Copyright 1999 The National Journal, Inc.
The National Journal
October 16, 1999
SECTION: CONGRESS; Pg. 2984; Vol. 31, No. 42
LENGTH: 938 words
HEADLINE:
Follow the Leader? Forget It
BYLINE: Kirk Victor
HIGHLIGHT:
Freshman Sens. Fitzgerald and
Edwards are unafraid to go their
own way
BODY:
A year ago, two little-known figures--a wealthy
North
Carolina trial lawyer with no political experience and an even-
wealthier Illinois state legislator--were on the brink of quite
an
accomplishment: capturing U.S. Senate seats by defeating
incumbents. Only
one other Senate candidate achieved that rare
feat in November 1998.
In the period since Democrat John Edwards knocked
off
Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C., and Republican Peter G. Fitzgerald
toppled Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., these freshman Senators
have
made a surprisingly strong first impression in Washington.
They are poised
to ultimately--or perhaps sooner than
ultimately--become forces to contend
with in the insular, clubby
world of the Senate. Take
Fitzgerald, who at 38, is the Senate's youngest
member and the scion of a
banking fortune. During last fall's
campaign, Democrats spent millions
portraying him as a right-wing
extremist, a fierce ally of the gun lobby,
and a zealot on social
issues. But Fitzgerald has blown such cartoonish
characterizations to smithereens--and in the process, has
provoked
plenty of muttering from his GOP colleagues about his
independent streak.
On gun control, Fitzgerald sided with Democrats to
support background checks on purchasers at gun shows. ''I support
reasonable limitations that would keep guns out of the hands of
criminals, and I put that bill in that category,'' he said of a
vote
that wound up leading to a 50-50 split and gave Vice
President Al Gore the
opportunity to cast the tiebreaker.
Fitzgerald also
parted company with fellow Republicans on
managed care
reform. He joined one other Republican Senator,
moderate John H.
Chafee of Rhode Island, to support broader
patients' rights. Responding to a
GOP constituent who, during a
recent breakfast meeting, questioned the need
to allow lawsuits
against health maintenance organizations, Fitzgerald
sounded like
a Democrat. Only foreign diplomats and HMOs have immunity from
lawsuits, he said, and added that HMOs' behavior would improve if
they
were held accountable. You could almost imagine Senate
Majority Leader Trent
Lott, R-Miss., muttering to himself, ''Oh
great, another maverick.''
But Fitzgerald makes no apologies. When pressed on
his
views of party loyalty, he said his responsibility is to
represent
12 million Illinoisans. ''I'm not going to abandon or
abdicate that
responsibility by giving my proxy to anybody
else,'' Fitzgerald said.
Meanwhile, the charming, telegenic Edwards, 46,
attracted
attention during the Senate's presidential impeachment
proceedings in January. He made such a positive early impression
that
Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle, D-S.D., tapped him
to join two
other senior colleagues to preside over the
depositions of Monica Lewinsky,
Betty Currie, and Vernon Jordan.
In February, when
Edwards explained his decision to
oppose the articles of impeachment against
President Clinton, he
wowed his colleagues. He spoke without notes and
focused on the
law and the evidence, without delving into the political
implications. Sen. Gordon H. Smith, R-Ore., called the statement
''brilliant,'' according to the Congressional Record. ''I think
we saw
firsthand why he has made so much money talking to
jurors,'' Smith said.
''We are seeing right now why I had to make
my money selling frozen peas.''
When Edwards was asked whether the impeachment
proceedings would contribute to cynicism that there is one rule
of law
for the powerful and another for everyone else, he replied
quickly, ''I
think Clinton's behavior (rather than the
congressional proceedings)
contributes to the cynicism.'' As for
political fallout from his vote,
Edwards is unconcerned. He said
he did what the evidence dictated, and
added: ''People have moved
on. They want it behind them.''
Edwards is also winning points by not being a showboat.
He
turned down plenty of requests to go on the talk show circuit
during the
impeachment proceedings, and has been circumspect even
in Democratic Caucus
meetings. But thanks to his soft-spoken
demeanor and obvious oratorical
skills, Democrats have given him
a high-profile role in the debates over
legislation to limit
liability for damages from year-2000 computer failures
and over
managed care.
Still, Edwards is clearly
willing to go his own way. As
Daschle and other Democrats this summer
pressed for a modest tax
cut, Edwards refused to go along. He quizzed
Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan at a Senate hearing, asking whether
there
was any reason, other than politics, to cut taxes now. Greenspan
agreed it was premature. In an interview, Edwards said, ''We are
talking
about doing this with money that doesn't yet exist and
based on projections
that have been historically inaccurate.''
Daschle
talked to Edwards about the advantages of the
Democrats' approach, but he
was not persuaded. Other Senators
teased him about the potential fallout
from opposing tax cuts.
But Edwards said he has confidence in ''regular
people.''
''They'll understand that we shouldn't spend money we don't
have.''
That Edwards would part company with his
leader on such
an important issue may suggest that he, like Fitzgerald, is
not
afraid to pursue an independent course. That may be just the
strategy if both of these young Senators are to play leading, if
not
always beloved, roles on Capitol Hill.
LOAD-DATE:
October 19, 1999