The veteran Fond du Lac congressman, one of a shrinking breed of old-school Republican moderates, seems to be following that credo. In the opening weeks of the new Congress, Petri has crossed over repeatedly to support the other party's initiatives, voting for Democratic bills on the minimum wage, budget rules, spending, college loans, prescription drugs and energy. Only a dozen Republicans have been more supportive of the Democrats this year, according to a review of 2007 House votes. Petri's votes are not all that surprising for a lawmaker who has broken with GOP majorities on issues ranging from drilling for oil in Alaska to campaign reform to the USA Patriot Act. Congressman Tom Petri of Wisconsin served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia in the 1960's.
Tom Petri said one of the lessons of his party's fall election defeat was that "people kind of like to see us working together on a few things"
GOP moderate reaching across House aisle
Petri backs new Democratic majority on early bills
By CRAIG GILBERT
cgilbert@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Feb. 12, 2007
Washington - Tom Petri said one of the lessons of his party's fall election defeat was that "people kind of like to see us working together on a few things."
The veteran Fond du Lac congressman, one of a shrinking breed of old-school Republican moderates, seems to be following that credo.
In the opening weeks of the new Congress, Petri has crossed over repeatedly to support the other party's initiatives, voting for Democratic bills on the minimum wage, budget rules, spending, college loans, prescription drugs and energy.
Only a dozen Republicans have been more supportive of the Democrats this year, according to a review of 2007 House votes.
Petri's votes are not all that surprising for a lawmaker who has broken with GOP majorities on issues ranging from drilling for oil in Alaska to campaign reform to the USA Patriot Act.
But the political context has changed dramatically for centrists on both sides since the Democratic takeover of Congress.
"For 12 years, the moderate Republicans were watched because there was always a chance they might vote 'no,' " said former GOP lawmaker Charlie Bass of New Hampshire - meaning against their own leadership.
"Now, they're being watched because there's a chance they might vote 'yes,' " Bass said - meaning in support of the Democrats who control the House.
Petri said, "If we're actually going to get something done out here, we're going to have to figure out how to work together."
This House has passed eight contested bills on which significant numbers of Republicans, from 24 to 124, have joined the Democratic majority.
Petri is one of only two dozen Republicans who have voted for at least six of those bills. Overall, 37 Republicans have voted for at least five of the Democratic proposals, and 54 Republicans have voted for at least four of them.
For some of those GOP lawmakers, the political incentives for bipartisanship are pretty obvious.
Of the 24 who have voted most often with Democrats, most represent competitive districts, had narrow re-election victories in 2006, or both. Others are in politically safer districts but have a voting history that places them at the liberal end of the GOP spectrum. In office since 1979, Petri was unopposed last year, and his district, anchored by small eastern Wisconsin cities such as Sheboygan, Oshkosh and Manitowoc, voted 57% to 43% for President Bush in 2004. But he has long been the least conservative Republican in the Wisconsin delegation. Of the eight Democratic bills, Paul Ryan of Janesville has voted for only one, and Jim Sensenbrenner of Menomonee Falls has voted for none.
Despite his seniority, Petri has been passed over twice in six years for top committee posts, which he has blamed in part on his centrist politics and conciliatory style.
"It's always been an uphill battle for moderate Republicans in our leadership. We're a minority," said Bass, who lost his House seat in the fall and heads the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of GOP centrists.
Political analysts said these early votes wouldn't guarantee the same GOP support for future Democratic bills, because most of the measures that have passed were narrow in scope and were drafted by Democrats to have fairly broad appeal.
"They are low-hanging fruit," said Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota who lobbies in Washington.
"As long as the Democrats are able to get moderate Republicans to cross over and vote with them on some of this stuff, it tells me their strategy is pretty good," Weber said, meaning that Democrats are legislating from the center.
But he said that would be much harder on tougher issues, such as the budget.
Political scientist Sarah Binder of George Washington University said Democrats haven't needed GOP votes to pass their early agenda because their caucus has been unified. In that sense, GOP moderates in the House have lost some of the leverage they enjoyed when their own party leaders needed their votes to move legislation. In return, they could demand votes on some of their priorities.
"Once those moderates are in the minority party, it lowers the price of their vote," Binder said.
She said that would change only on issues on which Democratic leaders need GOP votes because of Democratic defections.
"What conditions would lead these Republican moderates to be more influential? It really boils down to issues that divide up the Democratic Party - some social issues, perhaps some economic issues," Binder said.
Petri described his early votes in very pragmatic terms.
He said voting with the Democrats was a way "to try to encourage them a little (to work with Republicans). . . . If everything is a party-line vote, why should anyone on the Democratic side pay any attention to what the Republicans want?"
Petri said he voted for a broad Democratic spending package Jan. 31 because it was crafted by longtime colleague Dave Obey of Wausau - "he's our dean" of the state delegation - and because Republicans bore some blame for failing to finish their spending bills last year.
Petri voted for a Democratic bill requiring the administration to negotiate Medicare drug prices, even though he thought it would have little practical effect. "It was a symbolic vote, largely. So why be in favor of higher drug prices? . . . It struck me as stupid politically to vote against it," he said.
On the minimum wage increase, Petri said, Wisconsin has a higher minimum wage than the federal floor, so raising the federal wage would put Wisconsin businesses "at less of a competitive disadvantage" with other states' businesses.
The other votes included "pay-as-you-go" budget rules requiring that new tax cuts and entitlement programs be paid for, something that Petri has backed in the past.
"He is someone who has had an independent streak throughout his career and is certainly a moderate in his current caucus," said Robert Kraig of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, part of a coalition of groups and unions that ran a low-key phone and e-mail campaign to encourage Petri to back the Democratic bills.
But David Keating of the conservative Club for Growth called some of the measures that Petri supported "not helpful" to the economy.
