03-11-2000

CONGRESS: The Mutinous Middle

Call it a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. This conflict,
which is under way in the Senate, has received scant attention because
it's been overshadowed this year by the mother of all political stories:
the war between Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Texas Gov. George W. Bush
over the fundamental direction of the Republican Party. But the clash in
the Senate is no less significant.


Recently, a group of nine Democratic "centrist" Senators formed
a coalition to push for the passage of legislation on a variety of
high-profile issues. Other congressional Democrats didn't exactly greet
the announcement warmly: To many of them, simply complaining about
Republican wrong-headedness and stalemates apparently seems like a fine
legislative strategy.


In separate interviews, centrist Democratic Sens. Bob Graham of Florida,
who organized the group, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, and Evan Bayh
of Indiana expressed the same sentiments. They said they are frustrated by
how little got done in the Senate last year and by how partisan the
chamber has become.


"We're just sick and tired of nothing happening," Bayh said.
"The Far Left and the Far Right stake out ideological positions that
only foster gridlock.... When I go home [to my constituents], it's almost
like being an ambassador to a foreign country-they look at all the
political squabbling and, at the end of the day, they say, `Shame on them
all.' "


The centrist group-which also includes Sens. John Breaux of Louisiana,
John Edwards of North Carolina, Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Mary L. Landrieu
of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, and Charles S. Robb of
Virginia-has outlined a detailed proposal on how to overhaul the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act this year. But they might as well
have let a skunk loose in the middle of a Senate Democratic Caucus
meeting.


The centrists' approach, which would consolidate various federal programs
and demand more accountability from schools and teachers, runs smack into
proposals advanced by veteran Democrats who sit on the Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. These committee
Democrats-including Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa, Edward Kennedy of
Massachusetts, Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, and Patty Murray of
Washington-are among their party's most-liberal members.


The committee Democrats, who've spent lots of time developing their own
education proposals, might feel blindsided by the centrists, but Graham
has a reply ready. "We are not your adversaries. We are your
friends," he said he would tell them. "We are trying to figure
out a way to get something that is reasonable, commonsense, and will move
us toward our goal of enhanced educational opportunities and actually get
something done."


Likewise, Bayh said that "due respect is owed to members of the
committee.... We have to try to work with them and others, including those
on the other side of the aisle." And Bayh, who like Graham is a
former governor, emphasized that "education is important enough to
all of the states [that] I don't think anyone will say they have the sole
right to address it."


Still, the split over education is clearly unsettling to some party
stalwarts. A Senate Democratic staffer noted that the centrists' emphasis
on "accountability" and on eliminating certain programs through
consolidation sounds eerily similar to the plan advanced by Bush on the
campaign trail. "That spooks some Democrats," the aide said.
Another staffer said the centrists' proposal "dilutes the message,
confuses the situation, and gives strength to some Republicans who want to
advance a very aggressive, pro-voucher, pro-block-grant
agenda."


Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle, D-S.D., called a meeting
recently at which some HELP Committee members and centrists aired their
differences. Though it seems hard to believe that Daschle would welcome
such a division in his ranks over fundamental policy, Ranit Schmelzer, his
press secretary, insists that he is delighted that so many Senate
Democrats are weighing in. "He doesn't see it as complicating,"
Schmelzer said.


Echoing that view, members of the coalition are not about to criticize
their leaders' responsiveness. "I don't think it is fair to expect
the leaders to be the sole source of ideas for the Caucus," Graham
said. "We who represent the point of view of the moderate Democrats
haven't been organized in a way that we could present our alternative
ideas. We take that self-criticism to heart."


The group's ideas go far beyond education. Six of its members recently
urged a quick Senate vote to grant permanent normal trading status to
China. Some House Democrats argue that because of organized labor's stiff
opposition, the centrists' position, if widely supported by other
Democrats, could cost the party its chance to retake control of the
body.


But Lieberman is unperturbed by the notion of fissures within the
Democratic Party. "Good government is good politics," he said.
"Some of us, in each party, have to occasionally sort of break away,
or try to work together with each other and with like-minded members of
the other party."


Critics among Democrats worry that this approach allows pragmatism to
trump principle and robs the party of its moorings. But at a time when
Congress accomplishes little amid partisan rancor, the centrists are
unapologetic. Theirs is a winning strategy, they insist. After all, the
politician who has best executed this governing style is just finishing
his second term as President.


Kirk Victor

National Journal