Democrats And Republicans

WASHINGTON -- With his long-promised veto yesterday of a bill to expand health insurance for children, President Bush has ignited an ideological battle that could rage on into next year's presidential campaign. At bottom, the issue is whether government should take the lead in extending health care benefits to uninsured children - mostly in low-income, but some in middle-class families - or whether the problem should be left primarily to the private sector. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, is managed by states within federal guidelines.

We are fast approaching a critical moment in American politics. To fully appreciate what's happening, you need only to understand the difference between a camel and a dromedary. The one thing media talking heads agree upon is that the center prevails. Turn on almost any of the nation's political talk shows and pretty soon somebody will say how crucial it is for politicians to appeal to registered independents and self-described moderate voters. They conjure for us an image of the distribution of the American electorate as that of a dromedary's single hump with a large, vital center of thoughtful citizens in the middle, flanked by a downward-sloping share of shrill, radical liberals on one side and grumbling, reactionary conservatives on the other.

THE GREAT mentioner has discovered Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.In recent weeks, the name of Maryland's lieutenant governor has been bandied about nationally as a possible running mate for Vice President Al Gore in next year's presidential election.Relying on unnamed sources in the Clinton administration, syndicated columnist Robert Novak said Townsend "might" receive "serious consideration" for the No. 2 spot with Gore, should he win the Democratic nomination.Another conservative columnist, Arianna Huffington, might as well be on the lieutenant governor's payroll, considering the glowing column she wrote about Townsend.

Although Wednesday's budget vote highlighted a tax increase dispute between Democrats and Republicans on the Howard County Council, the theme for this four-year term is civility, members say.That willingness to bypass partisan rhetoric may have been hard to detect in the televised voting session, with the two new Republicans voting against any Democrat-proposed tax increase. But a smaller meeting a bit earlier was more revealing.The three first-term members and Chairman C. Vernon Gray -- two Republicans and two Democrats -- talked about asking County Executive James N. Robey for more than $200,000 in unbudgeted contingency funds to hire five more council staffers.

REPUBLICANS in Maryland have to broaden their base if they expect to win statewide office soon.That's the conclusion of Ellen R. Sauerbrey, who lost the last two gubernatorial elections because her conservative GOP support proved too narrow. She and other party leaders are endorsing a plan to let independents vote in the Republicans' big presidential primary next March.That would be a wise move by the state's minority party, whichhas made little headway in denting Democratic dominance of statewide offices.

The plan is to move the destitute near the prison. Safest place in town.The economy is up and inflation down. Must be something they're not telling us.Baltimore has the national museums of fish, lacrosse, dentistry, light bulbs and visionary art, but Arlington, Va., is getting the DEA's national narco museum, a winner.House Democrats and Republicans decided to bomb each other.Pub Date: 5/03/99

Tomorrow is the last day voters can change party affiliation before the Sept. 15 primary.A voter must register as a Democrat or Republican to vote in the primary, except in nonpartisan elections such as school board.Crossover voting is not allowed; Democrats can vote only for Democrats and Republicans for Republicans. Crossover voting is allowed in the general election.The Board of Supervisors of Elections will stay open at its second-floor office at 125 N. Court St. until 9 p.m. to receive voter registration changes.

A NEW YEAR usually brings optimism for what lies ahead. Certainly that's true in Maryland politics, where both Democrats and Republicans view 1998 as their kind of election season.But only one of them will have their dreams come true.Here's why Democrats start the year with enthusiasm:A highly popular U.S. senator, Barbara A. Mikulski, is expected to roll up a landslide victory.Veteran candidatesTwo longtime state officials, Attorney General Joseph Curran Jr. and Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein, should coast to victory.

With millions of state dollars for schools and other county projects at stake in this session of the General Assembly, Anne Arundel County's House delegation has split along partisan lines.The six Democrats have complained that the seven Republicans have shut them out of delegation leadership posts. The Republicans say the Democrats boycotted a meeting in December at which the delegation typically elects officers and one on the first day of the session last week at which the Republicans adopted rules and elected officers.

Even as Marylanders were mourning the death Friday of Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein, the state's major political parties turned quickly yesterday to look for candidates who might compete for his mantle in the November election.With the stakes high for Democrats and Republicans -- and the state filing deadline fast approaching tomorrow at 9 p.m. -- efforts to recruit well-known candidates were unsuccessful for both parties as of last night.Influential Democrats urged Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann to abandon her primary challenge to Gov. Parris N. Glendening and run instead for the post Goldstein held for almost 40 years.

Washington -The power shift that ousted the Republicans and put Democrats in charge of Washington may be approaching a turning point. Evidence is still sketchy, but the trend that favored Democrats over the past five years may have run its course. Remember that special election for a congressional seat from New York? The one that would be the first referendum on Barack Obama's presidency and a make-or-break test for Republican National Chairman Michael Steele? It wound up a virtual tie, snuffing out attempts to exaggerate its significance.

After a lengthy labor, we can slap that 1st Congressional District baby on the bottom and declare: It's a Democrat. The close and contentious race finally produced a winner Tuesday when Andy Harris conceded and Frank Kratovil declared victory, shifting the conservative-leaning district from Republican to Democratic hands for the first time since 1991. If it's true that victory has many fathers but defeat is an orphan, the parentage of Kratovil's win would have to include sheer timing (it was a good year for Democrats overall)

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration and congressional leaders moved closer to an agreement on a historic $700 billion bailout for financial firms yesterday, including tight congressional oversight and new help for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. But lawmakers in both parties voiced anger over the steep cost and even skepticism about the plan's chances of success. As a ferocious debate began on Capitol Hill yesterday, Congress and the administration remained at odds over specific features that some lawmakers are demanding, including limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help and new authority to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage terms for borrowers facing foreclosure.

1 Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, ousted after nine terms in a bitter Republican primary campaign last winter, will cross party lines today to endorse Democrat Frank M. Kratovil Jr. in the 1st Congressional District. A senior member of Gilchrest's staff confirmed yesterday that the veteran lawmaker - who earned a reputation as a staunch environmentalist who frequently clashed with Republican Party leaders - will join Kratovil, an Eastern Shore prosecutor, at appearances today in Annapolis and Easton.

ON THE ECONOMY Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes, and more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay and tuition that is beyond your reach. These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed presidency of George W. Bush. America, we are better than these last eight years.

BILL DICKINSON, 82 Former Congressman Former Rep. Bill Dickinson, a Democrat-turned-Republican who championed a strong defense and helped make Alabama a two-party state, died Monday at his Montgomery, Ala., home after suffering from colon cancer, longtime aide Walter Bamberg said. Mr. Dickinson, who served in the House from 1965 to 1993, was one of several Democrats recruited to change parties in 1964 and run as Republicans for Congress in a state that had been solidly Democratic for a century.

Embedded in Democrat Barack Obama's success in the Iowa caucuses and potentially in today's presidential primary balloting in New Hampshire is his call for putting aside Washington partisanship to build "a working majority for change." "Change" is the primary buzzword, of course, now adopted by all candidates of both parties, who have learned that at a time of war and economic downturn, nobody's much interested in staying the course. But the phrase "working majority" has its own allure: Democrats and Republicans forming coalitions to achieve concrete results, threading a path between liberal and conservative extremes to address such thorny issues as universal health care, entitlement reform, energy resources and environmental controls.

The stakes in the U.S. presidential election may be the highest in decades, with danger spots multiplying around the world and economic threats looming at home. The election process - the first in 56 years that doesn't involve an incumbent president or vice president - has moved into high gear after Barack Obama's upset of national front runner Hillary Clinton in the Iowa Democratic caucuses and a similar defeat in Iowa of Republican leader Mitt Romney by Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas.

We began questioning why Democrats and Republicans could have spirited but respectful competitions in the members' gym, but as soon as we left the gym and went to the floor of the House, we resembled an elementary school auditorium that had run amok."

WASHINGTON -- With his long-promised veto yesterday of a bill to expand health insurance for children, President Bush has ignited an ideological battle that could rage on into next year's presidential campaign. At bottom, the issue is whether government should take the lead in extending health care benefits to uninsured children - mostly in low-income, but some in middle-class families - or whether the problem should be left primarily to the private sector. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, is managed by states within federal guidelines.