Speaker Pelosi's
Game Plan
Will Speaker Pelosi's game plan help pave her party's path to
the White House?
WASHINGTON (By Eleanor Clift, Newsweek) January 4,
2007 — The hard work of balancing partisan differences begins soon enough. For
now, Nancy Pelosi is reveling in the historic change she helped bring about.
Looking out at a chamber still dominated by men, she marveled that victory is
not hers alone but belongs to “the women of this country. It’s a moment for
which we have waited more than 200 years.” Pelosi’s inspirational role as the
first woman to rise to the height of power on Capitol Hill headlined all the
day’s festivities. “It’s about change—and it’s about time,” she declared at a
brunch with supporters who cheered as raucously as they would at a football
game.Not everybody
is happy with Pelosi’s opening moves. Republicans are castigating her for going
back on her word by rushing through the Democrats’ 100-hours agenda without full
consultation with the minority party. But she’s not reneging on anything. What
she’s doing is fulfilling a larger promise made to the American people: swift
action on a set of popular issues long in need of serious attention.
Reality is setting in as
the Democrats prepare to take power. Forget making nice; if they want to pass
the policies they campaigned on in a timely fashion, they can’t let Republicans
in on the deal. The GOP will only erect legislative roadblocks. And the truth
is, Pelosi doesn’t want Republican help. These are Democratic issues, and this
is Pelosi’s moment to create a favorable first impression with the voters, and
begin to set the table for 2008.
She’s got a big enough
Democratic margin to make things happen. The first order of business will be a
beefed-up ethics package that includes a ban on gifts and meals from lobbyists
and prohibits travel on corporate jets. Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean is
telling party leaders that if they don’t pass a bill with teeth, they will lose
their majority in two years. Next to the war in Iraq, voters were most concerned
about the corruption on Capitol Hill. “You can’t promise no more business as
usual and then not deliver,” says Dean.
Pelosi is mindful of the
fragility of the Democratic majority. Many of the freshmen sworn in today won in
districts drawn for Republicans. These newcomers will face the voters again in
less than two years, and they will need to show voters they made a difference.
Pelosi will showcase these vulnerable first-termers in the crucial early weeks
by having them sponsor rule changes to clean up the House—all part of her game
plan to cement a Democratic majority. She also knows that how she performs as a
leader could affect her party’s chances to win the ultimate prize, the White
House. “It’s not just a checklist of Democratic accomplishments, it’s about
baking a cake for ’08 and allowing the nominees to stand up on top of it like a
wedding couple,” says Paul Equale, a Democratic consultant.
The first piece of
legislation the Democrats will offer, H.R. 1, calls for the implementation of
the recommendations offered by the 9/11 Commission. That should be a no-brainer,
but Republicans stalled them in committee. Aside from that nod to the war
against terrorism, the Democrats’ agenda is Iraq-free and focused on domestic
concerns. Yet Iraq looms over everything, just as it did during the election
that put the Democrats in charge. Bush seems headed toward putting more troops
into Baghdad in yet another effort to pacify the city and get a unity government
functioning. This is his last chance to get it right. Former general Wesley
Clark, who commanded NATO forces in Kosovo and is likely to enter the
presidential race, calls the surge option “stay the course more.” He and other
experts predict it will create an even bigger debacle.
All eyes are on the
Democrats to see whether they will stand up to Bush. Memories of the Vietnam
hangover and fear of being tagged as the party who lost Iraq keep Democrats from
articulating a clear position. But the real rebellion is brewing within the
Republican Party. Conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote that Bush can count
on only 12 of the 49 Republicans in the Senate to back him on the war. Virginia
Sen. John Warner, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, is
quietly telling people the president is making a big mistake if he believes a
surge in troops will bail him out in Iraq. If Democrats can peel off enough
Republicans to publicly oppose the surge option, they may try to force a vote.
With 22 Senate Republicans up for re-election in ’08, the GOP is in as much of a
political bind over Iraq as the Democrats.
Bush will edge into the
spotlight early next week with his Iraq speech. But the ongoing story will be
the Democratic steamroller and the issues Pelosi has put front and center. The
second matter of business after the 9/11 vote will be an increase in the federal
minimum wage. Next up: legislation to expand embryonic stem-cell research, which
the Republican-controlled Congress passed last year—only to have Bush veto the
bill. Democrats will then push to lift a government ban on negotiating lower
prescription-drug prices for seniors, which they say was a GOP giveaway to the
pharmaceutical companies. Then will come a proposal to lower interest rates on
student loans. It will be followed by a measure scheduled for a vote on Jan. 18
that will roll back tax breaks for big oil, underscoring the difference in the
two parties’ constituencies, and closing out the 100-hours push.
These are Democratic
issues, and if the Republicans want to come along, as Bush has signaled he will
on the minimum wage, the Democrats will welcome the help. But if Republicans
block these popular measures, they’ll pay for it at the ballot box in ’08. And
that’s just fine with the Democrats, too.
