Jeffords Turns Into Leapin' Liberal

0 Comments | Insight on the News, June 18, 2001 | by Jennifer G. Hickey

Deciding that he no longer is tailor-made for the Republican Party, Vermont Sen. James Jeffords dons a `jump' suit, leaving Democrats in control of the Senate and the GOP searching for a silver lining.

Since 1993, more than 500 Democrats holding office at either the state or federal levels have left their party. Even if taken en bloc, these defections were no match in gravity for the announcement by Vermont Sen. James Jeffords that he was leaving the Republican Party and becoming an Independent "in order to best represent my state of Vermont." This Harvard-trained lawyer not only split the infinitive but delivered control of the Senate to the Democrats and, in so doing, may have knocked the legislative agenda of George W. Bush off track.

To explain his decision to constituents Jeffords said, "Increasingly, I find myself in disagreement with my party ... [and] it has become a struggle for our leaders to deal with me and for me to deal with them." Apparently we can't just all get along. The fact that Jeffords was not a solid Republican vote was no secret. As the Almanac of American Politics notes, "[Jeffords] has compiled one of the most liberal voting records of any Republican." Note "liberal," not "moderate." But given he was just re-elected as a Republican, the decision came as a surprise to many on Capitol Hill, including his staff.

On the morning of May 24, the Vermont senator's Washington staff gathered to watch the televised announcement in his personal office, where a framed program from a performance of the Singing Senators, of which Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is a member, adorns the wall. "Emotional" was the word one staffer used to describe the day's events. Other taciturn Vermonters working for Jeffords let their surprise and uncertainty show on their faces rather than say a word.

Mark Powden, staff director of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that Jeffords has chaired, tells Insight that while most of the staff was unaware of Jeffords' plans, "obviously it will involve a change" for all of them. Powden, who has worked for Jeffords for more than a decade, dismissed questions about his own future, preferring to note that "the [Boston] Red Sox pitching rotation is pretty much set." That is, unless a hurler defects to the New York Yankees.

A case of chronic ideological indigestion developed into a bleeding ulcer when a private meeting with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney was added to rumors of Jeffords' discontent and the senator's announcement of a May 23 press conference.

As Republicans hurried to salvage the situation, House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., was on his way to a press conference for the Alliance for Retired Americans with a bounce in his step and a bite in his rhetoric. He denounced the Senate GOP for moving the tax cut to the floor before an energy bill. Then he offhandedly called the likely Jeffords defection "a wake-up call for the White House" and "a blow for bipartisanship."

Slowly coming to terms with the pending announcement, Republicans began searching for a silver lining in this cloud of hemp smoke. "It is actually kind of liberating ... [because] in the majority you do feel a burden with the pressure of appropriations bills to be passed," whistled Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who still held out hope Jeffords would remain in the GOP.

Heading back to the floor for another vote, Tennessee Republican Bill Frist, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said if "there is a silver lining to be found, it is that this should activate our base," as well as "bringing focus and discipline to the campaigns." According to committee sources, executive director Mitch Bainwol convened an all-staff meeting to deliver a "let's-not-be-bitter pep talk" on the afternoon of May 23.

With a dozen Republican incumbents up for re-election, the bitterness was palpable among several committee staffers who noted pep talks don't win elections.

With speculation swirling around Lott's future as Republican leader and the press laying blame at the shoes of every Republican except Jeffords, the leadership showed a unified front. Lott and Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, seen as Lott's most likely replacement, stood at the podium together to answer questions, and the Senate Republican Conference released a "statement of unity and commitment" pledging to work with each and all.

By now, Democrats and pundits had taken to blaming the administration. "I think Jim Jeffords' statement and his I move is a strong signal about the failure of the Bush administration to in fact practice a change of tone in Washington and to be inclusive," declared Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J.

However badly the Republican leadership and the administration may have erred in dealing with the developing problem, many on Capitol Hill think Jeffords' decision was spurred, but not caused, by not being invited to an event where "teachers of the year" were honored or by rumors that Bush would not support the dairy compact. There were even those who said Jeffords was trying to strengthen his appeal as a gubernatorial candidate. The speculation was, in any case, well short of providing a credible explanation.