Washington – As polls show Republicans at risk of losing both chambers of Congress on Election Day, Democrats are confronting the question asked by Robert Redford at the end of the 1972 movie “The Candidate”: “What do we do now?”
As they contemplate a possible return to power, Democrats have placed a timetable for ending the Iraq war atop their list of goals in the next Congress, followed by a hike in the minimum wage, tighter congressional-ethics standards, and cutbacks in federal help to oil companies and pharmaceutical firms.
Several issues on which Colorado lawmakers have played leadership roles – immigration reform, alternative-energy research and an increase in federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research – are on the Democrats’ agenda as well.
Republicans have their own view of what goals a Democratic Congress would pursue. Without conceding his party’s defeat, former GOP national chairman Ed Gillespie predicted that Democrats will raise taxes, move toward federalized health care and forsake the U.S. energy industry.
“We will see less of an effort to open up domestic sources of oil,” Gillespie said. “We won’t see a refinery built. … Nuclear energy will be frozen.”
Democratic vagueness on the issues is itself a campaign issue, pollsters say, that has helped keep the party from cinching next month’s elections.
“What do you get when you elect a Democrat? Basically there is confusion among the voters,” said pollster John Zogby.
The party’s congressional leaders vow to try to stop congressional pay hikes until the minimum wage is raised. They want to cut the interest rate for student loans in half and make college tuition a tax deduction, end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas, double the size of the military’s terrorist-fighting special forces, and implement unmet recommendations of the 9/11 commission. They also promise to promote alternative-energy sources, end so-called tax giveaways to big oil companies and repeal a Republican-passed rule that prevents Medicare officials from pressuring pharmaceutical companies to cut the cost of prescription drugs.
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, the Californian in line to become the first female speaker of the House, says that on their first day in session the Democrats will vote to ban lawmakers from accepting gifts, meals and trips from lobbyists.
Should they get control of either chamber, the Democrats would surely conduct more oversight hearings, serve more subpoenas and launch more investigations of government wrongdoing than did their GOP counterparts.
“You’ve had a Republican-led Congress that has refused to hold the Bush administration accountable both for their failures in Iraq and national security and for their failures on the domestic front,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a co-chairman of the Democratic House campaign committee.
Republicans say that “oversight” is a code word for divisive partisan “witch hunts.”
Here is a look at how things might go in Congress under the Democrats, with a particular focus on issues important to Western voters:
Iraq: Democrats vow to press President Bush to set a date, probably within six months, to start withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. But they will not, the party’s leaders say, attempt to cut off funding for the war.
“If the Congress recommended to the president – just recommended to the president – that we set a date to begin a phased redeployment of our forces out of Iraq, that would be a proper starting point,” said Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “No one is talking about stopping funding.”
Stem cells: In their first 100 hours, Pelosi’s office says, empowered Democrats would move to pass Rep. Diana DeGette’s bill to loosen restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. The president vetoed the bill earlier this year, but its backers believe they’ll now have more leverage.
“The pressure here will be tremendous, especially if Republicans realize Democrats have won seats based on (the stem-cell issue),” said DeGette, D-Colo. “It’s going to send a chill down the spine of the Republican Party.”
Immigration: Colorado Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar and Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo both say a Democratic takeover of the House would lead to passage of comprehensive immigration reform, which Bush and Salazar support but Tancredo decries as “amnesty” because it would create a pathway to legal status for many illegal immigrants.
Taxes: In their hearts, Bush says on the campaign trail, Democrats would love to kill some of the temporary tax cuts passed by the Republicans at his request in 2001 and 2003.
But the major Bush tax cuts will expire by themselves in 2010. Instead of picking a major battle over taxes, Democrats are more likely to let them die on schedule or seek a bipartisan budget deal.
Energy and public lands: Republicans have stressed increased domestic production on public lands and have been more willing to grant tax breaks to energy companies. Democrats show a much less friendly face and are likely to put more emphasis on enforcing environmental regulations, encouraging conservation and developing renewable fuels.
