Moderates Still Wield Power in Congress
MODERATES
Bangor Daily News
Lauren Smith
Boston University Washington News Service
11/30/2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 —Despite the ouster of many moderate Republicans in the midterm elections, politicians and political experts still expect moderates to play a pivotal role in the upcoming Congress.
“Nearly 45 percent of Americans describe themselves as moderates and I think that speaks volumes about what the people want, what Maine people want: an independent voice building a political center,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who won reelection with almost 75 percent of the vote.
The Democrats will enjoy a 31-seat majority in the House come January. In the Senate, Democrats will have a slim two-seat majority in combination with the two independents who have said they will be caucusing with the Democrats.
“Because of the Senate rules, it takes 60 votes to get any major bill passed,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). “That means the moderates on both sides of the aisle will be the ones who determine whether or not legislation is approved.”
The slight majority in the Senate could put Republican moderates in a powerful position.
“The few moderate Republicans that exist in the Senate are in an influential position,” said Richard Powell, political science professor at the University of Maine, Orono. “They still control the swing vote in such a narrowly divided Senate.”
Because of the rules in the House which allow the majority party to control the flow of legislation, Republicans in the House will have less influence, said Powell.
But the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and conservative House Democrats, of which Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine) is a member, hopes to reach over to the Republican side of the aisle on at least some issues, said Eric Wortman, the coalition’s spokesman.
“I think you will see a rise in bipartisanship. The leadership of the House has made that clear,” Wortman said.
The recent election brought a number of new Blue Dog Democrats to the House but took a particularly hard toll on the already endangered New England Republican.
Rep. Chris Shays is not only the last Connecticut Republican in the House, he’s the only Republican left in the chamber from New England. The state’s other two GOP representatives, Nancy Johnson and Rob Simmons, viewed as moderates on most issues, lost to Democratic challengers.
“This is just the latest in a long line of elections in which the number of moderate Republicans has been declining in both the House and the Senate,” Powell said. “The trend has been underway for quite some time now.”
New Hampshire’s two Republican House members, Charles Bass and Jeb Bradley also were defeated by Democratic challengers.
In Rhode Island, moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chaffee was ousted from his position. In Massachusetts, a Democratic governor was elected for the first time in 16 years, putting the statehouse in line with the state’s entire congressional delegation.
“It is not healthy for Republicans to have such a small presence in an entire region of the country,” Shays said. “Competition makes everyone perform better. It would be better for the Republicans, the Democrats and the country to have two strong parties in New England.”
Shays said he would be happy to travel in New England to help rebuild the moderate wing of the party in the Northeast.
“Moderates in both parties have an important role of reaching across the aisle to get things done,” Shays said. “Most Americans are not red or blue, they are purple.”
Maine’s two senators said they believe voters want results from Congress which requires bi-partisanship.
“I really do think the American people spoke vehemently about what they want from their elected officials and we all have a collective responsibility to address that,” Snowe said.
Collins added: “I think the message that was sent by this past election was that people are tired of partisan politics and that they are tired of excessive partisanship. They want us to work together, roll up our sleeves, and get to work.”
The aim of the Senate Centrist Coalition is to do just that. The coalition, created in 1995, is made up of moderate Democrat and Republican senators who work together to bridge the partisan divide.
But with the shift in control of the Senate, it remains to be seen what the group will look like, what issues it will focus on and who will be a part of it.
“The centrist’s role and the centrist voice in the political process has unfortunately been diminished because of ideological division and partisanship, and created a huge political chasm in the political process,” said Snowe, who has co-chaired the coalition with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, R-Conn.
Collins said she thinks there will be a “floating and changing coalition of centrists who work together.”
“I think the individual senators may change, but I think you will still find groups of moderates working together,” she said.
Collins also pointed out the newly elected senators she considered centrists—Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). “They are not from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. They are centrists, so I expect to be able to work very well with them.”
Snowe remained realistic.
“Does that mean we won’t have differences,” she asked. “No. But we’ll try to make every attempt to pave a way towards crafting solutions to problems, work through and navigate out differences and obstacles to get to an end result that will benefit the broader majority of Americans.”
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