By Scott Wright

Last week I was surfing for something politically interesting to write about when I stumbled across the website for the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. There, I read a report I found quite interesting. Called "Congress at the Midterm, Their 2005 Middle-Class Record," the report -- as you might expect from the title -- gives the DMI's assessment on how well the United States Congress has served the American middle class.

Know this up front: The DMI bills itself as "a non-partisan, no-profit think tank providing ideas that promote the progressive movement." In case you're still not sure where the group's political allegiances lie, here's a hint. Not a single Republican in the House or Senate managed a grade of "A" for their efforts to help the middle class.

At least, that's what jumped out at me about the report at first glance. Upon closer inspection, however, I noticed Democrats didn't score all that well, either. Fewer than half of House Democrats and only 20 percent of Democrats in the Senate received "A" grades. So I kept reading the report. And what I learned by the time I finished was depressing for all middle-classers.

The overall tone of the entire report was set in the executive summary: "At the close of 2005, the administration of President George W. Bush was trumpeting a strong national economy," the first paragraph began. "Productivity was growing. Consumer spending was healthy. Corporate profits were rising. But the public remained skeptical."

The main question for the DMI report to answer, then, was why? Why were 60 percent of Americans telling pollsters the economy was "fair or poor" at the end of 2005 if President Bush was telling us otherwise and quite a bit of economic numbers seemed to support his argument? According to the DMI report the fault lay, quite simply, with the U.S. Congress and its abandonment of the middle class.

"Neither chamber of Congress demonstrated acceptable levels of support for middle-class Americans." In fact, the report charged, the slide among Democrats from 2004 to 2005 was "particularly pronounced."

The report said Democrats displayed "admirable" support for the middle class by championing such issues as raising the minimum wage, preventing harmful budget cuts and saving Social Security. However, the DMI said, the Democrats dropped the ball when they supported tightening bankruptcy restrictions and didn't oppose strongly enough the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which the report said "championed the wish lists of oil companies, the insurance industry and credit card issuers over the concerns of middle-class consumers."

Rightfully, the DMI claimed in its report, Democrats fought against the implementation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which "has lowered wages in the United States and diminished living standards in Mexico." As DMI pointed out, the vote on this issue was extremely close but, as in so many other circumstances in the time frame covered by this report, the votes "were ultimately decided in opposition to the middle class in every instance."

(Famously, it was since-ousted Majority Leader Tom DeLay who held open a floor vote for hours during the tightly fought battle over CAFTA. DeLay, a Republican, scoured the aisles of the House chamber, passing out promises of favors in exchange for an affirmative vote on the controversial trade deal. Our own Mike Rogers, R-Saks, supported CAFTA and voted for it.)

Another congressional vote that ultimately went against the middle class in 2005 involved the debate over whether to allow the government to negotiate bulk-sale discounts for drugs sold under the new Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

According to DMI, the American middle class -- "often living on fixed incomes and struggling with drug prices that increase every year" -- would have benefited greatly from Congress allowing the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Surely no one with a brain would dispute the notion that buying in bulk is beneficial. No one, apparently, except a majority of the people who represent us in the U.S. Senate.

Despite statistics showing that drug prices for seniors climbed over 40 percent between 2000 and 2005 and indicating the country could save $332 billion over eight years by allowing drug price negotiations, Republicans in the Senate -- including both Shelby and Sessions of Alabama -- led the charge against negotiations and "screwed" the middle class in the process (that's my word, not the report's).

If either senator would like to defend his vote, I'll gladly give up this space and allow him the opportunity. But don't bet on hearing from Sessions or Shelby; they're tied up these days. Oh, not with figuring out some plan to bring our troops home from Iraq or stemming the flow of illegal immigrants. Hell no! They're way too busy debating an unnecessary flag-burning amendment.

(For the record, our own Mike Rogers received an "F" from the DMI, just like both our senators. According to the report, Rogers voted against the middle class in every instance the DMI examined. Unlike Shelby and Sessions, though, I'll hear back from Rogers or a member of his staff. Check this page in the weeks ahead for his reply.)

"The record is clear," the report stated. "Congress failed the middle class in 2005 ... From health care to economic justice to Social Security, Congress missed dozens of opportunities to improve conditions for the middle class." Hopefully, DMI said, its report will serve to educate "ordinary citizens" so they can let their representatives know we're watching.

So if you live in Cherokee County and you're “middle class” like me, call Rogers, Shelby and Sessions and let them know there's a report out there that claims they're doing a piss-poor job of looking out for us.

Remind them we're the ones who gave them their $165,200-a-year jobs in the first place. Ask why they nixed drug price negotiations. Ask about the budget they passed that includes tax cuts for the rich paid for with cuts in student loans and healthcare for the poor. Ask them about the DMI report on their voting records, and ask them if it's true they voted against the middle class time after time after time … And if so, why?

Maybe, if enough of us call, they'll do a better job looking out for us next time.

Scott Wright is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and an award-winning member of the Society of Professional Journalists. He is a native of Cherokee County.