Post-Wall Street Politicians

If Scott Murphy ekes out a win for Kirsten Gillibrand's seat, it will be less a referendum on Obama than the small sign of another trend--a brainy generation migrating from Wall Street to Washington.

Tuesday's results are still in doubt, but Murphy's morphing from former venture capitalist to almost-elected Congressman is part of the story of young achievers leaving high finance for national politics--from doing well for themselves to trying to do good for their fellow citizens or, from a more cynical viewpoint, following the big money as it moves from banking to government.

Gillibrand herself, now in the Senate, is a fortyish former Wall Street lawyer and, if Murphy wins, he will enter the House to join Jim Himes, a former Goldman Sachs banker, who defeated ten-term Congressman Chris Shays in neighboring Connecticut last November.

In the Senate, Michael Bennett, appointed to replace Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, went from buying distressed businesses and turning them around to Denver Superintendent of Schools and from there to Washington.

Judging from Congress' performance so far this year, any infusion of brains, youth and energy, no matter what the source, is welcome.

New England's Token Republican

The 4th District of Connecticut, where I live, is represented in the House by the region's only surviving Republican of the Bush years, Chris Shays, and once again the New York Times is endorsing him, noting that his opponent Jim Himes "is an attractive candidate, and we have not always agreed with Mr. Shays on the Iraq war and other issues."

In both 2004 and 2006, the Times endorsed Shays over Diane Farrell, another "attractive candidate," in practically the same words.

As a voter who has conscientiously compared the records and positions of all concerned, I am once again frustrated by the logic of preferring a politician who started out with Newt Gingrich as "my hero," followed Tom DeLay loyally and, against the clear desires of his constituents, supported the war in Iraq consistently over a highly qualified replacement.

If the Times Editorial Board needs another token Republican this year, some other district should take its turn. This time, NIMBY.

In the Political Trenches

Tall, handsome Jim Himes looks a little like James Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and, at a meeting with supporters in a Westport living room, sounds like him as he talks earnestly about repairing the damage done to the world and America's place in it during the Bush years.

Behind the hoopla over Presidential primaries and caucuses, the struggle for America's political soul goes on in meeting halls and homes across the country to decide what kind of Congress will set priorities for families and communities next year with a new president in the White House.

Himes, a political newcomer, is trying to unseat Chris Shays who has been entrenched in the House seat of the 4th District in southwestern Connecticut since 1987, the only Republican in New England to survive, barely, the purge of Bush supporters in 2006.

It won't help his cause that, after weaseling about getting troops out of Iraq, Shays planted a kiss on George W. Bush's cheek as the President walked in to deliver his final State of the Union speech last month.

In his campaign, the 40-year-old Himes is being supported by the so-called 30-something Democrats in their tactful revolt against the party's ineffectual elders in the House. Two of them, one from Florida, were in the room last night to cheer him on.

After a year in the trenches, the novice challenger has outdone Shays in fund-raising and is ready to campaign against him, coupling the issue of impending recession with the trillion-plus dollars being wasted in Iraq that could have been providing jobs and repairing our infrastructure back home.

It shouldn't take a Frank Capra ending to get Himes, and others like him, to Washington this November.