The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> FORWARD MARCH br> Hand it to the White House: for every dumb move like backing a stiff like Richard Riordan , it'll pull off an elegant political coup just as you'd expect from a politically savvy shop run by Karl Rove . That capacity couldn't have been clearer last week when Vice President Dick Cheney stepped into the congressional redistricting mess in New York state. As a result of the 2000 census, New York loses two House seats, and Republicans and Democrats have been haggling over just how to split the difference. Under a plan that appeared to be on its way to approval after being handed down by a federal appeals court-appointed special master, 79-year-old Republican Ben Gilman would have held on to his seat, while two Democrats would have been re-districted out of office. /p>

Then Republican State Senate president Joe Bruno got the call from Cheney. Bruno surprised everyone by going back to the negotiating table and cutting a deal that, on its face, was a big loss for Republicans.

"We thought Bruno was nuts," says a state party representative for the Democrats. "They'd won in some ways with this special master plan. Then he comes back and cuts a deal that appears more Democratically friendly."

But the White House saw something in the plan that may in the long-term help Republicans more than retaining the old dinosaur Gilman would. Under the original plan, Rep. Tom Reynolds, a fast-rising second-term conservative Republican from suburban Buffalo, would have found himself in a far less friendly district than the one he inhabits now. Several other northern New York Republicans would have faced similar troubles.

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