LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR: INTERVIEW WITH MIKE LUX 
posted by Adam Bink on March 31st, 2009
While we were in Lincoln, Mike sat down with hometown journalist Don Walton to discuss the message of his new book, The Progressive Revolution, and prospects for big change in the next several years. The article is below.
Strategist says it’s time to be bold
Be big and bold.
Now that Democrats have both the White House and Congress, they need to deliver on their promise of change or face voter backlash, progressive political consultant Mike Lux said.
He rejects critics who say President Barack Obama is trying to do too much at once as he tackles a crisis-laden agenda.
“This is a big-change kind of moment. We cannot really fix our economy until we solve these problems” in health care, energy and education.
“Everything is interconnected (and) that’s how we really fix our economy,” Lux said in an interview.
Dependency on foreign oil and “crushing health care costs” for businesses and individuals must be confronted now, the Lincoln native said.
The danger is being too cautious, Lux said, not being too bold.
“If Democrats stand in the way, it will be very hard to convince people why Democrats should govern,” he said.
Voters handed Obama a mandate for change last November along with big Democratic congressional majorities, Lux said.
“Obama’s in a tough position. He’s got to deliver.”
Lux’s assessment came as a number of Democratic senators planned to shrink or stall key elements of Obama’s ambitious budget plan.
Among the big proposals that may be slow-walked or grounded are health care and global warming reforms.
Some Democratic senators, including Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, have signaled their intent to oppose Obama’s plan to allow Bush administration tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire after 2010.
That’s the revenue source Obama is counting on to finance health care reform and deficit reduction.
“I think the American people understand it’s going to take a long time to get out of all the messes Obama inherited,” Lux said.
“But they will not understand if we’re not making progress (when) the party has a big majority.”
Lux recalled what happened when President Bill Clinton’s agenda stalled in the early years of his administration.
“The fact that we were running things and couldn’t deliver” helped lead to Democratic disaster in 1994, when Republicans gained control of Congress, Lux said.
Lux served in the Clinton White House for more than two years after working in Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and on his transition team.
After turning down an opportunity to work in the Obama White House, Lux signed on for a more informal role helping build progressive coalitions to support the president’s agenda.
Lux was in Lincoln this week as part of a tour promoting his new book, “The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be.”
