Shift in Congress Ignites Search For New Leaders Democrats' Virginia Win
Seals Party's Takeover, Sets Stage for Caucusing
WASHINGTON -- Republican senators conceded defeat in Montana and Virginia, sealing the Democratic takeover of Congress and setting the stage for backroom caucuses next week to determine House and Senate leadership for the coming two years.
"We have fought the good fight and we came up just a bit short," said Sen. Conrad Burns, acknowledging his loss to Jon Tester in Montana. Hours later in suburban Virginia, Republican Sen. George Allen said he saw no hope that a recount would reverse Democrat Jim Webb's lead of about 7,200 votes.
"I do not wish to cause more rancor," said Mr. Allen, once viewed as a 2008 presidential contender. "The people of Virginia, the owners of the government, have spoken."
ELECTION FALLOUT
? Chief Concerns: Committees in Senate, House
? What a Democratic House Means for Industry Interests
? Election Q&A: What Happens Next?
? Exit poll analysis: Five states; national data
? Vote-tallies, map
? For complete coverage, see WSJ.com/Election2006.
With the Montana and Virginia victories, Democrats have gained six Senate seats this week, giving the party a 51-49 edge, counting two independents from Connecticut and Vermont who say they will caucus with the new majority. In the House, Democrats won 230 seats Tuesday and lead in two other races, a potential gain of 28 Republican-held districts.
Stung by their party's losses, a younger generation of conservative Republican lawmakers is demanding a greater voice in the leadership, especially in the House. And even in victory, the Democratic infighting is colored by the party's ambivalence about how forceful to be on national security and Iraq, a central issue in the election.
Despite voters' Election Day call for change in Washington, old faces and old grudges are also a striking part of the Capitol intrigue. Four years after he was ousted from the leadership -- in part at the urging of Sen. Allen -- Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott hopes to make a comeback by moving into the Senate Republican whip slot vacated by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) who will replace Sen. Bill Frist (R., Tenn) as party leader.
In the House, a Democratic race between Reps. Steny Hoyer of Maryland and John Murtha of Pennsylvania is colored by lingering animosities over Mr. Hoyer's past treatment of Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the future speaker. And the House Republican whip's race may turn on whether Republican Leader John Boehner throws his support to Arizona Rep. John Shadegg in an effort to rid himself of the current whip and a Boehner rival: Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt.
After the party's Tuesday losses, both Speaker Dennis Hastert (R., Ill.) and Rep. Deborah Pryce (R., Ohio), who has chaired the House Republican caucus, said they would withdraw from the leadership. That leaves Reps. Boehner and Blunt as the chief targets, and both are being challenged by members of the Republican Study Committee, a conservative bloc in the party caucus.
Mr. Boehner appears to be in the stronger position since he won his post only nine months ago and is being challenged by a less experienced candidate, Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.). By contrast, Mr. Blunt's potential vulnerabilities include his longer tenure in the leadership and the fact that his opponent is Rep. Shadegg, who has been in the leadership before and has alliances with Mr. Boehner.
Shadegg supporters were crucial to Mr. Boehner in February when he scored a come-from-behind victory over Mr. Blunt for the majority leader's post. And the Shadegg camp anticipates help now. "I don't know what they will do publicly, but I'm quite certain that privately they will give help," said Rep. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.), a Shadegg ally.
Appearing yesterday before the conservative Heritage Foundation, Mr. Blunt sought to respond with his own "New Way Forward" speech on how the conservative agenda should be redirected. Mr. Boehner sent a letter to colleagues admitting the party had drifted from its core principles and fallen into the trap of "playing not to lose instead of playing to win."
But after promising change when elected earlier this year, the majority leader has contributed to this sense of drift. When Speaker Hastert, for example, pressed for tougher ethics rules during the winter, Mr. Boehner discouraged the effort. And in the post-Labor Day session, neither Mr. Boehner nor Mr. Blunt seized the opportunity to press hard for legislation to make permanent an important middle-class tax break: the expanded $1,000 child tax credit.
With only weeks to organize the new Congress, House Democrats have less time for introspection. Party leaders signaled Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who led the successful campaign effort this year, will be rewarded with expanded authority and staff as the new chairman of the party's caucus. That decision gives Rep. James Clyburn, a respected black South Carolina legislator, a clear path to move up into the party's whip position.
But Mr. Hoyer, the current whip, must still contend with Mr. Murtha, a Marine Vietnam veteran who has emerged as a major spokesman for the party in challenging the Bush administration's policies in Iraq. A skilled backroom negotiator, the 74-year-old Mr. Murtha has been moved by the public support for his stand, and after years of shunning any role in the leadership, he is persuaded that he is needed to give Ms. Pelosi a strong partner to face down the White House on national security issues.
"I would feel ecstatic if there was no race, but I'm confident I will win," Mr. Hoyer said. But Mr. Murtha, who can't be dismissed as a vote counter, believes he is close to a majority depending on some breaks among the incoming class. And much as Ms. Pelosi says she isn't involved, top lieutenants like Rep. George Miller (D., Calif.) are allied with the Murtha challenge and could be useful in reaching out to liberal members upset with Mr. Murtha's past votes against abortion and with the National Rifle Association.
美国民主党赢得国会控制权
美国参议员乔治?艾伦(George Allen)周四承认在弗吉尼亚州的参议员席位争夺中败给了民主党候选人吉姆?韦布(Jim Webb)，使得民主党最终获得了参议院控制权。这也标志着这位曾被认为是总统候选人热门人选的人物遭到了重大失败。
在计票结果显示韦布以微弱多数取胜后，韦布已于周三早间声称自己获胜。
艾伦在周二的最初投票结果公布后未要求重新计票，至此，韦布在多达237万张选票中以大约7,200张的优势胜出。最终结果将经州选举委员会(State Board of Elections)证实后于11月27日生效。
按照美国相关选举法，票数差距在0.5个百分点以内的情况下候选人可以要求重新计票。弗吉尼亚州在现代历史中有两次全州重新计票的经历，分别发生在去年和1989年，重计结果仅产生37票和113票的误差。
继康拉德?伯恩斯(Conrad Burns)在蒙大拿州参议院选举中失利后，弗吉尼亚州的选举成为决定两党参议院控制权的最后一席。韦布的胜利最终为民主党赢得了参议院的第51个席位，在时隔12年后，民主党首次重新获得了美国参众两院的控制权。
赶走艾伦后民主党似乎已经为控制国会扫清障碍。在本次中期选举中很多人表现出对布什(Bush)总统及其伊拉克政策的不满，致使六位现任参议员落败。
民主党在众议院选举中获得了230个席位，而共和党仅获得196席。按照目前的趋势来看，民主党很可能以232-203的多数胜出－－比它在总计435个席位中占据多数所需的席位数多出14个。民主党本次未丧失自己的任何席位，并从共和党手中抢过了28个席位。
参众两院格局的转变也改变了政府的权力分配，布什总统在丧失共和党对国会的控制权后在推进立法方面将遭到更大阻力。
目前民主党正为本次选举欢呼，并呼吁两党展开合作，而与此同时，他们也誓言要详细审查政府的政策及决议。
