Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110070
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The White House-ordered shake-up at the Democratic National Committee should soothe President Clinton's prickly relations with Democrats in Congress. But by itself, it will hardly solve the widespread disillusionment in the party.
The shake-up in many ways served as a reminder of problems, from a decentralized White House management that left the national party without a clear mandate to strained relations between the Clintons and Democrats in Congress. Some lawmakers complain in one breath that the president is a drag on their campaigns and in the next say that he isn't doing enough to help them.
This is by no means new. Jimmy Carter hardly had an easy time with a Congress of his own party, and, even in the minority, congressional Republicans often sparred with the Reagan and Bush administrations over policy and politics.
But Clinton came to Washington promising to effect dramatic change and to prove one-party government would work.
And sometimes, from a Democratic perspective, it has: Family leave and other popular measures long bottled up by GOP presidents are now law; and Democrats muscled through a budget that has not, as Republicans predicted, ruined the economy and has, as Clinton promised, put the deficit on a downward spiral.
But those changes haven't been enough to satisfy an increasingly skeptical public, and with the midterm elections just 90 days away, Democrats are running scared. Republicans have a chance to capture control of the Senate, and even Democrats say the GOP could gain 25 House seats.
That sobering outlook is the principal cause of the disillusionment in Democratic ranks, and it has little to do with David Wilhelm, the party chairman who is being eased out in an arrangement that calls for former California Rep. Tony Coelho to assume a major role in the party's election planning.
``The problems the Democrats in Congress have in delivering what voters want is not related to the president or the Democratic National Committee,'' said Rep. Vic Fazio, chairman of the House Democratic campaign committee. ``This is a test of our leadership, and obviously part of our ultimate success in November will be a reflection of how well we execute our responsibility.''
Still, it was partly complaints by congressional Democrats that convinced White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to place Coelho in a major party role. In the congressmen's view, no one at the White House or party was sensitive to their needs or aggressive enough in answering Republican critics.
Now there are two former House members in Clinton's hierarchy - Panetta and Coelho - as the White House response to another political crisis was to get rid of an outsider in favor of a consummate insider.
``The single most important thing Tony Coelho brings is that he is a peer of the people with whom Bill Clinton has to build and maintain a successful partnership,'' said Democratic consultant Ann Lewis. ``The members feel that Tony understands what their needs are and that he has the stature to be heard when he speaks within the White House councils.''
That Clinton is still trying to build an effective partnership with Congress 18 months into his administration is telling evidence of a larger Democratic problem that goes well beyond any real or perceived missteps by Wilhelm.
``There is less and less party identity,'' said Lewis. ``That has been happening over the last 12 years, but it was somewhat masked by Democrats coming together against what they viewed as Republican extremes. It is much more visible with a Democrat in the White House.''
As evidence, the crime bill Democratic leaders promised to have on Clinton's desk by Memorial Day is just now nearing votes on final passage, in large part because of Democratic defections. And as the party seeks credit for passing health care reform, breakaway Democrats in both chambers of Congress are trying to derail leadership measures. Campaign finance and lobbying reforms, issues that could help Democrats cut through voter distrust of politicians, also are stalled because of feuding among Democrats.
Wilhelm is hardly to blame for those fights, and Coelho alone won't be able to settle them, especially in the part-time advisory role he says his new job will be. For all his savvy and influence, whether Democrats can add to their list of accomplishments before the elections depends on whether they can settle differences among themselves.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB