Democrats Turn To A Money Man

Terry McAuliffe, best known as a prolific fund-raiser for former President Clinton, won election Saturday as chairman of the Democratic National Committee after his rival withdrew before the vote.

"With the Republicans holding the White House, the Congress and the courts, the American people are counting on us to get out of our seats and to fight for them! That's why our cause is so urgent and our time is so precious," he said in an acceptance speech.

Earlier Saturday, former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson withdrew from the race, clearing the way for McAuliffe.

"We are a unified party with one mission," said Jackson, who will serve as chief of the party's new Voting Rights Institute and also direct party-building efforts.

In his speech, McAuliffe said: "We have to win elections. As your party chair, that's my mission - winning elections. And to win elections, we must create the best run, best managed, best organized and best funded political party in America."

McAuliffe's victory came only a day after he had failed to persuade Jackson, Atlanta's first black mayor, to quit the contest and end a simmering intraparty battle had led the DNC's 90-member Black Caucus, representing about 20 percent of the committee's total membership, to make a late endorsement of Jackson.

Jackson was also backed by the Teamsters Union as well as campaign finance reformers Bill Bradley and Russ Feingold.

Bradley and Feingold's opposition to McAuliffe was couched in the argument that it is a terrible symbol for the Democrats to pick as their leader someone whose political accomplishments are entirely in ther area of raising money. In May 2000, McAuliffe was so successful in raising $26.5 million for the Democrats that Al Gore called him the "greatest fundraiser in the universe."

Jackson, who earlier could not sell McAuliffe on the idea of "executive co-chair" of the DNC, decided Saturday to accept the party role offered by McAuliffe that he previously had rejected.

"I look forward to continuing the focus I began in my campaign on rebuilding state parties, election reform and ensuring that no voter and no state is left behind," Jackson said in a statement.

McAuliffe said he and Jackson are "committed to moving this party and this country forward, together." He said that Jackson, in his new role, will use his skills as an organizer and advocate to "help us move forward on the single most critical issue facing all voters - ensuring that every vote is counted."

"The bottom line is we realized what we wanted to do is elect Democrats in the years ahead," said Carroll G. Robinson, a member of Houston's city council. The party will get "two for the price of one - two national leaders of stature."

Even before Jackson bowed out, McAuliffe was promising to challenge the Bush White House at every turn and help equip state parties with the resources needed to win elections anregain control of Congress.

"We need to tell George W. Bush, `We're coming after you,"' said McAuliffe, who also pledged to help states recruit congressional candidates and update their technology to get out the vote.

The 43-year-old McAuliffe, known for his upbeat personality and enthusiasm, assured that he could do far more than raise money for the party - though he's best known as the Democrats' leading fund-raiser.

"In order to raise money, you need to be able to articulate our party's values, organize a talented staff, reach out to engage voters and set your sights and expectations high," McAuliffe said Friday. "These are the same skills you need to be a great DNC chair."

McAuliffe, the mastermind of the White House coffees and the Lincoln Bedroom sleepovers, is especially close to the Clintons. Estimates are that he has raised over $300 million for the Clintons over the last 10 years. He also offered them a $1.35 million loan guarantee to buy the house the couple now owns in Chappaqua, N.Y. (After a storm of controversy, the Clintons secured a loan from a commercial bank.)

But, beyond being a fundraiser, McAuliffe is a quintessential politician and it's hard to imagine only a fundraiser getting this top job. He is a king of schmooze who works non-stop and who has patted every prominent back in the Democratic Party for the last 20 years.

The Clintons are his most recent friends, but he's the protégé of former Rep. Tony Coelho and House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt was in his wedding. When word got out that Gore was miffed that McAuliffe had been designated the heir apparent without his input, McAuliffe stroked Gore and he says they have been talking on the phone ever since. McAuliffe told the New York Times that Gore is the frontrunner for 2004 - though he also gave a wink and a nod to Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards.

There is a certain irony that the Democrats - who claim to support campaign finance reform and who were stung with scandals from the 1996 fund-raising that McAuliffe engineered - would turn to the king of soft money as their chair. If the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform legislation (which McAuliffe says he supports) were to pass, what would McAuliffe do?

"Get into the hard money business," says Democracy 21's Fred Werhteimer. No problem, says the McAuliffe staff. He packed the boxes at Washington's MCI Center in May with hard money (the $50 seats in the peanut gallery as opposed to $500,000 tables on the floor). His staff adds that he is a big believer in direct mail and wants to sponsor training programs for state parties in fund-raising.

"There was life before soft money," Wertheimer says, and McAuliffe believes he can find a way. But it may not be so easy. During the Clinton administration the Democrats became quite competitive with the GOP on soft money ($244 million for the Republicans and $243 million for the Democats in 2000), but trailed far behind in hard money contributions ($447 million for the GOP; $270 million for the Democrats).

The limit on hard money is $20,000 per individual, and the Republicans have a big head start in building lists of people who can write those checks. And now they have the White House as bait - even if the Lincoln Bedroom is no longer an option.

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