HEADS OF THE CLASS
BARNEY FRANK, TAMMY BALDWIN & JARED POLIS
Where are our “fierce advocates?” They’re in the United States House of Representatives. Frank, Baldwin, and Polis (left to right) form a powerful, out triumvirate, wielding influence over the economy, social welfare, labor, and education. Frank’s was one of few steady hands on the rudder of the failing U.S. economy during the 2008 credit crisis. He helped midwife the bailouts and stimulus package many say were crucial to avoiding a Great Depression redux.
Baldwin, representing Wisconsin’s second congressional district and the House’s first openly gay woman, has led a progressive offensive, opposing the invasion of Iraq and cosponsoring bills proposing the impeachment of former vice president Dick Cheney and attorney general Alberto Gonzales.
Polis, meanwhile, was elected alongside Barack Obama in November 2008, becoming the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a freshman. (Frank came out while in office.) The former tech entrepreneur prevailed in a heavily contested Democratic primary fight before going on to handily win Colorado’s second congressional district, centered on Boulder. Of course, all three are cosponsors—along with 179 of their colleagues—of House Resolution 1283, which would repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
