The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> INDEPENDENCE MISERY br> Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords has identified his party affiliation as "Independent" since jumping from the Republican Party last year. But since he's the only one of his kind in the Senate, who to hang out with during campaign season? "He offered to campaign for Democrats," says a staffer for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "And while we appreciate the offer, there haven't been many takers." /p>

Apparently Democrats have discovered what should have been obvious when Jeffords was a Republican. "He's got a reputation for being high maintenance," says the DSCC source. "Whenever [Majority Leader] Tom Daschle or [Whip] Harry Reid hear we could send Jeffords out on the road for Democrats, they just roll their eyes and shake their heads."

p> BROWARD BLOWHARD br> DNC chairpersona Terry McAuliffe stood up at the Broward County Democratic Jefferson/Jackson Day fundraiser over the weekend and laid into the Bush family with gusto, even Barbara Bush . And while the crowd made lots of noise, Democratic National Committee and Florida Democratic Party officials were privately disappointed by the turnout. "I guess the official number will be around 800, but we probably didn't hit that figure," says a Florida Democratic fundraiser. "If we did, it was barely. And we'd really hoped with McAuliffe as the headliner and with Janet Reno

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