04-27-2002
CONGRESS: From Jeffords, No Regrets
Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi called it a "coup
of one." It has been nearly a year since Sen. James M. Jeffords of
Vermont turned the political world on its head with his announcement that
he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent. By agreeing
to join the Democrats on organizational matters in the Senate, the
soft-spoken Jeffords single-handedly ended GOP control of the chamber. His
stunning decision, which came after he had served as a Republican for 14
years in the House and more than a dozen years in the Senate, put
Democrats in charge of the Senate's agenda and its committees. And
Jeffords, who had been chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions Committee, took the helm at the Environment and Public Works
Committee.
In an April 22 interview with National Journal in his Senate office,
Jeffords, 67, reflected on his party switch and on the fallout that
continues to be felt, both politically and personally. The following are
edited excerpts from that interview.
NJ: In your book (My Declaration of Independence, Simon & Schuster,
2001), you made some striking comments about how Trent Lott treated you in
the days leading up to your party switch. You wrote: "While I had
regarded Trent as a friend, his actions made me doubt our friendship. His
lack of candor on petty things made me question whether I could trust him
on anything of importance." Do you still feel that way?
Jeffords: Well, I think we were both a little emotional at the time. I
don't think I'd go that far now. We shook hands the other day, for the
first time.
NJ: What prompted that?
Jeffords: It was impossible to get by each other. [He laughs.]
NJ: Is the rancor now greater than in the past?
Jeffords: Well, it depends on how you define it. Certainly my relationship
with Republicans is much much better than it was a year ago. They have
recognized that I am independent and that I am not going to be a strident
Democrat. I have told my Democratic friends that I am not going to
campaign against any of my [Senate Republican] colleagues that I served
with. I will obviously support and try to get Democrats elected that are
here now, and maintain the situation that I created [in the
Senate].
NJ: You wrote in your book: "I hope my decision will move the two
parties to the center, where the American people are." That hasn't
happened, has it?
Jeffords: Well, yes it has, by virtue of what I did. Certainly as far as
the power structure goes, it has changed. Let me go back to what it was
that really caught my attention as to why I should consider making the
move. That goes back to education-it's all about education.
We had worked very hard, the [Senate Republican] moderates in particular
... [and] we had been successful in getting some $450 billion into the
budget [for additional education spending]. And when the Budget Committee
came back, they had knocked all $450 billion out. [Then-Budget Committee
Chairman] Pete Domenici [R-N.M.] came to me and said, "Oh don't
worry, we are going to have all this money out there, this huge surplus.
I'm sure you can get some for education."
Well, that was the deciding point, [and I said to myself], "I have to
look into whether I should switch or not." I realized that any time
[Republicans] wanted to, they could just use that power again to [force]
the [House-Senate] conference committees to do whatever they wanted. I
also realized that this was the only time in history that this opportunity
ever opened up to anybody. It was the only time that you had a 50-50
Senate, plus one party having all three branches under control, and that
lent itself to abuse.
Having realized that, and looking at the issues that lay out ahead of
that, I not only decided that I should [switch parties], but I decided
that I couldn't not do it. I had that responsibility which no man had ever
looked at before, an opportunity to change the power structure, one
individual. Republicans have this fear of the federal government funding
education in the school system. I don't know whether that comes from
history or what.
NJ: But having been in the House and Senate for so long, during which you
frequently butted heads with Republicans, the question remains why you
made the jump when you did. For example, in the past, some Republicans
wanted to abolish the Education Department, and the Reagan administration
was criticized for trying to call ketchup a vegetable in the school lunch
program. So why did you reach the breaking point last year?
Jeffords: It all has to do with education. We are so far behind the rest
of the world. I praised President Bush for his [student] testing
initiative, but I also scolded him for not funding it. Just to give you
the figure I use the most: In every other country around the world, about
40 percent of the local school money comes from the federal government. In
our country, it is 7 percent.
NJ: When George W. Bush campaigned in 2000, he said that his No. 1
priority was education. Are you saying that he has not walked the
walk?
Jeffords: Yes, as I say, I just try to understand it. First [Bush] has his
testing initiative, but he is going to make the states or the local
governments pay for the testing.... You have report after report coming
out that shows that you are the worst [country] in the world in math and
science. The only place [the Bush administration] puts money is into
helping kids go to private schools. That is not what ought to be
done.
NJ: There were reports in December that you were "depressed"
about the lack of progress on some issues, such as funding for students
with disabilities. Are you still feeling down?
Jeffords: No. I am feeling real good about my decision. I have absolutely
no problems with it. In fact, every day I feel [better]. [My mood] has a
lot to do with other things, too. You know, [moderating] defense
expenditures-all those kinds of things which somebody has to really try to
push to try to get a more balanced budget.
NJ: One of the people who worked with you during your party switch was
Senate Democratic Whip Harry Reid of Nevada. He now is lobbying
tenaciously, as you know, to prevent the shipment of nuclear waste to
Nevada's Yucca Mountain.
Jeffords: Tell me about it.
NJ: Have you made a decision as to where you stand on the issue?
Jeffords: I still stand the same way I did. My basic problem is where ours
[Vermont's nuclear waste] is stored. And I don't really care where the
hell it goes. But having a huge storage on the Connecticut River flowing
down through Connecticut into New York does not sound like the intelligent
thing to do. So my main concern is getting it safely stored
somewhere.
NJ: So if you had to vote today, you would vote for storage at the Yucca
Mountain site?
Jeffords: Yes. If there is another solution, I'm willing [to consider it].
I just want to get rid of the damn stuff.
NJ: Do you feel that you have been able to do some things as chairman of
the Environment and Public Works Committee that you wouldn't otherwise
have been able to do?
Jeffords: Well, of course, we are right at odds with the administration on
most everything we are trying to do. So it is not going to be very easy to
get things done when you have the White House against you.
NJ: As you look at the Senate's recent defeats of drilling in Alaska's
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and of the effort to raise corporate
average fuel economy standards, what is your reaction?
Jeffords: It was good not to rely on ANWR to produce the oil. But it is
really sad that we haven't been able to increase the standards as far as
fuel consumption. I am not happy about that.
NJ: Critics of Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle say that he failed
to lead to get a better result on that CAFE vote.
Jeffords: Well, I tried hard, too. So I feel bad about not succeeding
also, but we will keep on trying.
NJ: When you became an independent, did it affect your financial status at
all?
Jeffords: Well, it was a positive experience. There were some [campaign
contributors] who asked for their money back. But there were many more
that, without us even asking, came forward with contributions knowing that
others were trying to get everybody to send it back. So it worked out. We
didn't get wealthy from it by any means, but it didn't have any negative
impact on fundraising or anything.
NJ: It's Earth Day, and Al Gore has harshly criticized George Bush. Do you
plan to attack the Bush administration as you campaign on behalf of
Democrats?
Jeffords: No. I still am proud of my independent label, and I am going to
just talk positively about who I am supporting and not get into any
negative campaigning.
NJ: Have you dealt with President Bush much since your party switch? What
is your relationship?
Jeffords: Well, he goes out of his way to be friendly. I like him. I think
his dad was a wonderful president. And if [the elder Bush] had more
support on some issues from Republicans, the whole country would be better
off. He was very well oriented on what needed to be done on
education.
NJ: More so than his son?
Jeffords: It is hard to tell. I had more confidence that the father really
understood what he was doing and was heading everything in the right
direction, except for the same old problem: Do it all, but with no
money.
NJ: You wrote in your book, "My place in the Senate has become an
unfamiliar one, even more unfamiliar than being a moderate Republican in a
conservative caucus." Is that still true?
Jeffords: That has changed. I am very comfortable where I am right
now.
NJ: You also mention Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and say that you voted
against him last year to be Republican Policy Committee chairman. Have you
talked with him at all?
Jeffords: Not much. He has been the one who has been the most distant. But
our wives are talking well together now.
NJ: You seem comfortable. Could you see yourself jumping back to the
GOP?
Jeffords: No.
NJ: This is irrevocable?
Jeffords: Irrevocable.
Kirk Victor
National Journal
