Minority Leader

Republican delegates, giddy with the excitement of electoral victory, picked Robert H. Kittleman of Howard County as their new leader yesterday, a move they hope will keep pressure on the General Assembly's ruling Democrats.Mr. Kittleman won a closer than expected 21-20 victory over Delegate George C. Edwards of Garrett County in the race for House minority leader. Mr. Kittleman had vowed to continue the more confrontational style of outgoing Minority Leader Ellen R. Sauerbrey, while Mr. Edwards was considered more likely to try to forge alliances with conservative Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will not be facing a challenge from actress Ashley Judd when he runs for re-election next year. Though he may be happy to have avoided the physical comparison -- she, after all, played Marilyn Monroe in a movie, while he looks like an ancient sea turtle dressed in a $1,000 suit -- the Kentucky Republican may miss having such an attractive target for his attack machine. Mr. McConnell is not all that popular back home. Democrats, of course, can't stand him, and tea party Republicans may like him even less.

TWO YEARS and nine months before the next presidential primary, House minority leader Richard Gephardt has effectively broken with the Clinton administration and served notice he will challenge Vice President Al Gore for the Democratic nomination. By coming out against the balanced budget agreement forged by Mr. Clinton and the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill, the Missouri congressman has deliberately called attention to the ideological fault line between liberals and moderates in his party.

Editor: My good friend Stuart Tamres appears to have misunderstood the recent letter from Wendy Sawyer that appeared in The Aegis . Rather than calling on everyone to blindly jump on the Democratic bandwagon, she merely stated the obvious: President Obama won the election (and 52 percent is a majority whether Stuart believes it or not) and he gets to set the agenda. If the Republicans want to have a say, they need to join the discussions and show they are serious about solving this country's fiscal problems.

WASHINGTON -- Citing concerns that "his heart is not as big as his head," Minority Leader Harry Reid, the Senate's top Democrat, announced yesterday that he would vote against John G. Roberts Jr., President Bush's choice to serve as the next chief justice of the United States. Reid was the first Democrat to formally state his position on Roberts' nomination. Reid, of Nevada, insisted that his decision should not be seen as a party position and other Democrats should vote as they see fit. However, because Reid is a centrist Democrat who opposes abortion, his opposition was seen as a signal that many, and perhaps most, Democrats were likely to come out against the 50-year-old appeals court judge.

State Senate Minority Leader Martin G. Madden, a moderate Howard County Republican who helped craft Maryland's welfare reform program, said yesterday that he will end his 11-year career in elected office for personal and business reasons. Madden, 52, who has led the Senate's Republicans for three years, said he plans to leave his General Assembly seat at the end of the year. His district covers most of eastern Howard County and the Laurel area of Prince George's County. Madden is a self-employed insurance agent.

WASHINGTON - In the jostling among Democratic presidential contenders for endorsements from elected officials, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri laid claim yesterday to being king of the hill - Capitol Hill, that is. Gephardt, a 14-term congressman, scooped up the formal backing of his successor as House minority leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, and her chief deputy, House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland. Gephardt also named 28 other House Democrats who back his candidacy.

Some House Democrats have professed to be surprised that their leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has decided to ask them to retain her as their chieftain, this time as minority leader, in the next congressional session based on the Republican takeover. The argument apparently is that after the huge loss of seats in this fall's midterm elections, she should have voluntarily taken the blame and slinked off into political oblivion. Some even suggested she might well retire from Congress altogether.

Nancy Pelosi's days as speaker of the House were dwindling in number, but her to-do list was growing: The tax deal President Barack Obama negotiated with Republicans but she was charged with passing? Check. Threats of rebellion within her own Democratic ranks? Quelled. Immigration? Gays in the military? Plenty of time — never mind that clock ticking toward Christmas break and the Jan. 5 start date for the new House that she no longer will lead. But on one afternoon last week, despite the urgent negotiations and the late-night votes, Pelosi seemed as serene as her surroundings: a pale yellow sitting room that is part of the prime Capitol real estate she commands, for now, with power views of the Washington Monument and a collection of photographs that speak to a long and highly personal view of politics, measured not just by election cycles but generational ones.

THE SENATEState HouseAnnapolis, 21401Tel. 841-3700PresidentThomas V. Mike Miller Jr.D-Prince George'sPresident pro temFrederick C. Malkus Jr.D-DorchesterMajority leaderClarence W. BlountD-BaltimoreMajority whipMichael J. WagnerD-Anne Arundel CountyMinority leaderJohn A. CadeR-Anne Arundel CountyMinority whipF. Vernon BoozerR-Baltimore CountyTHE HOUSE OF DELEGATESState HouseAnnapolis, 21401Tel. 841-3800SpeakerR. Clayton Mitchell Jr.D-KentSpeaker pro temNancy K. KoppD-Montgomery CountyMajority leaderD.

Over the next several weeks, Republicans in Washington will be engaged in a critical mission: to persuade Democrats of the need to develop a plan that reins in our debt without raising taxes, which we know would kill jobs. This effort is taking place in the context of President Barack Obama's request to raise the nation's debt limit, and early indications suggest that many Democrats still need some convincing. The key to success, in my view, is for everyone involved to view the debt limit vote as an opportunity — an opportunity to reduce Washington spending now and to save taxpayers trillions of dollars over the long term.

Maryland Senate Republicans chose Sen. Nancy Jacobs as minority leader on Friday — just weeks after voting her out of the minority whip position. The GOP caucus elected Sen. E.J. Pipkin as the new minority whip. The leadership elections followed the resignation of Minority Leader Allan H. Kittleman over his plans to introduce legislation to legalize same-sex civil unions in Maryland. Jacobs, who represents Harford and Cecil counties, said the Senate Republicans' main goal this year will be to "protect constituents who are hurting financially in these tough economic times.

Nancy Pelosi's days as speaker of the House were dwindling in number, but her to-do list was growing: The tax deal President Barack Obama negotiated with Republicans but she was charged with passing? Check. Threats of rebellion within her own Democratic ranks? Quelled. Immigration? Gays in the military? Plenty of time — never mind that clock ticking toward Christmas break and the Jan. 5 start date for the new House that she no longer will lead. But on one afternoon last week, despite the urgent negotiations and the late-night votes, Pelosi seemed as serene as her surroundings: a pale yellow sitting room that is part of the prime Capitol real estate she commands, for now, with power views of the Washington Monument and a collection of photographs that speak to a long and highly personal view of politics, measured not just by election cycles but generational ones.

Some House Democrats have professed to be surprised that their leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has decided to ask them to retain her as their chieftain, this time as minority leader, in the next congressional session based on the Republican takeover. The argument apparently is that after the huge loss of seats in this fall's midterm elections, she should have voluntarily taken the blame and slinked off into political oblivion. Some even suggested she might well retire from Congress altogether.

Finally, a sign that Congressional Republicans may have some flexibility after all. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner's recent disclosure that he'd be willing to vote for President Barack Obama's proposed tax break for families earning $250,000 or less demonstrates that a compromise over Bush-era tax policy is possible. It appears Mr. Boehner has recognized that outrage and extremism only gets you so far. The GOP's all-or-nothing approach to tax cuts — reminiscent of the party's oppose-at-all-costs philosophy toward the president's agenda generally — wasn't going to play well with working class Americans.

It has come to this: Election-year tension over Maryland's budget predicament has grown so intense that Republicans and Democrats can't even agree on how to talk about the problem. The General Assembly's top fiscal leaders want Republican lawmakers to gather for an unusual meeting next week to discuss programs that could be reduced or eliminated. Weary of being criticized for irresponsible spending, House and Senate leaders want Republicans to outline exactly where to trim the state's $13 billion general fund budget.

John J. Rhodes Jr., 86, a former House minority leader and key congressional player who urged President Richard M. Nixon to resign during the turbulent days of Watergate, died of cancer Sunday in Mesa, Ariz. Mr. Rhodes, who served 30 years as an Arizona congressman and retired in 1982, joined Sens. Barry Goldwater and Hugh Scott in visiting Nixon on Aug. 7, 1974, to tell him that impeachment was inevitable if he did not resign. On Aug. 9, Nixon resigned. Mr. Rhodes ended months of neutrality on the president's future by saying he would vote for impeachment because no one - not even the president - should be above the law. Voter backlash over Watergate cost the GOP 48 House seats in 1974, and ended any hope Mr. Rhodes had of becoming speaker of a Republican-dominated chamber.

Republicans in the House of Delegates chose one of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s most outspoken backers as minority leader yesterday, signaling a desire to provide a vocal opposition to the Democrats who now control the governorship as well as the legislature. Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell, the Southern Maryland Republican who served as minority whip for the last four years, will move up to the role of minority leader when the legislature reconvenes in January, taking over the spot held by state Sen.-elect George C. Edwards.

Their party reeling from the loss of the governorship and seats in the legislature, several Republicans in the House of Delegates are pushing for new leadership and a move away from the confrontational tactics that defined relations between the GOP and Democratic General Assembly leaders for the past four years. The drive for more cooperation is the first move in what is expecting to be a post-election retrenching for the state GOP. Top party posts in the state Senate are also up for grabs, and the Maryland Republican Party is likely to select a new chairman to oversee operations.