Jim Oberstar has hit the campaign trail earlier than usual this year— and he’s pulling no punches in his defense of the accomplishments he believes his party has made over the past year and a half.

Oberstar, now 75, is showing no sign of slowing down as he launches his 19th campaign for the congressional seat he inherited from his former boss John Blatnik, way back in 1974. During his 36 years in office, Oberstar has become a Washington legend, of sorts, known for his promotion of transportation investments as well as for his near total recall of even the most obscure detail of virtually every federal transportation program.

Oberstar’s early campaign kick-off probably isn’t a sign that he’s worried heading into this fall’s election. While Oberstar insists he takes every campaign seriously, his seat is widely considered one of the safest in the country for the Democrats.

But with the primary moved from September to August, politicians across the state will be hitting the trail a bit earlier than usual. And in Oberstar’s case, he actually will face a primary challenge this year, something he hasn’t faced in some time. W.D. “Bill” Hamm announced earlier this month that he will challenge Oberstar, primarily over differences in education policy.

While education issues are a part of every campaign, Oberstar said he expects to take a record of accomplishment, particularly passage of the federal stimulus bill and health care reform, to the voters.

“What’s not to like about health insurance that can’t be taken away, can’t be denied because of a pre-existing condition, and can continue to insure your children until age 26?” Oberstar asked rhetorically during an extended interview with the Timberjay last Thursday. Oberstar called passage of the health care reform package “a tremendous achievement,” the benefits of which will become more apparent over time. He said new Medicare payment provisions, in the reform package, that equalize reimbursements to hospitals will help hospitals in Minnesota.

But Oberstar is most proud of the effects of the federal stimulus bill, and he’s advocating a second round of stimulus to head off growing fears of a double-dip recession. “We need to take a lesson from Roosevelt and the Great Depression. Just as the economy was turning around, Roosevelt’s advisors wanted him to address the deficit, so they cut off funding and the economy tilted backwards again.”

While the stimulus bill has been the subject of criticism, Oberstar said it’s done its job “remarkably well.”

“When we started, the country had lost 760,000 jobs in January of ‘09. In February, there were another 650,000 jobs lost,” Oberstar cited. “Then we passed the stimulus bill and a year later, the economy is growing again. We can account for 1.3 million jobs created out of my committee.” Those projects upgraded 584 miles of highway in Minnesota, generated new tax revenues from those payrolls, and avoided hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment compensation.

Oberstar noted that once-unpopular stimulus programs, like Cash for Clunkers, allowed both GM and Chrysler to continue to operate at a time when failure would have greatly worsened the economic fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. “GM and Chrysler are now showing a profit and paying back their loans. They’re buying steel and helping our taconite plants,” he said.

Oberstar acknowledges that despite the progress, a bit of a disconnect remains between the good news he sees and the perception of many in the public. While the stimulus bill lowered tax rates for the vast majority of Americans, Oberstar acknowledged that polls still show most Americans incorrectly believe they’re paying higher taxes under the new Democratic administration.

“I think that’s because the tax cut was dribbled out month by month, so people really didn’t see it. If it had come out all in one check, it would have been more noticeable.” While a lump sum check might have been more politically-useful, Oberstar noted that similar rebate checks issued under the Bush administration were ineffective at boosting the economy. “That’s because the rebates under Bush went into bank accounts or paid off debt. They didn’t add to the GDP.”

Republican resurgence?

While public discontent has some political observers predicting a Republican resurgence this fall, Oberstar says he’s not seen any evidence of it. “I’ve traveled to two dozen congressional districts recently, where Democrats won formerly-Republican seats and I don’t see any of them in any kind of trouble,” he said.

Oberstar will have a Republican opponent of his own this fall. Chip Cravaack, a retired U.S. Navy captain from Lindstrom, Minn., announced his candidacy earlier this year.

But don’t look for Oberstar to cut his GOP opponent any slack. He criticized the priorities of the Republicans, particularly when it comes to tax cuts. “Republicans voted for tax cuts for millionaires who didn’t need them, but voted against unemployment extensions,” he said.

And while Oberstar’s Republican opponent has already criticized stimulus spending, which Oberstar supported, as a budget buster, Oberstar said it is the GOP that has undermined the nation’s fiscal health. “Those crowing loudly about the deficit and long term debt are the same ones who voted for trillion dollar tax cuts for millionaires who didn’t need it,” said Oberstar. “And they never offset those tax cuts with spending cuts and in the end, they helped spawn the worst recession since the Great Depression.”

Oberstar said he supported policies in the late 1990s that trimmed government programs and put the federal budget on a course to structural change. “Predictions at that time were that the debt would be retired. Then Bush squandered it all in one year.”