Stronger Dem majority in Senate would bring change to D.C.

Every four years Americans of all ages, races, religions and gender come together from across the country to celebrate the common Democratic ideals of equality, justice and opportunity. This year is particularly special.

After a historic primary, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has laid the groundwork for a campaign that reaches across party lines to all corners of the United States. He is demanding a change in direction that this country so desperately needs.

After eight years of George Bush’s failed policies, we are left with an economy crushing average American families, an energy policy that has made us dependent on foreign oil and has raised the price of gas and home heating oil through the roof, an onerous national debt, and a war that has cost more than 4,000 American lives while not increasing our safety or protecting us against terrorism at home.

But Bush didn’t move our country off track by himself — he had a caucus full of Senate Republicans enabling him every step of the way. For six years in the majority, Republicans rubberstamped Bush’s failed policies, and for the last two years in the minority, they have obstructed meaningful change. Republicans have filibustered a record number of times, stopping legislation to end the war in Iraq, blocking efforts to reduce gas prices, and even obstructing expanded healthcare for our children.

With the Republican Party so firmly committed to blocking change, it’s clear that in order for President Obama to move our country forward, he’ll need more than the razor-thin majority we currently hold in the Senate. We need to elect more Democrats, and we’re on the path toward that goal.

Just as Obama has put new states into play across the country, we have pushed to challenge Republican incumbents in not just blue states, but even deeply red states.

 In Virginia, former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner, who is set to deliver a powerful keynote speech at this convention, is facing off against former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore. Warner has received support from every spectrum of the state for his strong leadership, from Democrats to Independents to Republicans.

In New Mexico, ultra-conservative Republican Rep. Steve Pearce came out of a bloody primary badly bruised, and now trails Democratic Rep. Tom Udall by double digits. Tom’s cousin here in Colorado, Democratic Rep. Mark Udall, continues to lead former Rep. Bob Schaffer, who has been hounded by his ties to now-jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his connection to a congressional earmark scandal, and his involvement in an oil deal in Kurdistan that violated U.S. policy.

In New Hampshire, former Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is facing off against Sen. John Sununu and is currently leading him by double digits. In Maine, Oregon, and Minnesota, Republican incumbents are all facing strong Democratic challengers — Rep. Tom Allen in Maine, state House Speaker Jeff Merkley in Oregon, and Al Franken in Minnesota.

Even in supposedly Republican states like Alaska, Mississippi, Kentucky and North Carolina, Democrats are running neck and neck with Republican incumbents, or ahead of them.

In Alaska, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich leads Republican Ted Stevens and is energetically campaigning around the state. In Mississippi, Trent Lott’s retirement in the middle of his term opened up a rare opportunity for Democrats, and former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is running hard. In Kentucky, businessman Bruce Lunsford is giving Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a stiff challenge, and in North Carolina, Kay Hagan, who is garnering national headlines for her energetic campaign, is already almost even with Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

 The stakes in these races couldn’t be more important. We have a once-in-a-generation chance to bring meaningful and lasting change to our country. A President Obama and a strong Democratic majority in the Senate will ensure that all Americans have access to healthcare and that no family has to decide between a doctor’s visit and a bag of groceries. We will put America on a path toward energy independence, break our reliance on foreign oil, and end the war in Iraq. But to do it, we need a large enough majority to overcome the record-setting obstructionism Republicans have used to block change.

There is still a long time between now and November, but one thing is clear: From coast to coast, voters want change in Washington. If Democrats work hard over the next two months, we can deliver it by electing Barack Obama to the White House and electing a much stronger Democratic majority to the Senate.

Schumer chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.