While the announcement by Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.
on Friday that he would seek the Democratic Leadership mantle in
the House makes this week’s election a bit more interesting in a
smoke-filled-room kind of way, Rep. Nancy Pelosi
seemingly has the election wrapped up. And that is probably good
news for Republicans.
Ford’s last minute bid was a bit of a surprise, however, and is
seen by many of his colleagues as an attempt to push himself up the
leadership ladder, one that has him at the lower rungs. Earlier
this year, Ford, perhaps wisely, chose to pass up an opportunity to
run for the Senate. And while he has been tabbed as a future
Democratic leader since his days serving on Bill
Clinton’s first transition team ten years ago, Ford has
taken his political climb slowly.
That’s in part due to his occasional clashes behind closed doors
with soon to be former Minority Leader Dick
Gephardt over issues such as tax cuts, which he claims to
support. In the later days of the Clinton administration, he
angered colleagues by becoming a vocal critic of the now former
president.
For election purposes, and to have a shot at higher office, Ford
has had constantly to re-fashion himself as a moderate, if not
conservative Democrat in increasingly conservative Tennessee. This
political reality also explains why he a member of the moderate
Blue Dog and New Democratic Coalition caucuses.
“His candidacy was probably just a shot across Pelosi’s bow to
remind her that he was there,” says a Democratic House member. “He
hasn’t done any serious ground work on this as far as I can tell. I
don’t know many members who have spoken to him about it of late. We
all know he’d like to be in a more visible position. I just don’t
that this was the best way to do it, given the circumstances.”
Those circumstances include the Democrats’ election debacle and
the ongoing wailing and gnashing of teeth inside the party over
said debacle. Moreover, members of the Black Caucus remain upset
about the way some of their members were treated in the past
election, namely their perception that the Democratic National
Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
actively sought alternate candidates to challenge some of the
caucus members. That process cost the caucus Cynthia
McKinney and Earl Hilliard, even though
both newly elected replacements are also black.
“We need to get some of these problems smoothed out fast,” says
the House member. “Creating a race that might further deepen the
hurt feelings probably wasn’t the way to go.”
On Sunday morning, Ford was insisting he had a shot, fielding
calls from Democrat House leaders, such as Gephardt, who told him
now was not the time to challenge and create further discord inside
the caucus. But while many viewed the decision by Rep.
Martin Frost to withdraw from the leadership
contest as a sign of Pelosi’s dominant lead, people on Ford’s side
viewed it as acknowledgment that their man might be in a better
position to gain support.
If Ford continues his campaign into the early part of the week,
it’s expected that Pelosi’s minions will attempt to defuse the
race. “She’s going to have to offer him something pretty
substantive to get him to support her wholeheartedly,” says another
House member, who is supporting Ford. “We know it’s an uphill race,
but if we can make the liberal wing of the party sweat, then all
the better.”
That sweating may not be what Republicans want. While
Republicans in the House are willing to give Pelosi props for her
political bloodlines and her fundraising ability, privately they
say they believe she is far too inexperienced and reactionary in
her left-leaning politics to make a serious leader for the
Democrats.
“Frankly, Frost made us more nervous,” says a retiring
Republican House member. “He was bland, but thoughtful and
seriously moderate. He would have been a good foil to DeLay. The
Democrats don’t know what they’ve bought into.”
Republican National Committee staffers have been holding back
what one aide called “reams of opposition research on Pelosi.” But
any opposition the liberal Californian might get from Republicans
may be nothing compared to the doubts she faces from her Democratic
colleagues. “She had the votes, but she’s not going to have an easy
time. She’s made some enemies and the moderates aren’t happy about
her being their leader. They aren’t going to give her a free pass,”
says the Ford-supporting House member.
