NATION/WORLD
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, November 11, 1994
5A
Democrats heal election wounds
By JOHN KING
AP Political Writer
WASHINGTON — For Democrats who think it can't get any worse for their party after this week's election wipeout. Think again.
Party leaders and strategists are poring through the results and exit polls much like investigators sift through the wreckage of a crashed plane, desperately searching for clues to the disaster.
The early findings are troubling, as evidence mounts that the party's decades-old New Deal coalition may be fractured beyond repair.
"In all our lifetimes, of us have ever been faced with anything like this," said Democratic strategist Donald Sweitzer. "We have a lot of fixing to do."
For starters, President Clinton's reelection campaign is right around the corner and the White House political shop is in shameless after an election in which very little went right. Also, the Democratic National Committee
ANALYSIS
is without a chairman beginning today.
And the grip Democracists had on Congress for 40 years is gone — and with it the leverage the party and its individual lawmakers had to raise millions of dollars from organizations and interest groups that are ideologically aligned with Republicans.
As Democrats address those structural and financial troubles, some see opportunity in the ashes, arguing that Democrats had become lazy and arrogant.
"In a way we are liberated," said Jost. "As the opposition, we get to throw the grenades instead of getting hit with them."
Jost said Democrats must learn from Republicans and build a base of smaller donors to replace big contributions that would be harder to come by without congressional control.
"We do have some new monsters to talk about," Swieter said.
But many Democrats are still lobbing grenades at their own.
One of Tuesday's survivors, Sen. Bob Kerber of Nebraska, called the results "a severe, sharp and obvious repudiation of the president."
Remarks like that, and the rush of Democrats to bash Clinton in their campaigns brought this parting advice from the national committee Chairman David Wilhelm: "Democrats have more to learn about governing with unity and discipline."
Some liberals argue that Clinton needs to confront the new GOP congressional leadership and push for economic stimulus, pro-labor initiatives and new investments in cities and infrastructure.
It is an extraordinary dilemma:
expanding a political base without
losing what you have.
"You can't win if your base is 25 percent of the electorate," said Democratic Leadership Council president Al From, an advocate of the centrist approach who called Jackson's strategy "the path to extinction."
Republican differences will complicate reform process
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Newly elected conservatives are about to swell the Republican ranks on Capitol Hill, but party pragmatists are signaling they aren't about to abdicate control of next year's agenda.
The shape of health and welfare reform, the size and possibility of tax cuts, the future of abortion rights and gun control laws — all could well hinge on which faction prevails.
The moderate-conservative splitis personified by the incoming GOP leaders. Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, soon to be majority leader, even recalled with a laugh this week that House Speaker-to-be Newt Gingrich once branded him "the tax collector for the welfare state."
The past year brought out intraGOP differences as fundamental as whether there should be modest health reform or none at all; whether
deficit reduction or tax cuts are a higher priority; whether tax increases are ever justified; and whether government can ever be constructive.
"I think there are a lot of people who consider themselves conservative who still understand the government has some responsibility and the government does a lot of good things." Dole said.
Among those people are the pragmatic Republican governors returned to office this week in landslides across the country.
One potent symbol of party fissures is the "Contract with America" conceived by Gingrich and signed by hundreds of Republican House candidates.
The Senate leadership never adopted the contract, a list of 10 pledges ranging from tax cuts and to protecting defense spending to welfare reform, term limits and a balanced budget amendment.
Clinton urges bipartisanship
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Trying to get on with governing after his party's stunning election defeats, President Clinton went on the offensive yesterday and urged Republicans to put aside partisanship to promote world trade.
Clinton challenged congressional leaders and members of both parties to do what was right for all Americans by approving a new 123-nation world trade agreement.
The White House said a vote by the lame-duck Democratic Congress on the trade agreement late this month would serve as the first test of the Republicans' approach.
"This should not be a partisan issue," Clinton said in a speech at his alma mater, Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
No way around it, it's going to be cold. You're going to need CDs and something to keep you warm.
We got it covered. You'll be warm and it'll be cool. See you in The End.
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