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 epublicans
have won a few battles lately: the trade vote in the House, the
defeat of Robert Byrd's attempt to lard up the defense-spending
bill in the Senate. But mostly they're taking it on the chin. They
lost the airport security fight, and Congress is well on its way
to producing a stimulus bill with more for Democrats than Republicans
to like. Tom Daschle has been able to hold up the president's energy
bill and his nomination of Eugene Scalia — even though a majority
of senators would vote to approve both. So far at least, Democrats
aren't paying a price for their partisanship.
A change in
White House strategy might keep this losing streak from continuing.
But there's a limit to how much the president can do vis-à-vis
Congress, given the other demands on his time and the Democratic
majority in the Senate. Congressional Republicans have to change
the dynamic on the Hill.
One way to
do that would be to ask Senator Zell Miller, Georgia Democrat, to
switch parties. In 2000, according to Congressional Quarterly,
Miller voted against his party 75 percent of the time. He backed
John Ashcroft's nomination and cosponsored President Bush's spring
tax cut. If he joined the Republicans, they would have 50 senators.
To give them control of the floor would require only that the vice
president be coaxed out of his secure location.
It's an idea
that's been discussed before, but there hasn't been much reason
for Miller to switch. He gets more ink as a dissident Democrat than
he would as a run-of-the-mill Republican. He wouldn't have any more
power as a member of a Republican majority than he already does
as part of the Democratic one. And Miller would be taking a risk.
If one of the Republican senators should die or bolt his
party, some very ticked Democrats would regain the majority.
So if Republicans
want him, they should sweeten the pot: Promise to make Miller majority
leader. If he proves to be an unsatisfactory leader, Republicans
will always be able to vote him out later. In the meantime, they
could at least keep Pat Leahy from being chairman of the Judiciary
Committee.
Oklahoma
Update
A
week ago, we
wrote about the Republican primary in the race to replace Representative
Steve Largent. First Lady Cathy Keating was asking women to support
her because she's a woman. State legislator John Sullivan was campaigning
on his conservative record. Sullivan pulled off an upset, winning
46 percent to First Lady Cathy Keating's 31 percent. There will
be a runoff in January, and Keating is no longer considered the
frontrunner. She is reported to be reconsidering her strategy. Good
idea.
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