At the beginning of the year, a lot of prominent liberal bloggers and activists noted the passing of Maria Leavey, an amazing Democratic force who helped push our message in DC and throughout Democratic and media institutions.  You can read her obituary here in the Washington Post.  Matt Stoller offers a fantastic memorial post here at MyDD.

In all of Maria’s work, there is a unique Iowa connection which, probably because of my age, I never truly got to know about or understand until now.  Kay Henderson over at her Radio Iowa blog tells us that for almost ten years, Leavey worked for Senator Tom Harkin.  She truly was a champion for liberal causes, just like Harkin still is today.  I hope that DC and the Democratic establishment never forget what kind of a force Leavey was and I know that DC will likely feel quite empty without her presence.