🚀 go-pugleaf

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_000A_01C063C8.405CB380
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40996-2000Dec7.html

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 7, 2000; Page A28=20

 Having fallen short in their quest to retake the House majority, =
Democrats have been questioning how they can better reach out to =
conservative, rural, white voters in 2002 in a series of meetings this =
week with Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.).=20

In what may amount to the most dramatic policy change, several lawmakers =
suggested that party leaders may be better off playing down their =
support for gun control legislation. Gephardt repeatedly decried the =
House GOP's inaction on the gun control issue in the aftermath of the =
April 1999 Columbine High School shooting, but several conservative =
Democrats argued that this high-profile approach backfired.


One Democrat who asked not to be identified said some members believe =
the push for gun restrictions hurt Democrats at the polls by leaving =
them exposed to attacks by the National Rifle Association.


The closed-door sessions, each of which has featured a cross-section of =
the Democratic Caucus and excluded staff, signal what could be a major =
shift in the party's campaign strategy. While rank-and-file lawmakers =
generally deferred to Gephardt over the past two years, for example, =
they are now demanding a greater voice in the Democratic Congressional =
Campaign Committee's decision-making.


Another concern being voiced at the meetings, said Rep. Tim Roemer =
(D-Calif.), is that the party made a mistake by campaigning on a limited =
menu of common issues such as Medicare prescription drug coverage, =
managed-care reform and education.


"One message that's coming out of this is you can't really nationalize =
the election from the House of Representatives unless you get extremely =
lucky or extremely unlucky," he said, in a tacit admission that the =
Republicans were able not only to negate the Democrats' advantage on =
these issues, but also to successfully localize the election.


"We concede the Republicans did a very good job at blurring the =
distinctions," said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). "There was a general =
grudging admiration at how they pretended to be in favor of increased =
government roles."


Democrats headed into last month's election needing to pick up seven =
seats to capture the majority they lost in 1994. Instead, they made a =
net gain of two, leaving the Republicans with 221 seats to the =
Democrats' 212, with two independents. The Democrats swept four =
vulnerable GOP seats in California. But the party was set back by the =
surprise defeat of two incumbents--Reps. Sam Gejdenson (Conn.) and David =
Minge (Minn.)--and it failed to win several seats being vacated by =
retiring Republicans.


Democrats are particularly concerned with their losses in rural =
districts in Florida, Indiana and Kentucky, where they had high hopes of =
picking up seats.


"Clearly, dealing with rural America is a challenge. Dealing with white =
men is an issue," said Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Robert Menendez =
(N.J.). "You have to look at the electorate as a market where we're =
selling our ideas."


Gephardt has devoted most of the past three days to the meetings, which =
include 10 to 20 members and have lasted up to 2 1/2 hours. The =
discussions have allowed lawmakers to express their disappointment at =
falling short despite raising an unprecedented $97 million and negating =
the GOP's traditional cash advantage.


Democrats continue to back Gephardt as their chief campaign strategist, =
said several members who participated in the sessions, but they now hope =
to exercise more oversight to ensure that future decisions reflect the =
complexities of individual districts. Gephardt is considering creating a =
"member's council" that could advise the DCCC on a weekly basis, an aide =
said.


Gephardt has raised criticism of his strategy, according to one =
lawmaker, by asking whether the party should have spent so much of its =
money early as part of a pre-Labor Day advertising blitz. At the time, =
DCCC officials argued they needed to go on the attack to prevent =
Republicans from masking their conservative records.


While Democrats mulled over how they can appeal to conservatives, some =
more liberal members warned that the party cannot afford to stray too =
far from its traditional allies.


"If Democrats continue down this path, [Ralph] Nader and the Green Party =
will gain," predicted Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.). "That is a losing =
strategy, it will play into the Republicans' hands, and it must be =
avoided at all costs."


Lawmakers are not seeking radical changes in their leadership, with most =
members still hoping Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) stays on to head =
the party's campaign arm. Kennedy, an effective fundraiser, has said he =
would like to give up the post, but Gephardt has pressed him to reenlist =
for another two years.


Kennedy said yesterday he would likely hold off deciding until the =
caucus reorganizes in February.


Kennedy defended his committee's performance yesterday, arguing that the =
Democrats had gained ground despite a massive independent expenditure =
from groups such as the pharmaceutical industry. "Let's not lose sight =
of the fact we took on some pretty powerful interests and won several =
seats, and gained a couple of seats," Kennedy said.


Democrats such as Rep. Albert R. Wynn (Md.), moreover, said colleagues =
were prepared to fine-tune their campaign operation so they could win =
control of the House two years from now. "It is moving into open trench =
warfare," Wynn said. "What we're saying is, 'Let's get ready for =
hand-to-hand combat in 2002.' "


=A9 2000 The Washington Post Company=20


------=_NextPart_000_000A_01C063C8.405CB380
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.50.4522.1800" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40996-2000Dec7.htm=
l">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40996-2000Dec7.html</A>=
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2><EM>By Juliet=20
Eilperin<BR><!--plsfield:credit--></EM>Washington Post Staff =
Writer<BR><!--plsfield:disp_date-->Thursday, December 7, 2000; Page A28=20
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#333333 =
size=3D2>&nbsp;</FONT></STRONG>Having=20
fallen short in their quest to retake the House majority, Democrats have =
been=20
questioning how they can better reach out to conservative, rural, white =
voters=20
in 2002 in a series of meetings this week with Minority Leader Richard =
A.=20
Gephardt (D-Mo.).=20
<P>
<P>In what may amount to the most dramatic policy change, several =
lawmakers=20
suggested that party leaders may be better off playing down their =
support for=20
gun control legislation. Gephardt repeatedly decried the House GOP's =
inaction on=20
the gun control issue in the aftermath of the April 1999 Columbine High =
School=20
shooting, but several conservative Democrats argued that this =
high-profile=20
approach backfired.</P>
<P>
<P>One Democrat who asked not to be identified said some members believe =
the=20
push for gun restrictions hurt Democrats at the polls by leaving them =
exposed to=20
attacks by the National Rifle Association.</P>
<P>
<P>The closed-door sessions, each of which has featured a cross-section =
of the=20
Democratic Caucus and excluded staff, signal what could be a major shift =
in the=20
party's campaign strategy. While rank-and-file lawmakers generally =
deferred to=20
Gephardt over the past two years, for example, they are now demanding a =
greater=20
voice in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's =
decision-making.</P>
<P>
<P>Another concern being voiced at the meetings, said Rep. Tim Roemer=20
(D-Calif.), is that the party made a mistake by campaigning on a limited =
menu of=20
common issues such as Medicare prescription drug coverage, managed-care =
reform=20
and education.</P>
<P>
<P>"One message that's coming out of this is you can't really =
nationalize the=20
election from the House of Representatives unless you get extremely =
lucky or=20
extremely unlucky," he said, in a tacit admission that the Republicans =
were able=20
not only to negate the Democrats' advantage on these issues, but also to =

successfully localize the election.</P>
<P>
<P>"We concede the Republicans did a very good job at blurring the=20
distinctions," said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). "There was a general =
grudging=20
admiration at how they pretended to be in favor of increased government=20
roles."</P>
<P>
<P>Democrats headed into last month's election needing to pick up seven =
seats to=20
capture the majority they lost in 1994. Instead, they made a net gain of =
two,=20
leaving the Republicans with 221 seats to the Democrats' 212, with two=20
independents. The Democrats swept four vulnerable GOP seats in =
California. But=20
the party was set back by the surprise defeat of two incumbents--Reps. =
Sam=20
Gejdenson (Conn.) and David Minge (Minn.)--and it failed to win several =
seats=20
being vacated by retiring Republicans.</P>
<P>
<P>Democrats are particularly concerned with their losses in rural =
districts in=20
Florida, Indiana and Kentucky, where they had high hopes of picking up=20
seats.</P>
<P>
<P>"Clearly, dealing with rural America is a challenge. Dealing with =
white men=20
is an issue," said Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Robert Menendez =
(N.J.). "You=20
have to look at the electorate as a market where we're selling our =
ideas."</P>
<P>
<P>Gephardt has devoted most of the past three days to the meetings, =
which=20
include 10 to 20 members and have lasted up to 2 1/2 hours. The =
discussions have=20
allowed lawmakers to express their disappointment at falling short =
despite=20
raising an unprecedented $97 million and negating the GOP's traditional =
cash=20
advantage.</P>
<P>
<P>Democrats continue to back Gephardt as their chief campaign =
strategist, said=20
several members who participated in the sessions, but they now hope to =
exercise=20
more oversight to ensure that future decisions reflect the complexities =
of=20
individual districts. Gephardt is considering creating a "member's =
council" that=20
could advise the DCCC on a weekly basis, an aide said.</P>
<P>
<P>Gephardt has raised criticism of his strategy, according to one =
lawmaker, by=20
asking whether the party should have spent so much of its money early as =
part of=20
a pre-Labor Day advertising blitz. At the time, DCCC officials argued =
they=20
needed to go on the attack to prevent Republicans from masking their=20
conservative records.</P>
<P>
<P>While Democrats mulled over how they can appeal to conservatives, =
some more=20
liberal members warned that the party cannot afford to stray too far =
from its=20
traditional allies.</P>
<P>
<P>"If Democrats continue down this path, [Ralph] Nader and the Green =
Party will=20
gain," predicted Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.). "That is a losing =
strategy, it=20
will play into the Republicans' hands, and it must be avoided at all =
costs."</P>
<P>
<P>Lawmakers are not seeking radical changes in their leadership, with =
most=20
members still hoping Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) stays on to head =
the=20
party's campaign arm. Kennedy, an effective fundraiser, has said he =
would like=20
to give up the post, but Gephardt has pressed him to reenlist for =
another two=20
years.</P>
<P>
<P>Kennedy said yesterday he would likely hold off deciding until the =
caucus=20
reorganizes in February.</P>
<P>
<P>Kennedy defended his committee's performance yesterday, arguing that =
the=20
Democrats had gained ground despite a massive independent expenditure =
from=20
groups such as the pharmaceutical industry. "Let's not lose sight of the =
fact we=20
took on some pretty powerful interests and won several seats, and gained =
a=20
couple of seats," Kennedy said.</P>
<P>
<P>Democrats such as Rep. Albert R. Wynn (Md.), moreover, said =
colleagues were=20
prepared to fine-tune their campaign operation so they could win control =
of the=20
House two years from now. "It is moving into open trench warfare," Wynn =
said.=20
"What we're saying is, 'Let's get ready for hand-to-hand combat in =
2002.' "</P><!--plsfield:end-->
<P>
<CENTER>=A9 2000 The Washington Post Company </CENTER>
<CENTER>&nbsp;</CENTER></DIV></BODY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_000A_01C063C8.405CB380--