Democratic Majority

Republicans declared unequivocal victory yesterday in their yearlong war with organized labor, asserting that AFL-CIO leaders had gambled $35 million of their rank and file's money on winning a Democratic majority in Congress and lost.The labor leaders countered that they had no regrets, asserting that they had demonstrated their political clout, pushed the debate to the center and beaten enough Republicans to blunt the unstinting conservatism of the House.Gerald McEntee, who headed the labor federation's campaign to regain a House Democratic majority, declared in an interview, "He is still the speaker of the House, but I can say this: The Gingrich revolution is over."

Despite well-known challengers and widespread dissatisfaction with Washington, most of Maryland's incumbents in the House of Representatives appear to be cruising to re-election - a result of convoluted congressional districts and large Democratic majorities in most parts of the state. From the Eastern Shore, where Republican Rep. Andy Harris is running against a write-in candidate, to Baltimore, where Rep. Elijah E. Cummings enjoys a 4-1 Democratic enrollment advantage, seven of the Maryland's eight House races have received little attention.

WASHINGTON -- Standing in the concrete courtyard of a depressed public housing project in a violence-ridden neighborhood he described as "the urban crisis personified," the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson announced yesterday that he will not make a third run for the presidency next year.Instead, Mr. Jackson said, he will seek to create "a new independent democratic majority" among "the excluded and ignored," including "those caught in the middle, not on welfare, those who work every day and yet are still unable to get by."

WASHINGTON - Despite his conviction last month on corruption charges, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the nation's longest-serving Republican senator, clung tenuously to his seat yesterday as congressional Democrats exulted in their election gains elsewhere around the country. While the Democrats expanded their majorities in the House and the Senate, the outcome of a number of races could remain in doubt for several more weeks. Georgia's Senate race appeared headed for a runoff in December, and the Senate race in Oregon was too close to call.

WASHINGTON -- In a move that drew cries of outrage fro Republicans, the House Democratic majority decided yesterday to limit televised after-hours speeches by members of Congress to three hours a day divided equally between the two major parties.The Democratic plan, which also would impose a 9 p.m. EST curfew on the previously unlimited "special orders" broadcast by the C-SPAN network, sailed through the party's caucus by a vote of 174-35.Since the House has a lopsided 258-176 Democratic majority, the new rules were expected to be adopted when Congress convenes Jan. 5 despite the Republican protests that they would be deprived of a valuable forum to air minority views on national issues.

BALTIMORE COUNTY'S next council and new executive will confront issues that have hung over the state's second-largest jurisdiction for some time: managing development in a county without much open space left, keeping urban problems from destroying aging suburban communities, and ensuring that schools maintain high standards for student achievement. Fortunately, several candidates would bring the experience, new ideas and energy needed to address these potential problems. County executive: Experience is what James T. Smith Jr., a former chairman of the County Council and circuit court judge, has over Joseph Walters Jr. in the Democratic primary.

PAT SCHROEDER, Norman Mineta, Tom Bevill. In all, 20 Democrats have decided the Republican takeover of the House means it's time for them to move on. The result could be a firmer hold on the reins of power by the Republican majority. The liberal Democrat likely to replace Kweisi Mfume is in for some rough times.It will take an exceptional person to take on this job. Mr. Mfume had the benefit of Democratic leadership during most of his five House terms. But as Congress changed, so did he, from a --iki-wearing activist to a tailored-suit conciliator able to gain praise even from conservative House Speaker New Gingrich.

NEARLY EVERYONE expected the Senate debate over helping retirees buy prescription drugs to end exactly as it did yesterday -- in failure. That doesn't make it less disappointing. Driven by election-year urgency, senators were uncommonly willing to compromise. Other political considerations intervened, however, and they couldn't reach consensus. No senator should be smug about blaming the defeat on the other party. There were plenty of missteps by the Democratic majority, but also lots of Republican feet in the path making sure the Democrats stumbled.

The first impulse upon learning of another's sudden ailment or injury is generally sympathy for the individual. But when the fallen is a pivotal figure like South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, a calculation of the possible consequences quickly follows. Regardless of whether Mr. Johnson recovers from the brain condition that required emergency surgery last week, one message of his sudden disability is clear: Life is so fragile, even for an apparently healthy 59-year-old man, that nothing can be taken for granted.

THIS IS A redistricting year, and Republicans look on that prospect with a mixture of hope and desperation. They are hopeful because redistricting means that almost every member of the House will have to face at least some new voters in 1992. Anything that makes incumbents nervous makes Republicans happy, because 61 percent of House incumbents are now Democrats. But Republicans are feeling desperate, too, because once again, the redistricting process will be controlled by Democrats. Republicans assume that Democrats will manipulate the process to preserve their own partisan advantage and that in the 1990s, as in the 1980s, the GOP will be cheated out of a congressional majority.

Washington -- While the political world is focusing on next year's presidential contest, one Maryland congressman is spending his time on 435 races that might have as much bearing on the future of the nation. It's Chris Van Hollen's job as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to ensure that his party maintains control of Congress into the next administration. Van Hollen hopes to deepen the party's inroads in suburban districts, where voters in recent elections have been going Republican, and where big-city rates can make television advertising prohibitively expensive.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland will lead the national push by House Democrats to preserve their new majority in 2008, incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday. Pelosi has chosen the Montgomery County Democrat to succeed Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the hard-charging strategist who led House Democrats back to the majority last month for the first time in 12 years, as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The move puts Van Hollen in charge of the party's recruiting and fundraising efforts during the 2007-2008 election cycle.

The first impulse upon learning of another's sudden ailment or injury is generally sympathy for the individual. But when the fallen is a pivotal figure like South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, a calculation of the possible consequences quickly follows. Regardless of whether Mr. Johnson recovers from the brain condition that required emergency surgery last week, one message of his sudden disability is clear: Life is so fragile, even for an apparently healthy 59-year-old man, that nothing can be taken for granted.

WASHINGTON -- Wall Street and business leaders welcome the Democrats' capture of power in Congress as a formula for gridlock that should lead to lower government spending and no significant change in tax law. That's not to say that the Democrats' victory won't have any economic impact. It jeopardizes several trade deals that President Bush has negotiated but Congress hasn't passed. It may well mean an increase in the federal minimum wage. And it's sure to mean tougher scrutiny of Big Oil, and perhaps the first regulation of hedge funds, the investment pools favored by the very wealthy.

With a down-to-the-wire primary behind him, Democratic Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin enters the U.S. Senate general election contest with an 11-point lead over his rival, Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, according to a new poll for The Sun. Six weeks before the November vote, Cardin leads Steele, 51 percent to 40 percent, according to the statewide survey of 815 likely voters. But with Republican and Democratic parties expected to flood the state with money and appearances in the weeks to come, the race remains volatile.

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of the largest U.S. labor federation announced yesterday that they will spend more money this year than ever before to get voters to the polls in a midterm election that they hope will return Democrats to power in Congress. "This Labor Day, it appears that a `perfect storm' is gathering that may well sweep away Republican control of the Congress this fall," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Republican voter mobilization efforts were credited with big GOP wins in 2004 and 2002.

Washington -- JUDGE Clarence Thomas' post-confirmation declaration "that this is a time for healing" is not likely to get much response from the Democratic majority in the Senate that heard him pillory the Senate Judiciary Committee for conducting "a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks."The bitterness engendered by the week-long cat fight over Thomas' suitability for the Supreme Court promises to die slowly. It will doubtless contribute to continued rejection of legislation proposed by President Bush, stalemate resulting from more presidential vetoes and another negative campaign year.

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats and their moderate Republican allies held together yesterday to beat back a major challenge to their patients' rights bill, boosting momentum for the approval of legislation that Democrats have called their top priority. Six Republicans and one independent joined all 50 Democrats to defeat an amendment that would have fully exempted employers from lawsuits by employees who say they were denied necessary health care by their HMO. Last night, several senators worked toward a compromise that would limit the liability of employers who have no direct role in medical decisions affecting their employees.

Democrats have long had a grip on state Senate seats in Anne Arundel County, but Republicans are mounting their most aggressive effort yet to pick up a majority of the county's five Senate seats this fall. Republican leaders believe that changing demographics, along with quality candidates and a little luck, have put the GOP in position to wrest control of at least three of the county's five Senate seats and help kill the Democrats' super-majorities in the General Assembly. Democrats control four of the five Senate seats in the county -districts 21, 30, 31 and 32. The county has one Republican state senator, Janet Greenip in District 33. Republicans point to voting trends that show the GOP gaining strength in the county, making the argument that Anne Arundel voters do not agree with many of the decisions made by the General Assembly and want a change in leadership that better reflects their views.

WASHINGTON -- As the ashes settled after Tuesday night's late election returns, prominent Democrats like National Chairman Terry McAuliffe sifted through the embers for a spark of optimism in their defeat. It was hard to find. They consoled themselves with the fact that, at worst, the Republicans' new majorities in both the House and Senate would be narrow, reflecting the continuing existence of an electorate split down the middle. As Al From, head of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, put it, "It was a 50-50 country before the election, and it's still a 50-50 country.