The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 2)

Majette would almost certainly require a huge infusion of cash to make the run a possibility, something the Democratic Party on a national level does not want to do, particularly with high profile Senate races in Florida, North Carolina and possibly in California to worry about.

p> AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF REPUBLICAN PERSONS br> Democrats on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail were stunned when their friends at AARP turned around and threw their support behind the Bush administration's healthcare reform package. While the AARP's advertisement that will go national later this week highlights that the bill isn't "perfect," the group's support was a huge blow to the Democrats. "We never dreamed that it would get to this point, where we would lose AARP," says a Democratic leadership staffer. "We knew they were being hit hard by the White House and by Republicans, but we had no idea they were that receptive to the attention." /p>

In the hours after the AARP board approved its support of the Bush Medicare reform package, Sen. Tom Daschle was taking heat from colleagues for dropping the ball. But the AARP endorsement had less to do with Democratic ball-dropping and more to do with a pretty good Republican game plan.

From the beginning, AARP was made to feel part of the process. Republican House and Senate leadership made a point of briefing AARP lobbyists on their plans, accepted AARP feedback and moved on it.

"In essence, we treated AARP as though it was a Democratic senator whose vote we desperately needed on a bill," says a Republican Senate leadership staffer. "The White House did the same. This was a classic Bush play."

Democrats, though, were jumping into action, trying the queer the deal. According to several House Democrats, the party has been reaching out to state and local AARP organizations, pressing them to push back hard against the national organization to withdraw its support of the bill. Stay tuned.

topics:
NATO, Medicare