Honeymoon is over...............Tipping the Balance of Power
Republicans have control of the 50-50 Senate by virtue of Vice President Dick Cheney's constitutional authority to cast tie-breaking votes. Were Jeffords to become an independent or a Democrat, the move would give Democrats the majority.
"We all hope that Sen. Jeffords remains a Republican," Fleischer said this afternoon. "That's based on … our desire to make sure the Senate remains in Republican hands so our agenda can continue to move through."
But if Jeffords does abandon the GOP, Democrats will be setting the legislative agenda, scheduling the votes and calling the shots in the Senate.
Minority Leader Tom Daschle of North Dakota would be catapulted to the position of Majority Leader and the ranking Democrats on each committee would become the chairmen. Dyed-in-the-wool Democrat Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, for example, would head the influential Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee now chaired by Jeffords.
And instead of Utah Republican Orrin Hatch chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, which must approve all of Bush's judicial nominations, Jeffords' fellow Vermonter Patrick Leahy would head the panel.
The consequences for many of the key items on Bush's agenda that have yet to be addressed by Congress — energy policy, national missile defense, Social Security reform — could be grave.
"I would guess that President Bush will get his two primary objectives — the tax cut and an education bill — and nothing else out of this Congress," speculated Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah. |
