Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin have given no hints about how they'll govern. New Senate breed: Proudly liberal

The Senate is about to become a liberal lion’s den.

There’s a new gang of senators who ran their campaigns as unabashed progressives and won. Several of them will replace more moderate predecessors, led by Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a hero of the left who reclaimed the seat of the original liberal lion: Sen. Ted Kennedy.


Warren, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) join newly reelected Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island to strengthen a once-dwindling group of die-hard liberals.

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Howard Dean might say these are the folks who belong to “the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.” They are pro-gay marriage, pro-union, favor tax increases on the wealthy and support Obamacare. In some ways, they are populist throwbacks — in the spirit of Paul Wellstone or Hubert Humphrey — who don’t flinch from explaining the positive role that government can play in people’s lives.

But the question in a divided Senate is whether the new liberals will be hard-liners who refuse to compromise with the tea party types on the other side of the aisle or negotiators, like Kennedy, who made deals with Republicans ranging from Ronald Reagan to Rep. John Boehner to George W. Bush. In the modern Senate, it’s a lot harder to do the kind of work that won Kennedy fans on the Republican side.

Murphy, who’s replacing Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, believes his role is to assert his ideological vision while figuring out ways to work with Republicans.

“I’ve never been shy in talking about my belief in universal health care or fair Tax Code,” Murphy said in an interview. “The people of Connecticut might have disagreed with Joe Lieberman on specific issues, but they liked the fact — and they still like the fact — that he reaches out across the aisle to get stuff done. … Connecticut voters know exactly what side of the negotiating table I’m going to be on, but they want me to be at the negotiating table.”

Murphy said the reelection of President Barack Obama and the Senate wins across the country was an indication the voters “clearly want the wealthiest among us to contribute to the future fiscal health of this nation.”

“I don’t think there’s any reason why Democrats should back down from our belief that the Bush tax cuts should expire for the wealthiest Americans,” he said.

On the first day of freshman senator orientation on Capitol Hill, Baldwin and Warren avoided members of the press by pretending to engage in a conversation and didn’t give any hints about how they plan to govern. Baldwin and Warren already have an incredible burden of expectations from the liberal base. Baldwin will be the first openly gay member of the Senate, and Warren is seen as an anti-Wall Street crusader who should vault over other, more senior senators to shake up the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

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As Hirono headed into a lunch welcoming new lawmakers on Tuesday, she said she was excited to work with “like-minded senators, like Sherrod Brown” and the many new women who are coming into office.

“I hope that we can work together … my goal is just to get to know everyone so we can start getting things done.”

Jim Manley, a former spokesman to Majority Leader Harry Reid and aide to Kennedy, said that as much as the liberal wins are historic, 60 votes are still needed to pass legislation, and the House remains in GOP control.

“These freshmen have plenty of reason to try and emulate Sen. Kennedy, who always understood that half a loaf is better than none at all,” he said. “And one of Reid’s strengths as a leader is he’s always going to look out for the entire caucus and not just a few.”

Some Republicans in Washington, while disappointed by the losses the party suffered, think the new firebrands will at least cause some trouble for Reid.

“While Republicans would rather have those seats to get closer to the majority, it’s clear a number of these members are going to be headaches for the leadership,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist who has worked in both House and Senate leadership offices. “Warren and the others are coming in with a certain mind-set — they’ll be outspoken and off-message, and I doubt they’ll be overly eager to play ball on a big compromise.”

Warren has indicated that she will be willing to work with members across the aisle despite her status as a liberal icon. Sen. Scott Brown, who she beat , is known as one of the most bipartisan members of the upper chamber.

“People who voted for Senator Brown, I think a lot of them were saying: ‘You got to be willing to reach across the aisle,’” Warren said on “Morning Joe” the day after the election. “And I want them to know I heard them loud and clear, and it’s what I want to do. … I want to go to Washington because I want to help get something done.”

At a press conference with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick later in the week, Warren mostly deflected questions from reporters but Patrick defended the idea Warren could hold onto her liberal convictions and still be a powerful negotiator.

“Guns blazing isn’t the same thing as conviction,” Patrick said according to The Boston Globe. “Conviction is a set of beliefs, a core set of values from which you make decisions. And that doesn’t [mean] that every decision is going to go your way or that you’re not going to have to make compromise.”

Likewise, Baldwin has indicated she’ll be willing to work with Republicans, and her GOP counterpart, Sen. Ron Johnson, is one of the most conservative members of the chamber.

“[A] lesson from this past Tuesday has been a rejection of gridlock and a rejection of folks who go to Washington and put partisanship ahead of getting the people’s business done,” she told The Huffington Post.

However, she also told the website her win was a “a fight for hard-working, middle-class families; for seniors; to protect Medicare and Social Security; for veterans; for people to have a strong voice and a fighter in Washington, D.C., on their behalf.”