Democratic Party

ANNAPOLIS -- Democratic Party Chairman Nathan Landow withstood efforts by Gov. William Donald Schaefer to remove him from his post last night, first turning back a no-confidence vote and then heading off resolutions that would have stripped him of his powers.Governor Schaefer had asked the state party's executive committee to force out Mr. Landow after hearing concerns about the chairman's "one-man" style of leadership from members of the congressional delegation, the General Assembly and the party's State Central Committee, and from Democratic National Committee members from Maryland.

WASHINGTON -- David Wilhelm, the 36-year-old Chicagoan who was Bill Clinton's campaign manager last year and is now chairman of the Democratic National Committee, says that after six months on the job, he has learned something about the Republicans in Congress: They play hardball.That this should have come as any surprise to a man who saw his candidate pilloried with GOP attacks on his character last fall is a surprise in itself. One of the hallmarks of the Clinton campaign was its mastery of hitting back when hit, with a special "rapid response" unit in Little Rock that fielded Republican barbs on the short hop and fired back within a news cycle.

NEW YORK -- When Jesse Jackson spoke to the Democratic National Convention here the other night in a distinctly subordinate role, he was notably sparing in his praise of presidential nominee Bill Clinton. But he talked of the "genius of Ron Brown," the party chairman whose genius included squeezing an endorsement of Clinton from Jackson as the price of letting him address the party.It was a recognition of Brown's deft handling of the job he won 3 1/2 years ago amid expressed concerns that he would be a tool of Jackson, or of Ted Kennedy, or of black Democrats generally.

WASHINGTON -- Acknowledging that Democrats "have spent too much time whining and rubbing hands and worrying what our message should be," Sen Barbara A. Mikulski says theDemocratic Party should return to its middle-class roots."

In a significant blow to the Maryland Republican Party, widely respected state Sen. Robert R. Neall plans to announce his switch to the Democratic Party tomorrow, according to several sources.Neall, a fiscal moderate who served as Anne Arundel County executive and was often mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate, has told friends he has grown uncomfortable in a Republican Party that has moved increasingly to the right.Neall declined to discuss his plans, saying he would issue a statement tomorrow.

WASHINGTON -- Documents released by the Democratic National Committee portray the top levels of the Democratic Party encouraging John Huang to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from Asian-Americans and urging him to do more.In recent weeks, top party officials have tried to distance themselves from Huang, saying little about the specifics of his fund-raising efforts. But a July 4 letter reveals that Donald Fowler, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, challenged Huang to "do better."

Vice President Al Gore made a brief foray into Maryland last night to tap into the wealth of the state's well-heeled Democrats and came away with an estimated $600,000 for the party's coffers. Megan Jones, deputy press secretary at the Democratic National Committee, said the money raised at the $25,000-a-couple dinner party will go to the party "for electing Democrats at all levels." The presumed Democratic nominee for president delivered a standard stump speech, praising the robust economy and denouncing Texas Gov. George W. Bush and other Republican leaders.

Political consultant Julius Henson plans to suggest in court this week that he is being prosecuted by the state's Democratic establishment only because he dared to work for Republicans, his attorney said Monday. Henson is accused of election fraud stemming from a 2010 Election Day "robocall" that prosecutors say was intended to trick black voters into staying home. But Henson's attorney contended Monday that prosecutors would not have brought the case had his client continued to work for Democrats, as he had in previous campaigns.

WASHINGTON -- Tom Harkin billed his presidential campaign as a fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. But this year, Democrats are going with their head.The Iowa senator called himself "the only real Democrat" in the race. He lost out to three new-style candidates who say the party has to change."Our campaign has been about keeping the progressive agenda alive in our party," Mr. Harkin said in his valedictory speech yesterday at Gallaudet University, a school for the deaf. "We always knew it wouldn't be easy.

WASHINGTON -- One year before the 2000 election, the Democratic Party holds its biggest lead over the Republican Party since the early part of this decade, according to an extensive new national voter survey.If that trend continues, the Democrats' strength could translate into a significant advantage in the fight for control of Congress. It could also foreshadow an extremely close contest for the White House next November.A bright spot for Republicans remains Texas Gov. George W. Bush's continuing edge in the presidential race over his potential Democratic rivals.