PELOSI CAN PICK ‘EM
Moderate House Democrats continue to voice concerns and doubts
about leader Nancy Pelosi’s selection of Rep.
Robert Matsui to run the party’s Congressional
Campaign Committee. The worry is that Matsui is not up to leading
the Herculean fundraising effort facing Democrats in 2004.
“With McCain-Feingold setting in, we really could have used
someone who knows the ropes a bit better than Bob appears to,” says
a former DCCC staffer let go after the last election. “From the
outside looking in, it’s not clear we’re doing anything different
from last time, and that was a disaster.”
New York Rep. Nita Lowey chaired the DCCC last
time around. Her leadership oversaw one of the more embarrassing
election cycles for House Democrats in recent memory, especially
because so many liberal Democrats thought they were perfectly
positioned to cut further into the Republicans’ slim majority.
Instead, the GOP widened its margin of majority.
Matsui wasn’t the number one choice of any House Democrats for
the job, other than perhaps his good pal Pelosi. Her pick drew
complaints from moderate Dems and the Congressional Black Caucus,
both of which had put their own candidates forward. Instead, Pelosi
went with the liberal Californian.
According to current and former DCCC staffers, Matsui so far has
only brought in a group of trusted liberals whose experience has
been in California campaigns. “There’s been no attempt to bring in
other voices,” says a current DCCC staffer. “It was suggested that
he bring in former chairman [Rep. Martin]
Frost for a chat, for help. Nothing. This is less
about Matsui and more about Pelosi. We get the idea that she’s
calling the shots.”
Which, as caucus leader, she should be. But at a time when
Democrats are becoming increasingly alarmed by McCain-Feingold’s
donation caps and soft money ban, other party regulars are worried
less about who is raising the money than about how the money is
going to be raised at all.
“I know Terry [McAuliffe] has
high hopes, but he had high hopes in 2002 too,” says a Texas
delegate to last weekend’s DNC winter meetings. “The party is
really counting on everyone doing their best in 2004. There isn’t
much margin for error.”
Thus the many concerns about Matsui and Pelosi. Current DCCC
staffers say they are troubled that even in clearly conservative
states like North Carolina, Pelosi and Matsui are considering
candidates far to the left of the voting population. “They were
looking at possibilities who might run in an open seat down there
in a semi-rural district, and a moderate wasn’t even on the list,”
says a DCCC staffer. “It was all liberals from Charlotte.” (North
Carolina election law doesn’t require that a candidate live in the
district he is competing to represent.)
As well, Matsui didn’t wow his colleagues at last month’s
congressional retreat. In discussing plans for 2004, much of the
talk came from Pelosi and whip Steny Hoyer.
“Pelosi is going to be judged on the Matsui pick, to be sure,”
says a moderate Democratic representative. “She thinks the liberal
wing of the party is going to lead us to victory. And apparently
she’s going to try to prove that point without any of our
help.”
REED IS READY
The announcement late last week that Georgia Republican Party
chairman Ralph Reed was stepping down from that
job re-ignited rumors that he will enter the fray for the state’s
GOP Senate nomination in the 2004 campaign. But according to White
House sources, and people who have talked to Reed, the Senate seat
still isn’t a possibility.
“As long as we don’t have a candidate running for that slot with
national name recognition, Reed’s name is going to be in play, but
there really aren’t any plans for him to run right now,” says a
White House staffer.
Reed, rather, is expected to help implement a broad
Southern-state campaign strategy for the Bush 2004 re-election
team, led by Karl Rove and Ken
Mehlman.
“We’re expecting he’ll be a point man in the South for us, doing
what he did in Georgia across the region,” says an RNC campaign
staffer. “It’s going to be really important if the Dems have a
moderate Southerner on the ticket.”
