U.S. Senator Tom Harkin argued yesterday that getting the economy moving again is more important than cutting the federal deficit, adding that President Barack Obama isn’t showing enough leadership on the issue. I share Harkin’s view and hope other Democrats who have bought into the deficit hysteria will get the message.

Speaking with the Des Moines Register editorial board yesterday, Harkin said more public investment in education and infrastructure “takes precedent over deficit reduction,” because putting people to work would spur private sector investment as well.

Obama needs to stand up to those calling for deficit reduction, he said.

“I don’t think he’s exercising the leadership that’s necessary right now to move us in the direction that I think we ought to be moving in. He needs to be more forthright about it and needs to have a clearer, simple picture for the American people about OK, if we’re going to raise revenue, here’s where we’re going to raise it from, and here’s what we’re going to spend it on.” […]

Now isn’t the time to dwell on fixing the deficit – wait until the economy’s strong again, Harkin said.

“We’ve had balanced budgets before in ’98, ’99, 2000 and 2001,” he said. “We had not only balances, we had surpluses. … How short memories we have. We know how to do this. This is no real big secret.”

Obama is letting Republican voices that are “strong and wrong” drown out his own message, Harkin said.

“Everybody’s buying into ‘We’ve got to reduce the deficit. We’ve got to cut, cut, cut, cut. We’ve got to keep cutting everything.’ It’s like taking a chainsaw to yourself. That’s not going to get you out of this mess we’re in.”

I couldn’t agree more. The best deficit-reduction plan would focus on bringing down the unemployment rate. That said, it’s a pipe dream to think Obama will suddenly start making a strong case for public investment. He threw in his lot with the austerity crowd long ago and just spent half the summer on the fierce urgency of reducing U.S. long-term debt, cutting Social Security and Medicare if possible.

I can think of one person Harkin might be able to influence, though: three-term Representative Bruce Braley. Ever since Braley won Iowa’s first Congressional district, many Democrats have viewed him as a likely successor to Harkin someday. If Harkin doesn’t seek a sixth Senate term in 2014, Braley would be a front-runner in the Democratic primary. The two men seem to get along well, and both have chaired a Populist Caucus in the U.S. House. Both Harkin and Braley have said the U.S. should accelerate troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.

This week Harkin and Braley co-hosted a roundtable discussion about economic policy in Cedar Rapids. Excerpt from Braley’s August 22 press release:

The event brought together a cross-section of Iowans to discuss a variety of ideas to encourage growth of the middle class. The diverse group of Iowans included college students nearing graduation, unemployed Iowans looking for work, and Iowans looking for ways to secure their retirement.  The conversation focused around the need for increased workforce training for those people who are transitioning into new fields and the need to sustain reliable, middle-class jobs.

“The middle class is shrinking and this is a problem we cannot ignore,” said Rep. Braley. “Iowa’s economy has lost 600 manufacturers and over 43,000 manufacturing jobs in the last decade.  We cannot afford to continue to lose these types of reliable, good-paying jobs and Iowan’s deserve the opportunity to work in an economy that provides these types of jobs.”

Improving the economy should be the top priority for Congress, and that’s why I’ve been disappointed to see Braley embrace the rhetoric of deficit hawks since last November’s election. Again and again, Braley has emphasized the need to bring down the federal deficit and debt, citing fiscal concerns as his main reason for supporting or opposing certain bills. Deficit worries were front and center for Braley when he raised questions about our military intervention in Libya (see also here).

Braley rejects the Republican cuts-only approach to balancing the budget and voted against the final debt ceiling deal because it “place[d] the burden of deficit reduction on middle class families, while demanding nothing of millionaires, billionaires and corporations making record profits.” That’s commendable, but I don’t think Braley realizes how much leverage Republicans gain when Democrats like himself talk like deficit hawks. Harkin is right: the focus now should be on jobs, education and infrastructure.