Also In This Issue Related stories are available to subscribers only: Return Of The Democrats' A-Team Related Resources On NationalJournal.com National Journal Cover Story: "Going Blue" (11/11/06) · National Journal: "At a Glance: The Class of 2006" (11/11/06) · Wealth Of Nations: "A Fiscal Challenge for the New Congress" (11/17/06) · PolitiScope: "Fear the Wave" (11/16/06) · Capitol Corridors: "Blue Dogs Have Their Day" (11/16/06) · Off To The Races: "Holding the Reins" (11/14/06) · Budget Battles: "How the Midterm Results Will Affect the Budget" (11/14/06) · PolitiScope: "Nancy vs. Nancy" (11/10/06) [an error occurred while processing this directive] Additional Resources On The Web Nancy Pelosi Announces the new Democratic House Leadership Team (11/16/06) · Harry Reid Announces the new Democratic Senate Leadership Team (11/15/06) · Democratic Senate Agenda: "Six For '06" · Republican National Committee, "America Weakly: The Democratic Congress"

By National Journal staff
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Nov. 17, 2006

Leave it to Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., the shoot-from-the-lip Capitol Hill veteran who has served as a party leader in both chambers, to perfectly enunciate just what makes the House so interesting. "I actually love the House of Representatives," Lott quipped last month on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," after being asked about the House GOP's political problems. "There are 435 of them. You go over there, and it's like an anthill. You've got all kinds of people and ideas and views of everything. And trying to meld that into some sort of order is a challenge every day."

Since then, of course, House Republicans have lost control of the anthill. Come January, it will be up to Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders to manage the teeming rank and file. But the House Democratic Caucus's wide-ranging diversity could make the challenge even steeper for Pelosi and company than it was for their GOP colleagues.

Among the 231 (and counting) House Democrats, there are hard-core liberals in the Progressive Caucus at one end of the spectrum, deeply conservative Blue Dogs at the other end of the spectrum, and all kinds of flavors in between. Many strong-willed and outspoken Democrats with diverging legislative and political priorities have been waiting a long time to regain the majority, and they will be jockeying for position as the party determines its agenda and strategies in the coming weeks and months. How well all of these personalities and factions can get along is crucial to the House Democrats' success in the 110th Congress.

In recent days, numerous House Democrats have acknowledged the difficulty of the task at hand. "Look, governing is challenging. But there's more that unites us" than divides us, incoming Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., said at a post-election press conference. "Will we have issues? Yes. That's governing. But do we find more in common, in the sense that we have a job to do to be the party of reform and the party of change? Yes. That is what unites us."

Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., a leader of the New Democrat Coalition, said that moderates, whose numbers will increase considerably in the House next year, are determined that their party be inclusive. "Our commitment is to work with our leadership inside the big tent," he said. "We are not interested in the outside-the-tent syndrome that Republicans suffered from."

At the same time, Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., another New Democrat leader, said that none of the party's factions should expect to win every debate. "Every single caucus, from the [Congressional Black Caucus], to Blue Dogs, to Progressives, to New Dems, should appreciate that none of us is going to get our wish list," Davis said. "That's not the way this is going to work. There will be trade-offs."

For his part, liberal Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., said that Democrats know that if they don't reach consensus among themselves, they risk returning to the minority. "We will have to quickly learn how to be great negotiators within our own party," he said. "We understand that. We know what the alternative is." Serrano added: "It's going to be fun. We have people representing all parts of our community."

In this piece, National Journal looks at numerous House Democrats who make up that community. Some of the members listed are the leaders of key factions or are renegade forces whom their party will need to reckon with. Some are power brokers, policy wonks, or deal-makers who will be relied on to help ensure victories. A few others may occasionally provide amusement for Congress-watchers during the next two years.

It's important to remember that many House Democrats, after toiling in the shadows of the minority for the past 12 years, are not well known to the public, even inside the Beltway. That's a stark contrast to higher-profile Senate Democrats, who held the reins of power from mid-2001 through 2002. Many of them are national celebrities, at least in their own minds. Now their House counterparts are suddenly finding that they, too, are Democrats to watch.

They've Gotta Deliver
Back in January, conservative commentator Robert Novak wrote a scathing column, headlined "The Nancy Problem," contending that Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was the wrong person to lead House Democrats to the majority. But in the days immediately after the election, Nancy sure looked like the right solution. Pelosi, 66, was the perfect picture of poise, polish, and pragmatism -- a far cry from the wild-eyed San Francisco liberal of GOP lore. Her post-election glow and megawatt smile spawned media profiles chronicling everything from her fondness for Armani suits and Ghirardelli chocolates, to her political schooling by her father and brother, the Baltimore mayors.

Barely into Week Two, however, Pelosi and her "New Direction for America" veered dramatically off course. The favorable press coverage disappeared, replaced by reports about her strong-arm campaigning for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., her longtime ally, over Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., her longtime foe, for the majority leader's post. Democrats cringed as pundits and other outside critics widely questioned Murtha's ethics and Pelosi's strategic smarts -- and as grainy video footage of Murtha from the FBI's 1980 Abscam bribery sting was aired over and over again.

Ultimately, after Democrats on November 16 voted 149-86 to elect Hoyer, the outgoing whip, as their leader, Pelosi sought to bury the hatchet. "We've had our disagreements in that room, and now that is over," she told reporters. "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with us. Let the healing begin."

Other Democrats rallied around their new team and emphasized the need for unity. "We are big guys and girls," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who nominated Hoyer. "We will all work together." Still, some members acknowledged that the bitter contest was a wrenching experience and a major distraction. "It's something that we wish hadn't happened," said Rep. David Price, D-N.C.

Allies of Pelosi and Murtha, 74, rejected suggestions that the episode weakened her, and contended it was only natural that she vigorously backed her old friend in the leader's race. "Loyalty is the mark of a strong speaker," said Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., a key Murtha ally. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., declared, "That is Nancy Pelosi. She is a fighter." Schakowsky added: "I was so gratified by the atmosphere in the room as we left.... Members are very much behind" Pelosi.

Hoyer, for his part, emphasized that he and Pelosi "have been a good team." Over the years, the moderate Hoyer, 67, has been able to work well with the party's factions. The bad feelings between him and Pelosi appear to date even further back than their hard-fought 2001 contest for whip, but he professes publicly that he is ready to forgive and forget.

Going forward, the controversy over the majority leader's race presumably will die down amid the pomp of Pelosi's ascension in January as the first woman, the first Californian, and the first Italian-American to serve as speaker. Yet the challenges facing her, Hoyer, and other House Democrats are still considerable. They were remarkably unified on floor votes with Pelosi as minority leader, but their newfound power could encourage more freelancing. And, although Pelosi asserts her strong desire for bipartisanship, she could find herself battered by the crosscurrents as she defines her relationship with congressional Republicans and President Bush.

Old Bulls
Among them, Reps. John Dingell and John Conyers, both D-Mich., and Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., have spent 129 years in the House, along the way garnering reputations as formidable and opinionated. Insiders are watching to see whether the crusty old-timers will follow Pelosi's agenda or rebel, although the incoming speaker has already sent clear signals that she won't hesitate to rein them in.

Dingell is preparing to pick up right where he left off as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which he led from 1981 to 1995. At 80, he is the longest-serving House member. Yet the day after the election, he showed that he still has what it takes to lead the panel. During a telephone conference call with 75 reporters, he deftly fielded scattershot questions. "He is sharp as a knife," said Karen Wayland of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Dingell's past feuds on Energy and Commerce with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., are now the stuff of legend. Pelosi, however, has indicated that she prefers Waxman to take the lead on oversight as chairman of the Government Reform Committee. Dingell also faces an uphill climb to recover jurisdiction over insurance and securities issues that the Republicans ceded to the Financial Services Committee. This shift in jurisdiction was done "in a rather sneaky and dishonest fashion," Dingell said last week in a conference call with reporters. "So, we will, of course, see what clearly are the things there that belong under the jurisdiction of this committee."

Conyers was quietly called upon by Democratic leaders earlier this year to back down from any speculation about impeaching President Bush, and he apparently heard that call loud and clear. The incoming Judiciary Committee chairman said in a post-election statement, "The country does not want or need any more paralyzed partisan government." Conyers, 77, is a committed liberal who is the constant target of right-wing groups, but that doesn't seem to bother him in the least.

The gravelly-voiced Rangel, 76, is a "wheeler-dealer legislator type of guy," according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Bruce Josten. Rangel is occasionally a loose cannon, waging a war of words with Vice President Cheney, for example, and suggesting -- then denying -- that he would cut funding for the Iraq war. Rangel is taking a cautious approach to his new job as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. In a conference call with reporters last week, he said he wants to seek discussions with Republicans ("I don't want to start off with any confrontation") and will pay deference to Pelosi ("I have to take a leadership view").

The Sages
Call them "graybeards," "sages," or maybe "pains in the tush," but Democratic leaders can depend on these five veteran allies to provide frank advice or inject a dose of reality when party colleagues begin dreaming too big.

Although Democrats have been eagerly awaiting the day when they can spend federal money on their priorities, Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., will tell them when the piggy bank is too drained. "I'm the guy who takes the punch bowl away," said Spratt, 64, who is slated to become the Budget Committee chairman. Democrats have been talking about enforcing budget rules, and Spratt, a close adviser to Pelosi on economic issues and a Southern Democrat with ties to the Blue Dogs, will be the enforcer. "I'm frequently the guy who has to blow the whistle," he said.

The hardworking Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., is an institutionalist who is expected to carefully guard the prerogatives of the Appropriations Committee, which he will chair. Yet Obey, 68, is also close to Pelosi, and he can be relied on to abide by budget rules and give colleagues the bad news about their pet projects. Given his abrasive temperament, members will challenge him at their peril.

For his part, incoming Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., has a more endearing relationship with his colleagues. "Clyburn is like a father to all members," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. "He reminds me of a judge who resolves problems and conflicts. You know he will be fair." Clyburn, 66, is a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus who made numerous campaign appearances with candidates this year as Democratic Caucus chairman.

When Democrats considered removing ethically challenged Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., from the Ways and Means Committee this year, it was Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who introduced the motion. Lewis, 66, is moving up in seniority both in the House and on Ways and Means, but it is his leadership in the civil-rights movement that makes him one of the most respected members -- and some might even say the conscience -- of the Democratic Caucus.

And colleagues listen to Rep. David Price, D-N.C., simply because he is smart. A former political science professor, Price, 66, has been a strong advocate of congressional reform, including tightening ethics rules and making floor debate more open.

The Rowdy Rookies
Grabbing the gavel for the first time, a spate of new committee chairmen will be eager to make their marks. Only four of the 21 incoming House chairmen have experience in that role. But the new chairmen will face pressure not to turn lawmaking and oversight into a blood sport.

No shrinking violets occupy their ranks. Take Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is smart, brash, and stand-up-circuit funny. He'll be an activist chairman of the Financial Services Committee, overseeing Wall Street and the insurance industry. Despite his well-known liberal ideals, Frank, 66, also has libertarian and pragmatic streaks. A champion of affordable housing, he's sympathetic to large banks. Departing Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, a former chairman of the panel, says that Frank will be "a philosophical populist and a practical legislator." Moreover, the sharp-elbowed Frank says he has the backing from Pelosi to defend against any turf-grab by the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., an old-school deal-maker at 72, will continue the bipartisan earmarking spirit on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. With his GOP committee counterparts, he'll push airports and waterways legislation -- and keep incumbent-protecting infrastructure projects rolling out to both parties' districts.

Bipartisanship will also help Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the likely chairman of the Resources Committee, which is loaded with GOP conservatives who backed attempts by defeated Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., to gut the Endangered Species Act and open federal lands to resource development. Rahall, 57, aims to rewrite the 1872 Mining Act and overturn the Bush administration's public lands policies. "Rahall was a great minority member thorn in Pombo's side," said Melinda Pierce of the Sierra Club. "Now the way he's going to move things forward is consensus."

Some members' agendas are personal. Incoming Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., watched emergency responders fail to save Mississippians and Louisianans from Hurricane Katrina. The government "left our communities in the Gulf Coast out to dry," said Thompson, 58. Last week, he put Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on notice that he'll be a frequent committee guest. Thompson also wants legislation to fully screen cargo containers before they enter U.S. ports, and he might try nixing the planned 700-mile fence on the Mexican border.

If, as expected, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., 70, takes over as chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, some think he'll reinvigorate the panel. "The most important thing about Alcee Hastings is that he is not [Republican Chairman] Pete Hoekstra!" said Steven Aftergood, an intelligence scholar with the Federation of American Scientists. "At long last, we can expect to return to a much more inquisitive and critical -- though not necessarily adversarial -- form of intelligence oversight."

The Voices of Moderation
So many moderate-to-conservative-leaning Democrats will join the House in January that the Blue Dog Coalition needs a new room to host its Tuesday night meetings. "Our kennel will be enlarged," quipped Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., 52, an outgoing Blue Dog co-chairman.

The coalition's political action committee, which broke $1 million for the first time in this election, helped elect nine "Blue Puppies" to the House, meaning that the Blue Dogs will be 44 members strong in 2007. "I think Blue Dogs were a key factor in putting Democrats in the majority," said Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, 46, another outgoing co-chairman of the group. "And so I think Blue Dogs rightfully ought to be an integral part in setting the message and the agenda."

That desire could create some strains within the Democratic Caucus. Both the Blue Dogs and the moderate New Democrats tend to be more hawkish than the liberals who are calling for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. And a disproportionate number of the incoming freshmen oppose abortion and gun control; one such newcomer is Rep.-elect Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio, 63, a Blue Puppy.

Still, deficit reduction has always trumped social issues for the Blue Dogs, assured senior coalition member John Tanner, D-Tenn., noting that the group remains squarely focused on balancing the budget and making government work. A popular Blue Dog who is often found smoking a cigar in the cloakroom, Tanner, 62, sits on the Ways and Means Committee and will be a key player in forwarding the Blue Dogs' fiscally conservative, pro-business agenda. "We are interested in pro-growth policies, and we will work with everybody that is of like mind on this," Tanner said.

Another influential Blue Dog will be Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., 47, who has spoken out on national security and agriculture issues. The Blue Dog co-chairmen in the new Congress will be Reps. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., 61; Dennis Moore, D-Kan., 61; and Mike Ross, D-Ark., 45.

The Blue Dogs will work closely with the New Democrat Coalition, which shares their focus on economic investment. The New Democrats also grew on November 7 -- by 15 members -- although the two groups do have some overlapping membership. Next year, the New Democrat Coalition will number close to 60 members, estimated the group's chairwoman, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif.

Like Tanner, Tauscher said that centrists will stay away from wedge issues. "We are independent people," said Tauscher, 55. "But we are also very good Democrats, and we want to work inside the tent."

After a fallow period in the previous Congress, the New Democrat Coalition rebounded last year under the leadership of Tauscher, and co-Chairmen Artur Davis, D-Ala., 39; Ron Kind, D-Wis., 43; and Adam Smith, D-Wash., 41. "It's a sheer numbers game," Smith said of the influence that centrists will exert in the Democratic Caucus. "We'd better be concerned about what the moderates think -- the Blue Dogs and New Democrats -- if we want to hold on to the majority."

Minority Rules
Democrats have yet to formally take control of the House, but members of the Congressional Black Caucus are already flexing their muscles. The CBC's strength helps explain why Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., recently decided against running for majority whip. His opponent would have been Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the outgoing Democratic Caucus chairman and the only African-American House Democratic leader. (Emanuel instead chose to fill Clyburn's old post.)

The CBC's numbers held steady at 43 in this election, but no fewer than five House committees -- plus numerous subcommittees -- are likely to be chaired by CBC members in the next Congress. "We will have more influence in the Democratic Party ... and we will have a number of our members in leadership positions, both in the general leadership and in the committee leadership," said Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., 61, the outgoing chairman.

Incoming CBC Chairwoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., 61, a serious legislator who sits on the Appropriations Committee, has made a special point of working with state and local officials to push the caucus's agenda outside the Beltway. Another active CBC member who promises to boost the visibility of women in the House is Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio. A solid liberal who has spoken out against the Iraq war, Jones, 57, was the first African-American woman elected to the House from her state, and she is also a pal of Pelosi's.

The CBC meets regularly in a "Tri-Caucus" that includes the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, which reliably delivers votes from its 11-member steering committee, and the 22-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which takes credit for helping put Democrats in the majority.

"The Latino vote went heavily Democratic in this election," said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., 48, an influential Hispanic Caucus member. "That becomes an even more significant finding for the Democratic Caucus, and for Democrats generally, as we head into '08."

Both the CBC and the CHC will push an agenda that includes tackling inequities in areas such as education, health care, government contracting, retirement security, and mortgage lending. But front and center for the Hispanic Caucus will be immigration policy, an issue championed by respected caucus member Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, 62, a former official with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Border Patrol.

CHC members hope to succeed in striking a deal on immigration legislation, where Republicans have thus far failed. "A fence is only so good," said Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif., 69, the outgoing chairwoman of the CHC. Illegal immigrants will "come under it, they'll go over it. That's not the answer." The CHC will focus on tightening border patrol and security, among other areas, Napolitano said.

Keepers of the Flame
All factions within the Democratic Caucus -- including those on the far left -- seemingly want to take credit for their party's electoral success. "The populist temper of this campaign cannot be emphasized enough," declared Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, a liberal activist organization. In a post-election analysis, Borosage's group identified the economy, corruption, taxes, and opposition to Iraq as driving issues of 2006.

"What was the defining issue?" asked Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., rhetorically. "It was the war. When you look at who has been pushing the out-of-Iraq position, it was the Progressive Caucus."

The unapologetically liberal Progressive Caucus, which Lee co-chairs with Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., will grow from 64 members to at least 70 in the next Congress, making it one of the largest Democratic coalitions in the House. The caucus has hammered relentlessly on the need to withdraw from Iraq. The "Department of Peace" promoted by leading caucus member Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, 60, during his quixotic presidential bid, may never come about, but it has served as a rallying point for his anti-war colleagues.

Some might be tempted to dismiss the brash antics of Progressive Caucus members -- incoming Rep.-elect Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., for example, a 53-year-old social worker and party activist, who has raised a ruckus at GOP events -- but they have a way of getting attention. Among the caucus members fearless of pushing their party to the left are Reps. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., 63, and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., 59, both of whom have strongly advocated changing direction in Iraq.

In the next Congress, Lee, 60, and Woolsey, 69, will again lead progressives. Both chairwomen cited the following as priorities: ending poverty, reforming the election system, and fostering U.S. energy independence, although both returned time and again to the theme of Iraq. "We're going to ask for some bold steps that will show Democrats that the Democratic Party responds to their concerns," Woolsey said. Lee concurred: "I think this election was a repudiation of that war, and the people of this country stood up and said, we've got to go in a new direction."

Of course, defining that new direction is the challenge facing Democrats as a whole. Woolsey acknowledged that progressives will not always agree with Democratic moderates, but she portrayed potential clashes in a positive light. "I see what we have going on in the Democratic Party as a very healthy competition," she said. "There's going to be tension between the progressives and the Blue Dogs and the New Dems, but it's going to be a very healthy tension."

Influential on Iraq
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., is angry, to a point. The soon-to-be-chairman of the Armed Services Committee hopes to re-create the oversight panel abolished in 1994 and to hold tough hearings on the Iraq war. But expect him to focus on the practical, support-the-troops details. "Are they getting jammers? Are they getting body armor?" Skelton, 74, fretted in an interview. "The infantry and the Special Forces need to be larger, better trained, and have better equipment."

At Skelton's side is one of the panel's youngest up-and-comers, Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., a passionately wonkish former congressional aide. "The problem is, the administration never listens" on Iraq, said Israel, 48, in an interview. But with the majority, "we'll be in a position to stop bad policies."

Heavily influencing the House's Iraq debate will be Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a Vietnam combat veteran and close Pelosi ally whose high-profile call for withdrawal from Iraq last fall gave her and other Democrats political cover to follow suit. But a drawdown in Iraq doesn't mean a drawdown in spending, said Murtha. "We also need to protect the budget from the downward plunge that has historically occurred after a war."

Murtha will be joined in the Pennsylvania delegation by three "Fighting Dems," a group of military veterans recruited by Democratic leaders to run for Congress this year to bolster the party's national security credentials. These three veterans took out-of-Iraq stances in unseating GOP members: Reps.-elect Joe Sestak, 54, a retired Navy vice admiral who was a defense policy director on the Clinton administration's National Security Council; Chris Carney, 47, a Navy Reserve lieutenant commander who served at the Pentagon after 9/11 working on intelligence and counter-terrorism issues; and Patrick Murphy, 33, an Army Reserve captain and lawyer.

Also influential in the Iraq debate will be the 70-plus-member Out of Iraq Caucus, chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a savvy insider and chief deputy whip. Waters, 68, voted against both Iraq wars, in 1991 and 2003, when such votes weren't very popular. But after the recent electoral groundswell, "I feel vindicated," she said. "Some people thought it was a liberal idea that our [party] could not afford to embrace. But, finally, the lawmakers have caught up with the public. What I think we have now is the possibility of a consensus forming across the aisle for getting out of Iraq."

Deep Thinkers
On key issues that will be in play, Democrats will turn to in-house experts who are viewed as the respected authorities. Mention the dense pension law ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and most eyes glaze over. Except for those of Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., who actually gets it. Andrews, 49, is likely to chair the subcommittee of the (soon-to-be renamed) Education and Labor Committee that will pursue the Democratic priorities of encouraging retirement savings and reducing the ranks of the uninsured. "I've learned in my life that he or she who masters the details determines the outcome," Andrews said in an interview. "I want to know exactly how a provision affects a barbershop, the average person."

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., 75, even looks professorial, in an Einstein kind of way. Seeking the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, he is also an expert in Social Security and health care policy. Another likely Ways and Means subcommittee chairman, Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., a psychiatrist, is considered well-read, and colleagues often check in to see what positions he's taking. McDermott, 69, is known for his push to enact national health care.

Pelosi relies on Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., for telecommunications expertise. In line to chair the Energy and Commerce subcommittee of jurisdiction over the issue, Markey, 60, embraces technology and explores its impact on average people. "He had a solar panel in the '80s. He kept a satellite dish in the '70s to show people what technology could mean," said Larry Irving, a business consultant and former aide. "It's not the person who knows the most, but who knows which questions to ask." Indeed, Markey's tough questioning has sparked his reputation as a flamethrower.

Meanwhile, members look to Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., a Holocaust survivor, for clarity on human-rights matters. Lantos, 78, is likely to lead the International Relations Committee. "If a new member wanted to become involved in addressing concerns of human-rights abuses in China, or in terrorism and extraditing known terrorists from Middle Eastern countries, they would turn to Tom Lantos," Andrews said.

Deal-Makers
In a pinch, Democrats will be seeking out clutch hitters with the ability to forge consensus behind the scenes when deals -- or votes -- are desperately needed. One such member could be Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., 62, who is taking over as Agriculture Committee chairman at a time when the 2002 farm bill is expiring and when many of the top Democratic leaders have little knowledge in this area.

Peterson, a guitar-playing, cowboy-booted centrist maverick, plans a new farm bill that looks a lot like the old one, with some tweaks around the edges. He is a member of the Blue Dogs, as are most of his incoming subcommittee chairmen. "The Blue Dogs are going to have a little bit to say about agriculture, and Peterson will be the lead dog," said former Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, now a lobbyist with Olsson, Frank, and Weeda.

Another savvy lawmaker is Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., a protege of incoming Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., who has her own leadership ambitions. DeGette, 49, worked for years across party lines to co-author bipartisan embyronic-stem-cell research legislation. Although President Bush vetoed the bill last summer, it is on the Democrats' "first-100-hours" agenda.

A sober legislator whom Democratic leaders rely on to handle politically dicey assignments, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., dove in this year to jump-start the Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics) Committee. He once served on a bipartisan task force charged with updating House rules, earning the leadership's praise for keeping mum about the group's deliberations. Berman, 65, is also set to chair a Judiciary subcommittee, and his wide-ranging expertise includes foreign policy, intellectual property, and immigration.

Another Judiciary Committee member with an immigration background is Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a former immigration lawyer. The 58-year-old is a smart, no-nonsense player who helped Pelosi reach out to the technology industry to write a campaign-trail-worthy tech education and research agenda.

Taking Victory Laps
With the possible exception of Pelosi, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., played the largest role in winning the House for the Democrats. The outgoing chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been receiving lots of praise, and he hasn't been reluctant to take credit. "Our strategy was to minimize our downsides and maximize our upsides," he said during a post-election press conference. "We expanded the playing field, not just with the obvious" districts. In his review, Emanuel frequently referred to political techniques he learned as a top aide to President Clinton, including the "rapid-response" strategy he helped to create.

Nor has the brash, hard-charging second-term lawmaker been shy about grabbing the reward of the chairmanship of the Democratic Caucus. Some colleagues had encouraged Emanuel to aim higher -- the No. 3, majority whip's post -- but he decided not to offend the Congressional Black Caucus with a challenge to outgoing Democratic Caucus Chairman James Clyburn, D-S.C., who had already announced for the whip's job. "What we need now is a unified Democratic Caucus, focused squarely on the business of moving this country forward," said Emanuel, 46.

Don't be surprised if Pelosi greatly expands Emanuel's duties as caucus chairman, to give him a strong hand in day-to-day leadership operations. With the party's three top leaders age 66 or older, the stars may be aligned for him to someday lead the House.

Several of Emanuel's ambitious DCCC lieutenants will likely gain their just rewards, too, such as prime House committee assignments. They include the two chairs of his "Red to Blue" program -- Reps. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. -- which identified and promoted the party's prime challengers.

"This is more art than science," Van Hollen, 47, said in a pre-election interview. Earlier this year, he decided against joining a crowded race for his state's open Senate seat, but no one would be surprised if he eventually runs statewide. Wasserman Schultz, 40, is a first-termer who previously served as a leader in the Florida Legislature. She has impressed many Democrats with her shrewd political instincts and outspoken views on issues ranging from consumer safety to the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case.

Friends of Nancy
Since her first election in 1987, Pelosi has bonded with other Bay Area Democrats, with whom she has spent many hours in weekly air travel across the nation. But by far her closest confidant is the politically shrewd and legislatively experienced Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who is in line to chair the (soon-to-be-renamed) Education and Labor Committee.

Miller, who is often seen standing near Pelosi at events, is viewed by many insiders as the Svengalian power behind the throne. "She is the leader that I've been waiting for for 30 years," Miller, 61, said in an interview last year. "She is the complete package.... She is a rare breed."

The two like-minded liberals share so many traits and interests that they often finish each other's sentences, and last year, Miller's longtime top aide, John Lawrence, took over as Pelosi's chief of staff. "What Louis Howe was to Franklin Roosevelt, George Miller is to Nancy Pelosi," said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., another Bay Area ally. Other Democrats worry, however, that Miller encourages internal divisions, not least with his recent strong support for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., to run for majority leader.

Eshoo, who represents high-tech San Mateo County just a few miles south of San Francisco, is Pelosi's closest personal friend in the House. "These have been friendships since we were young adults," said Eshoo, 63, referring to Miller, Pelosi, and herself. "We all share a wonderful belief structure as solid Democrats." Her close ear with Pelosi may be enhanced next year by an Energy and Commerce subcommittee chairmanship.

From more-rural Monterey Bay comes another Golden State lieutenant, Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., 65. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, where Pelosi previously served, Farr works to protect regional funding and to unify the occasionally fractious Californians. Among the sometimes distant Los Angelenos, Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., may be the closest to Pelosi, especially in providing a conduit to the Latino community. Solis, 49, has gained attention by pushing environmental causes at Energy and Commerce.

One quiet friend who doesn't hail from California is Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who shares Pelosi's ardent liberal views and strong Roman Catholic faith. McCollum, 52, is a good bet to snare an Appropriations seat.

On the Outs
Not all California Democrats have been on Pelosi's A-list. For more than a year, she has engaged in a bitter conflict -- some of which has played out publicly -- with Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., who has been the ranking member on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Pelosi offered the assignment as an inducement for Harman to return to the House during the 2000 campaign. But, even though the position is no longer subject to House term limits, Pelosi and her aides have made clear her intention to keep a longtime commitment that the chairmanship will go next year to a Congressional Black Caucus member -- Alcee Hastings, D-Fla. Not only has Harman continued to resist that transfer, but her allies have vigorously criticized Hastings -- based, in part, on his impeachment and removal as a federal judge in 1989. As Harman, 61, has hardened her stance, Pelosi seemingly has become more fixed on the move. The opportunity for finding any middle ground or face-saving gesture seems to have long passed.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., is another home-state colleague who has chafed under Pelosi's leadership, although he appears to have redeemed himself of late. In June, Filner was unhappy about the lack of party funding he was receiving in the face of a bruising primary challenge. But shortly before the primary, he got a boost when Pelosi named him as the temporary replacement for long-ailing Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., the ranking member on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. After his narrow win back home, Filner initially resisted demands to make the big donations to the DCCC that are required of all members, and Pelosi privately made clear her unhappiness.

In October, however, Filner went on campaign swings across the nation for three prominent Democratic contenders, during which he made an enthusiastic pitch to reform veterans' benefits. His chairmanship now appears more secure. "I've always wanted to be a team player," said Filner, 64, a former political science professor.

For Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., reconciliation seems out of reach. Towns, 72, has upset Pelosi with his frequent support of Republican goals in close House votes on such issues as trade, oil drilling in Alaska, and tobacco controls. She was not mollified when Towns replied that he was voting the interests of his mostly low-income constituents in Brooklyn, where he narrowly won his Democratic primary this year with 47 percent. Pelosi reportedly warned him that he is in danger of losing his assignment as a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. But a showdown with the black lawmaker could be risky for Pelosi, who earlier this year drew the ire of the CBC when she spearheaded the ouster of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., from the Ways and Means Committee.

White House Enemy No. 1
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who will lead the House Democrats' oversight team in January as chairman of the Government Reform Committee, will spend the next two years trying to keep President Bush and Vice President Cheney in a defensive crouch.

A crafty infighter who has practiced patience and perseverance in Congress since 1974, Waxman doesn't blink before big targets when he thinks they are wrong, whether they happen to be U.S. presidents or attorney-armored tobacco executives. "The Republicans [in Congress] have refused to go that extra step to get the truth ... whenever anything came close to the White House," Waxman said at a news conference this summer.

Waxman, 67, and his staff have told the White House that the bloodhounds are out for what they describe as the Bush administration's "binge of spending" on wasteful and conflict-ridden government contracts issued to cover Iraq war costs and to respond to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. But beyond switching on the hot lights of interrogation, Waxman has proven his ability to persuade and pressure Congress to pass legislation.

"Henry Waxman is one of the most skilled legislators in Congress," said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, who sees an opening to regulate tobacco under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration. "He combines a dogged determination with a real sense of how to govern and how to get things done, not just making political points. He is willing to reach across the aisle and to work closely with the members of his own committee to produce results that often surprise outsiders."

Others Likely to Tick Off the White House
Several old-style liberals with plenty of House seasoning and ideological sympathies for working-class Americans are positioned to give President Bush and congressional Republicans ulcers.

Incoming Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., 77, has railed against the Republicans' predilection for shutting the minority party out of floor amendments and debate. Having decried the GOP shenanigans, she will be tested in practicing comity and fairness on Rules, but her expertise in health and arts policy as well as in House procedure is expected to work to Democrats' benefit. Slaughter will get heavyweight assistance at Rules from Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., 46. He learned the ropes from his mentor, the late Rep. Joe Moakley, D-Mass., a former committee chairman who trained McGovern as his chief of staff.

A flamboyant and tough-talking partisan, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., is on good terms with Pelosi and understands the "message and vision" side of progressive politics through her husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. As chair of an Appropriations subcommittee, DeLauro, 63, can be expected to assail the GOP for wrongheaded spending priorities.

Firebrand Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., in line to chair the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, is not always tightly on message. "There is awareness in Pelosi's office that Pete Stark is an unguided missile," a fellow Democrat said. On questions of taxes, health care, and Social Security, Stark, 75, is an unapologetic (and occasionally off-color) critic of the opposing party. During a 2003 Ways and Means debate, he said the chairman was behaving like a "fascist," and he called another colleague "a little fruitcake" while challenging him to a fight.

Republicans' New Best Friends
There's a small group of Democrats who sit on their party's side of the House floor, but on the center aisle. The seating arrangements are symbolically significant, because at any given time some members of this group -- many of them Blue Dogs -- will cross the aisle and vote with the Republicans. A few of them (former Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., and Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas) actually bothered to switch parties in years past. You can bet that Republicans will be awfully nice to others they see as potentially friendly.

Take Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss. He has upset Democratic leaders at the start of each Congress by casting his vote for moderate Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., for speaker. When Republicans have attempted to persuade him to change parties in the past, he has said he would consider himself a "prostitute" if he did, and he still believes that Democrats represent working people. Yet Taylor, 53, has voted with the GOP on high-profile issues, including "partial-birth" abortion, the line-item veto, flag-burning, and immigration.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, might be considered a Republican friend because many Democrats don't like him. Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry appointed him secretary of state in 2000. Cuellar, 51, then had the nerve to challenge Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-Texas -- chairman of the Hispanic Caucus at the time -- in a bitter primary. Cuellar won, and many Democrats haven't forgiven him. He also occasionally votes with the Republicans, including on trade issues.

Meanwhile, several incoming freshmen -- Reps.-elect Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., and Tim Mahoney, D-Fla. -- may look more like Republicans than like traditional Democrats. Ellsworth, 48, is a county sheriff who ousted Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., while Mahoney, 50, succeeds former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. Both have signed on with the Blue Dogs, and both oppose abortion (Ellsworth with some exceptions), gun control, and same-sex marriage. On the campaign trail, Ellsworth expressed reservations about having Pelosi as speaker. Mahoney, a former Republican, has ducked questions about supporting her for the job.

Carrying Water
Numerous Democrats are allied with specific interest groups or industries and can be counted on to champion their causes in the new Congress. The No. 1 go-to person for gun-control groups is Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., whose husband was killed in 1993 when a gunman opened fire on a Long Island commuter train. McCarthy, 62, has been an activist on the issue in Congress. Hoisting the banner for environmentalists will be Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. While serving on the Portland City Council, he worked to limit development. The 58-year-old bow-tie-wearing Blumenauer rides his bike to work daily.

Labor unions have many close friends on the Hill, including Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and Betty McCollum, D-Minn. Kaptur, 60, so opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement that she quietly wept when the House voted to approve it. McCollum, a former high school teacher, is so passionate about the National Education Association that in 2004 she moved to oust then-Education Secretary Roderick Paige after he called the union a "terrorist organization" because of its hardball tactics in opposing aspects of the No Child Left Behind law.

The trial lawyers provided considerable campaign aid to Rep.-elect Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, 49, who has served on the national leadership board of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and as head of the state's trial lawyers association. His Republican opponent tagged him as a "trial lawyer's trial lawyer."

The auto industry can count on a significant boost now that Reps. John Dingell and John Conyers, both D-Mich., will again serve as committee chairmen. Dingell's relationship with the sector remains very personal: He married a top General Motors executive in 1981. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., 65, whose district is home to thousands of Boeing employees, can be expected to use his Appropriations Committee seat to keep the work flowing to those workers. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., 55, is tight with the Las Vegas gambling industry, and has fought hard to dismantle the new anti-gambling law.

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., 60, is one of Congress's biggest technology geeks. He co-founded the Congressional Internet Caucus in 1996, before the Web became part of mainstream America, and he has a say in technology legislation on the Energy and Commerce and Judiciary committees.

Young Up-and-Comers
The next generation of leaders in the House includes the members of a small but influential clique known as Pelosi's "30-Something Working Group." Over the past two years, its members became known for giving coordinated "special orders" floor speeches in the evening, after legislative business was done. Reps. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., and Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, are among those born after 1965 who are making a name for themselves. Young, attractive, and ambitious, the three are poised to become real players now that their party is in power.

As a freshman during the 109th Congress, Herseth, 35, carved out a niche promoting ethanol and fuel efficiency. A Blue Dog from a rural red state, she walloped her GOP opponent on November 7, garnering 69 percent of the vote. "She's a very quick study and an extremely competent individual with regard to grasping the big picture," said Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., a chief of the Blue Dogs, who named Herseth their whip this week.

Meek and Ryan, both just re-elected to third terms, are among the most visible of the younger set, and are Pelosi's top lieutenants in the 30-Something group. Meek, 40, whose mother served in Congress, sits on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, and is looking for a spot on Appropriations. "We can't blow this opportunity," he said of the Democrats' newfound majority. Meek's former press secretary, Drew Hammill, is now a Pelosi spokesman.

Ryan, an avid fan of the Dave Matthews Band, is still one of the youngest House members at 33. But don't mistake youth for a lack of clout. An abortion foe who has been active on that issue, the charismatic Ryan will likely take a central role in the Democrats' effort to attract more social conservatives to the party. A member of the Armed Services Committee, he is loyal to the speaker-to-be. "I am going to do whatever Nancy Pelosi asks me to do," he said.

Savvy Freshmen
More than a few members of the incoming freshman class head to Washington with experience beyond their years, thanks to their accomplished professional resumes or extensive political service.

Take Rep.-elect Steve Kagen, D-Wis., an allergist who said he has always had an interest in "the intertwining of health care and politics." In the mid-1980s, Kagen, his brother, and his father -- doctors all -- assembled a list of 10 essential components of federal health care policy and mailed it to every U.S. senator. In the '90s, he traded faxes with the health care reform task force run by then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. During this year's campaign, his first bid for public office, Kagen, 55, touted his detailed "No Patient Left Behind" plan. After spending $1.8 million of his own money and enduring taunts of "Dr. Millionaire" from Republicans, it's a good bet that he will do more than just paper the Capitol with his ideas.

Another new member bent on health care reform is Rep.-elect Chris Murphy, D-Conn. By his 30th birthday, he was a veteran of the Connecticut House and Senate. Now 33, he defeated GOP Rep. Nancy Johnson on November 7 by hammering away at the Medicare prescription drug benefit that she helped design. "There are a lot of people who might want to believe that age is an immediate barrier to success. But it has never been for me, and I don't think it will be in Washington," Murphy said. "I don't walk into Washington with a 10-point bulletin on how to fix health care, but I'll be one of the ones screaming from the rooftop, saying we need to get to universal coverage."

For his part, Rep.-elect Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., is a legislative veteran who spent nearly a quarter-century in the Tennessee Senate. Cohen, 57, was one of the most liberal white legislators in Tennessee, and in his case, race is especially significant because he will represent a black-majority district. Cohen pledged to seek membership in the Congressional Black Caucus, but the icy reaction he received led him to mothball the idea for now. "We share common constituencies. We share common philosophies," he said. "I'm sure we'll be working and voting together."

Rep.-elect Peter Welch, D-Vt., 59, is another seasoned legislative insider. He did two stints in the Vermont Senate -- 1980-88 and 2001-06 -- and held leadership posts in the minority and the majority. And Rep.-elect Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, 59, has spent 14 years in the Hawaii House and eight years as lieutenant governor. She has her own political action committee designed to assist state-level Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

Looking Over Their Shoulders
Remember Republican Michael Patrick Flanagan? He was the "giant-killer" who toppled 18-term Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., the former Ways and Means Committee chairman, in 1994, only to lose his own re-election bid two years later. Plenty of incoming Democratic freshmen are hoping to avoid a similar fate as one-hit wonders, especially since 26 of them were elected with no more than 55 percent of the vote in their swing or Republican-leaning districts on November 7.

Rep.-elect Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., will certainly take office with a bull's-eye on her back, the consequence of a narrow, 51 percent victory in a district that delivered 59 percent to President Bush in 2004. Boyda, 51, will have to learn the art of fundraising -- she collected just over $500,000 through mid-October, far less than she will need to win re-election. Meanwhile, Rep.-elect Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., who was the beneficiary of the environmental community's full-frontal assault on GOP Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, may find the business of winning elections to be far more difficult without Pombo to kick around. McNerney, 55, will need to polish his political skills in this GOP-leaning district. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wrote him off as a candidate this year and didn't weigh in on his behalf until late in the campaign.

Another newcomer with something to worry about is Rep.-elect Jason Altmire, D-Pa., who won with 52 percent in a district that Bush carried twice and that GOP Rep. Melissa Hart held comfortably for three terms. Although he could attract serious Republican opposition next time around, Altmire, 38, professes confidence in his ability to keep the district in Democratic hands. "Melissa Hart was an anomaly," he said. "I believe she was the first Republican elected to the seat. I think it'd be much harder for a Republican to win the seat now." Altmire clearly isn't sweating his political future quite yet: He gave the post-election phone interview while sitting poolside at a Disney World hotel.

Media Hounds
The cable talk-show bookers know which Democrats to call in a pinch. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, has had her share of media hits this year, appearing on TV to discuss such subjects as North Korea, gas prices, Iraq, the Dubai ports deal, and a cease-fire in Lebanon. Immigration has been one of her biggest topics, as Jackson Lee, 56, is in line to chair the Judiciary Committee panel overseeing that issue. But her media ubiquity hasn't translated into support for her immigration reform proposal, which attracted only 24 co-sponsors this year.

Jackson Lee's willingness to push her views in the media has been matched by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., another likely subcommittee chair at Judiciary. Nadler, 59, who would oversee the panel on constitutional issues, has been a regular cable-TV speaker on civil liberties and port security.

Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., 45, isn't camera shy, either. Wexler, whose district includes many "snowbirds," has focused on such issues as Social Security and prescription drug coverage during his five terms, but he is probably best known for his on-air appearances. Wexler's congressional office provided the cast and setting for "The Hill," a 2006 documentary. He also appeared this year on "The Colbert Report," raising eyebrows when he jokingly went along with humorist Stephen Colbert's suggestion that he make fake statements about enjoying cocaine and prostitutes. Wexler, a staunch advocate of Israel, is in line to lead an International Relations subcommittee.

"I don't think -- especially in Washington -- you can be overexposed," said Brad Fitch, the CEO of Knowlegis, a Virginia-based consulting firm. "Yeah, you may have a reputation among the insiders as being a little bit of a media hog, but deep down, they respect it, and they know you're influencing policy."

Potential Magnets for Controversy
Republicans don't have a monopoly on corruption or controversy. Democrats have their own problem children whose missteps could shine an unfavorable light on their party.

Two Democrats reportedly have been under federal investigation. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., 63, gave up his ranking-member slot on the Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics) Committee this spring after reports that the FBI is probing his links to five West Virginia charities that managed funds he had earmarked for state projects and that may have helped enrich him personally. Amid the furor, Mollohan amended his financial disclosure reports and released a detailed real estate and personal-finance analysis that he argued debunked the charges of improprieties, first leveled by a right-leaning group. His constituents didn't hold any of it against him; they re-elected him with 64 percent of the vote.

Then there's Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. The subject of a lengthy federal bribery investigation, Jefferson, 59, has been videotaped accepting $100,000 from a Virginia investor, and FBI agents found $90,000 wrapped in foil in his freezer. His colleagues stripped him of his Ways and Means seat this year. He received only 30 percent of the vote on November 7 and faces a December runoff.

A few other Democrats have been in hot water for one reason or another. Earlier this year, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., 39, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of prescription drugs after crashing his car near the Capitol in the middle of the night. He spent a month in the Mayo Clinic afterward. And Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., 61, has a reputation for his quick temper and trove of personal drama, which includes a nasty divorce, financial troubles, and a fondness for fighting. His pugnacity led to a scuffle on the House floor in 1995 with then-Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham, R-Calif. In 2003, Moran was roundly criticized for remarks suggesting that there would be no war in Iraq without the support of the Jewish community.

Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to Congress and the first African-American congressman from his state, is also no stranger to controversy. Ellison, 43, saw his campaign clouded by a variety of disturbing personal revelations, including a history of multiple suspensions of his driver's license, outstanding tax bills, alleged campaign finance violations, and a restraining order requested by an old girlfriend. His reported ties to Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam were even more damaging. But faced with accusations of anti-Semitism, Ellison reached out to local Jewish leaders, telling them he had only limited involvement with the organization and insisting he was unaware of its anti-Semitic views.

The Jocks
The Democrats have taken the House and Senate, and now they seem poised to crush the Republicans where it hurts the most -- on the golf course. With the defeat of Rep. Chris Chocola, R-Ind., on Election Day, Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., was poised to become the best golfer in Congress (as ranked by Golf Digest magazine). But come January, Udall will still be in second place, because Rep.-elect John Yarmuth, D-Ky., 59, is a scratch golfer who reviews golf courses for Golf Digest.

Udall, 56, sees the golf course as a great place to foster bipartisanship because "you literally strip off the layers of formality and you get to know people." But bipartisanship goes only so far: Udall says Yarmuth will "bulk up the team" for the annual Democrats versus Republicans congressional golf tourney.

Democrats looking to govern from the center may begin at center court, where Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., is often organizing a bipartisan basketball game. Kind is a former Harvard quarterback and a regular at congressional charity sporting events. He said he got to know Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., through the gym, and Kind is now working with him to write physical-education standards into the No Child Left Behind reauthorization. "There is an incredible amount of distrust across the aisle right now, and the only way you are going to repair that is to build personal relationships member-to-member," Kind said.

The incoming freshman class offers several promising legislator-athletes, including Reps.-elect Baron Hill, D-Ind., 53, a former high school basketball star; Zack Space, D-Ohio, 45, a football standout at tiny Kenyon College; and, of course, Heath Shuler, D-N.C., 35, a former NFL quarterback. Kind says he dreams of recruiting Shuler for the annual charity football game against the U.S. Capitol Police, but Shuler's spokesman warns that the foot injury that ended Shuler's career still limits the amount of heavy grunting he can handle.

Easy on the Eyes
Lawmakers surely want to be taken seriously and to be known for their brains and skills, not their looks. But in addition to their other attributes, several of NJ's "Democrats to Watch" have attracted attention for, well, being attractive. Among them is Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., who has been voted the "sexiest woman in politics" by the politics1.com blog and has appeared on The Hill newspaper's list of the "50 Most Beautiful." When Herseth changed her hairstyle this spring, The Hill quoted a Capitol employee as saying that she had gone "from bookworm to bombshell." Others who have made The Hill's annual "beautiful" list include Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; Gene Taylor, D-Miss.; and Mark Udall, D-Colo.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post prompted chuckles all over town this fall with a page-one story noting that numerous Democratic challengers have "faces that could launch thousands of votes." These "uncommonly good-looking candidates" produced a "beauty gap" between their party and the Republicans, "some of whom have grown gray and portly during their years in power," The Post noted. Among those cited were Reps.-elect Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., 36 (a "chiseled-featured" businesswoman who rides a motorcycle), and Michael Arcuri, D-N.Y., 47 (who has "piercing Italian eyes and a runner's physique").

Life of the Party
For those who failed to dig the stuffy barbershop bleatings of the erstwhile Singing Senators, new talent is nigh. At least two incoming freshmen can verifiably hold a rock-oriented tune: Reps.-elect John Hall, D-N.Y., and Paul Hodes, D-N.H. Hall is best known as the lead singer for the virile '70s band Orleans and author of the hit "Still the One." Hodes, 55, founded a kids' rock group with his wife, Peggo, called Peggosus, whose repertoire includes "Cheerios in My Kazoo."

Hall, 58, proved game in several interviews on "The Colbert Report" this fall. Pressed by comedian Stephen Colbert to sing a song, Hall briefly resisted, saying, "My advisers have told me to put the guitar aside and concentrate on political issues and ideas." But after Colbert quipped, "I say go with what you know," Hall relented and performed a perfectly harmonized version of his hit "Dance With Me" with the host himself.

Another lawmaker who wins guffaws is Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., 37, whose stand-up comedy routine won the Funniest Celebrity contest at the D.C. Improv in September. She's fearless. The Washington Post reported this private Sanchez zinger: "Republicans make love like they make war. They lie to get in, and they don't know what to do when they get there." Bada dum! Asked after the election about the big Democratic win, Sanchez replied, "I'm grinning from ear to ear."

Her older sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., 46, shares her sibling's earthy sense of humor. Her annual Christmas cards featuring her cat Gretzky, which range from weird to risque, have raised eyebrows, as did her aborted plan at the 2000 Democratic convention to hold a fundraiser at the Playboy mansion.

The Sanchez sisters aren't the only ones who could be fun to invite to a party. So, too, is the carnation-wearing, razor-tongued Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y. The Almanac of American Politics calls him "acerbic but humorous ... a pungent speaker, with a humor that makes even opponents smile." Ackerman, 63, lives on a houseboat, wryly called the Unsinkable II, after the Unsinkable I failed to live up to its name.

Contributing to this report were National Journal Staff Correspondents Richard E. Cohen, David Baumann, Lisa Caruso, Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., Brian Friel, Shane Harris, Corine Hegland, Julie Kosterlitz, Margaret Kriz, Neil Munro, Marilyn Werber Serafini, Alexis Simendinger, Paul Singer, and Bara Vaida; Reporter Kellie Lunney; Contributing Editor Eliza Newlin Carney; and Managing Editor Randy Barrett. Also contributing were Almanac of American Politics Research Associates Emily Langer, Tricia Miller, and Kyle Trygstad, and Reporting Intern Caleb Hannan.

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