Democrats Settle In
On the second day of the new Democratic-controlled Senate, there were signs that the GOP had lost its taste for a confrontation over how President Bush's nominees would be handled. But major conflicts remain on issues ranging from missile defense to voting rights of District of Columbia residents.
With the nominee controversy fading, one Republican leader, Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, said Thursday he believed a draft could soon be ready of a final agreement giving Democrats one-seat majorities on committees, with Senate passage possible next week. Republicans had been threatening to hold that measure up, and new Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has avoided forcing the issue in hopes of fostering a harmonious relationship with the GOP.
Daschle and the new minority leader, Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., both stressed cooperation Wednesday as the Senate was gaveled into session for the first time under Democratic command. Even so, both sides seemed to be thirsting for battles that would draw partisan distinctions.
"We need to prove to the American people that we can overcome the lines that too often divide us," said Daschle. "We need to prove that we can do the work the American people have sent us to do."
Lott delivered a congratulatory speech to Daschle, saying he was extending "my hand of continued friendship and a commitment to work with him for the interests of the American people."
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Craig said Lott would be "rallying his conference to be not only the loyal opposition at times, but to be the fierce opposition at times."
"I think there is leverage in the Senate to insist that legislation has balance," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., citing the minority's ability to use procedural delays. "The Republican leader is going to have to achieve that, that any legislation that passes has to have balance to it."
And Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., cited differences over health care, energy and the environment.
"We have some different points of vie, and I do think it's our opportunity now to put forward our point of view" after six years of GOP Senate control, he said.
In remarks to reporters, Daschle cited differences his party had with Republicans over missile defense, which Democrats are reluctant to deploy right away. And he said the recently approved tax cut, which Bush signed on Thursday, was so big that it will be hard to find enough money for schools and other Democratic priorities.
"I know we're going to revisit it" in the future, he said, adding, "We don't have the votes to revisit it today with any success."
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Daschle also signaled his support for hearings on a measure that would let the District of Columbia elect members to Congress. Republicans strongly oppose amending the Constitution to give voting rights to district residents, who would be virtually certain to send Democrats to Congress.
The Democratic edge is 50-49 plus Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont, the lifelong Republican who became an independent after complaining that the GOP was treating moderates like him poorly. Jeffords supports Democrats for the purposes of organizing the Senate.
But ironically, in his first vote as an independent, he opposed a Democratic amendment to the education bill the Senate has been debating for the past month.
When Jeffords came to the chamber Wednesday, his desk had been repositioned across the aisle to the Democratic side — wedged tightly into a row with two other desks on either side, as if those Democrats were guarding their latest acquistion.
"I noticed they've got me pretty well closed in," he joked.
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