legislation,†she said. “Part of it was getting my bearings. I do have interest. I just haven’t made that my ultimate focus.â€
It's gratifying to know, certainly for the people she represents, that Ms. Clarke has an interest in crafting legislation. Certainly, some of them might labor under the clearly mistaken impression that this is what Members of Congress do for a living.
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Brooklyn | Yvette Clarke
On the war, on health care, Rep.Clarke has been there. I dont
Submitted by Daniel Millstone on 28 September 2007 - 12:40pm.
know her personally and have an affection for one of her primary opponents (Chris Owens) but I think she has been a good member and better than some in the NYC area.
This is about what I expected.
Submitted by sidnora on 29 September 2007 - 11:48am.
I am pleased with her voting record, but given her constituency, how else could she vote? If she were less reliably progressive she'd get primaried in a heartbeat. On leadership, however, I never expected anything from her. She didn't distinguish herself in the City Council, either. Why should getting rewarded for that performance with a trip to Washington change her?
She's been ill
Submitted by Errol (not verified) on 1 October 2007 - 11:15am.
Remember to subtract the six weeks of medical leave following the congresswoman's uterine fibroid surgery in July. And if you have any compassion and/or knowledge of women's health, subtract the months of agonizing pain that undoubtedly led up to the last-resort procedure (I have several family members who have been through it).
As long as Clarke's opponents stick to sniping from the sidelines instead of, say, recruiting and funding a viable challenger, she has nothing to worry about.
Speaking for myself...
Submitted by mole333 on 1 October 2007 - 11:22am.
Speaking for myself, I don't necessarily want to focus on challenging her. I'd rather see her hit her stride and show some leadership. We don't really expect it from her, but I, for one, would love to be surprised. I have focused more on those areas where she has shown, if not leadership, at least some guts. Impeachment being the main area.
I am not sure if the point is whether she has to worry. The point is, for me, whether I am being well represented. She is my Congresswoman and I don't want to be disappointed. If she views me as "opponent" rather than "constituent" then maybe ultimately I will be open to a challenger. For now I'd rather see her grow into the job.
I owe her
Submitted by sidnora on 1 October 2007 - 7:17pm.
at least a partial apology.
I had heard about her surgery. I should have remembered, having had the same procedure just a year ago. I would not, however, assume prior months of agonizing pain; while that is sometimes the case, it wasn't for me, and we don't know whether it was for Ms. Clarke. It does entail a two month recovery period, which I can attest is not negotiable.
I doubt this has occupied her entirely since January, though. She's spent enough time in DC to compile a voting record.
To be fair
Although I agree that Yvette has not shown leadership in crafting legislation, let me at least point out a couple of things:
1.) the current freshman class has taken a stronger role than traditionally, so she may be more of a classical backbencher rather than an example of the current batch of more scrappy freshmen
and 2.) AT LEAST she has been at the forefront of co-sponsoring some legislation, such as being the fifth person to sign onto Kucinich's bill to impeach Cheney. She has also, by and large, been voting better than average for even the freshmen, voting against both the MoveOn.org censorship and the Iran Invasion bills.
I expected less than she has delivered. But my expectations were quite low at first. I would like to see a lot more from her, but at least she has been pushing for impeachment and opposing wars. In this sense she is much like Major Owens. Not a great LEADER in legislation, but better than average in where he voted and what he co-sponsored.