With five weeks remaining in the race, nearly half of the House Democrats are in arrears. Even a month-by-month installment plan — let alone the prospect that they could regain control of the chamber if they can out-hustle the Republicans — has not provided an incentive for Democrats to pay what they owe.
“Some people make a lot of money for the party, others make a lot of issues,” said Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, who contributed for the first time this week, but still owes $115,000. “I work on the issues side. That’s where I excel.”
The delinquency statements that Democrats sent via overnight delivery to representatives’ homes throughout the year have been supplanted by telephone calls or personal visits from party leaders.
Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois, said he had no intention of paying his dues of $250,000, assessed because of his seniority on the Financial Services Committee. But after a two-minute telephone conversation with the minority leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, he changed course and sent in a check for $15,000.
“It’s kind of hard to ignore,” Mr. Gutierrez said in an interview, conceding that before Ms. Pelosi rang his cellphone, he had not given a nickel. “I still owe $225,000. Thank God it doesn’t affect my credit score when I go get a mortgage.”
It could, however, affect what committee assignments are passed out when Congress convenes in January. Several members said they had been told by party leaders that their positions could be on the line if they fail to contribute.
Last weekend, Ms. Pelosi made more than 50 telephone calls to members of her caucus, chiding them to pay their dues. Representative Rahm Emanuel, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the Congressional Campaign Committee, has barred Democrats from using the telephones at party headquarters if they had not paid at least some of what they owed.
“This is not my job,” said Mr. Emanuel, recalling the message he repeats again and again to fellow Democrats. “This is our job.”
Strong-arm techniques, though, can backfire. So last week, in the final Democratic caucus before the recess, both Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Emanuel softened their language. Still, they distributed a spreadsheet, laying out for everyone to see how much — or how little — members had given to the party.
The grid showed that Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, had contributed $47,500. As a chief deputy whip of the party, she owes a total of $250,000.
Ms. Waters said she did not take kindly to humiliation or intimidation.
“Nobody puts the screws on me. I don’t allow that,” Ms. Waters said in a brief interview during a long evening of debate on the House floor. “I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody. Some years I’ve raised a lot, some years I’ve not raised so much, so I’ll do whatever I do.”
At the same time, contributions from more than a dozen Democrats have far exceeded their dues. Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York contributed twice as much as his $300,000 assessment and Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania has nearly doubled his $250,000 requirement. Both men have their eye on leadership positions.
“When I see what some of these guys have to do to scratch for money, it’s really too bad,” Mr. Murtha said. “They can’t raise the money, so we help them out.”
At least once a quarter, Democrats receive a fund-raising report card. To increase the motivation — or, perhaps, to embarrass them in front of their peers — the statement also points out how much money is available in individual campaign bank accounts.
The most recent document, for example, pointed out that Representative Robert E. Andrews, Democrat of New Jersey, had a balance of $2,054,562 but had paid only $40,000 of a $125,000 bill. |
