The Hill interview with Rep. Martin Sabo

He’s served longer in state and federal office than anyone in Minnesota history, winning voters’ approval every two years since 1960. He’s the last of the 42 Democrats elected to the House in 1978, and the last Budget Committee chairman to insist that the government operate at a surplus instead of a deficit.

He’s served longer in state and federal office than anyone in Minnesota history, winning voters’ approval every two years since 1960. He’s the last of the 42 Democrats elected to the House in 1978, and the last Budget Committee chairman to insist that the government operate at a surplus instead of a deficit.

But when Rep. Martin Sabo steps down in January after 46 years in public office, including 14 terms in Congress, his successor may overshadow his legacy — at least at first.

That’s because Keith Ellison, who will be the first Muslim to serve in Congress and the first black congressman from Minnesota, will replace the 68-year-old soft-spoken son of Norwegian immigrants.

Sabo, whose Minneapolis district is one of the most solidly Democratic in the nation, makes no secret of his disappointment with Ellison’s win over Mike Erlandson, his longtime top aide and former chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer Labor Party.

"I thought Mike was highly qualified," Sabo said last Friday as the 109thCongress limped to a close. "He would have been able to jump right into the job immediately, and I think he had a very high potential for leadership"

Although Sabo congratulated Ellison and wished him well, he cautioned that his high profile, which has already drawn international attention and stirred conservatives’ criticism of his plan to take the oath of office with his hand on the Koran, could be a liability.

"I think people are putting a heavy burden on him because they expect him to be both a theologian and politician," Sabo said. "I’d hate to have to explain Lutheranism to the whole country"

Asked if he has any advice for Ellison, he said: "No, just take the job seriously and don’t take yourself seriously"

Sabo, who won 70 percent of the vote in 2004, isn’t having second thoughts about his decision to retire, even though he could have become Minnesota’s third committee chairman had he won another term, joining Democratic Reps. Jim Oberstar (Transportation and Infrastructure) and Collin Peterson (Agriculture).

"I’d already made up my mind to retire," Sabo said as he shuttled between the floor and the basement of the Rayburn Building, where he shares cramped office space with other departing members. But it was not an easy decision.

As he said in March, when announcing his retirement, "There are many important battles before us, and I still care deeply about the issues facing our nation. And public service is what I’ve done my entire adult life. I still have energy and good health" But he added, "In my gut, I know the time is right"

Sabo, who was elected to the state legislature at the age of 22 in 1960 and became House Speaker 12 years later, has consistently ranked among the most liberal members of Congress after succeeding Democrat Don Fraser in 1978. He has been a vocal critic of President Bush’s tax cuts, and was one of 133 House members who voted against the Iraq war.

Asked what he regards as his greatest accomplishment, Sabo said, "Clearly, chairing the Budget Committee [in 1993-94] and putting in place the framework for a deficit-reduction package" That paved the way for a big surplus during the Clinton administration, he noted, but turned into a deficit after President Bush took office.

"I thought the worst thing about the 2000 election was the candidates on both sides putting together 10-year programs," he said. "The bulk of the funding was not in the first four years. One thing we know for sure about long-term budgets is that no one is smart enough to tell the future. You should be very careful when you start phasing in tax cuts or spending bills"

But Sabo hopes the new Democratic majority can avoid making the nation’s fiscal problems worse. "I hope at a minimum that Democrats begin by not digging the hole deeper. I hope they will pass pay-as-you-go rules. That would be an important first step"

Sabo, who rates the late Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.) as the best of the six Speakers he’s served under, is reluctant to predict how incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will do. "She’s obviously very bright and a very hard worker who brings significant potential to the job. But it’s hard to judge. You never know. It’s something they’ve never done before and some rise to it and some don’t"

The most obvious change he has seen since coming to Congress is the increased security around the Capitol complex, "which is indicative of lots of what is going on in society," he said.

As for Congress itself, the biggest change is "the incredible centralization of power in both caucuses," which, combined with the ever-rising cost of campaigns, has caused ‘the great increase in pressure on members to raise money. McCain-Feingold was supposed to remove that pressure and it’s done absolutely the opposite.

"So you have centralized leadership with incredible power combined with control of the resources people need to be elected or stay elected. That combination does concern me"

Like many others, Sabo is concerned about the decline in civility among lawmakers, a condition he said is complicated by the short workweek.

"Members don’t know each other very well. I see people presiding and I ask [a colleague] who is that, and neither of us knows. I think I know all the Democrats but there are many Republicans I don’t know. I think that’s true of Republicans as well"

If Sabo has any regrets, it’s the failure of Congress to enact legislation to deal with the estimated 40 million Americans who lack adequate health insurance and healthcare, an issue he was grappling with as a state lawmaker.

He added, "I often thought the most important educational program would be expanding housing vouchers so people in urban areas could move more easily. The problem has escalated in my district and I expect you would see the same pattern around the country. I think clearly there’s a growing disparity of income between the top and bottom"

Sabo rates Bill Clinton the highest among the five presidents he’s served under, but said the highlight of his career was sitting on the White House lawn in 1978 and watching President Carter sign the Middle East peace treaty with the leaders of Israel and Egypt.

"I thought that was something that would be written about in the history books a hundred years from now," he said. "When I came here I had great hope for that, but as I leave, there’s great turmoil in the Middle East"

Sabo said he and his wife Sylvia will sell their home in suburban Virginia and return to Minnesota to be with their two daughters and six grandchildren. He has no plan for the future, other than enjoying life, seeing more Minnesota Twins games and having "some contact" with his alma mater, Augsburg College. "I’m not looking for anything," he said. "I’ll see what develops. But I don’t know that I want anything that ties me down on a regular basis"

Oh yes, there’s one final regret as he closes out his remarkable career of public service. It’s his record as manager of the Democratic Congressional baseball team.

"We only won two games in the last 12 years," he said. "We couldn’t compete with those Republican youngsters"