09-30-2005
POLITICS - Democrats Sense Political Winds Shifting In Their
DirectionSusan Davis
© National Journal Group, Inc.
Sensing a greater political wind in their favor, congressional Democrats increased their efforts Thursday to link the ethical trouble of Republicans to an inability to govern and an overall culture of corruption in Washington.
In a joint appearance, House Minority Leader Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Reid were optimistic for their political prospects in 2006.
"I don't know what the tipping point is," said Reid. "I said this a month ago, I can say it today. It would not be a miracle ... for us to retake the Senate."
Reid said that at least one Republican senator came up to him recently and said, "'We're helping you a lot aren't we?'"
Similarly, Pelosi said ethics have only increased what they viewed as an already favorable climate for Democrats.
"Long before [Hurricane] Katrina hit, Democrats saw a turn in the tide for our prospects for winning the House," she said, arguing that Republican policies on stem cells and Social Security, coupled with congressional involvement in the Terri Schiavo case earlier this year, wavering public support for the war in Iraq, and the faulty response efforts following Hurricane Katrina had already hurt the public's view on a GOP-controlled Congress and White House.
"I think our prospects are brighter," she said.
The Wednesday indictment of former House Majority Leader DeLay on one count of conspiracy to violate campaign contribution laws has opened the door wide for Democrats to make DeLay a national issue -- a strategy they have long attempted but with previously poor results.
DeLay has been ordered by a Texas judge to appear in court Oct. 21.
"We are in a situation where [Senate Majority Leader Frist] is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and by the Justice Department in New York state, and [DeLay] is under indictment," Pelosi told reporters Thursday.
"This is really historic, but not surprising," she said. "This all extends to the White House as well, where [Karl Rove] is under investigation for leaking national security information, where the White House's chief procurement officer was arrested last week, where Jack Abramoff, who has ties to House Republicans, Senate Republicans, and the White House, was arrested last month."
A senior Democratic lawmaker added, "Tom DeLay is rising to the equivalence of [former House Speaker Newt Gingrich]" in terms of national recognition.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held a fundraising gala Wednesday evening at which "there was almost a giddy sense in the air that things have changed," the member said.
The member said Democrats need to focus their energy on "the creation of a strong, unified message" and to continue the drumbeat on what they view as Republican failures following Hurricane Katrina.
"Katrina blew the curtain away from the view that Republicans can secure the country better than Democrats," the member said, in reference to generally lower public confidence for Democrats on national security issues.
"We need to focus on national security ... and I think we need to certainly remind the public of the ethical problems of Republicans," the member said.
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