Posted on 11/09/2004 9:57:40 AM PST by ConservativeMan55
By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau 11/6/2004
WASHINGTON -- Democrat Brad Carson's message could not overcome the Republican wave in Oklahoma to help him become the state's next U.S. senator, but some party leaders think that message still could help Democrats nationally.
Jay Parmley, the chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, said he has been contacted by party leaders in other states, suggesting Carson as a successor to Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe.
Carson, they believe, could help the party talk to voters in the so-called red states like Oklahoma that voted overwhelmingly for President Bush.
"McAuliffe has done a tremendous job raising money and building infrastructure," Parmley said.
"Now we need a moderate and a conservative to lead us into the mid-term elections."
Liberal Democrats, he said, who run and win in the so-called blue states will not be hurt by that kind of shift.
"The message he tried to articulate in the Senate race is the message we have got to have," Parmley said, adding that message could get Democrats past issues like gay marriage and abortion rights and into raising the minimum wage, creating jobs and providing health care.
Turning to someone with Carson's record would be viewed by many as a dramatic move.
After two terms in the U.S. House, Carson ran for the Senate as a moderate-to-conservative Democrat whose record on gun ownership was strong enough to win endorsements from the National Rifle Association.
His stance on abortion rights also became something of a moving target.
Carson, who has indicated he is through with elective politics and wants to begin a career in teaching, declined to comment on the idea of becoming the next DNC chairman.
"He appreciates the consideration of any party official," said Chebon Marshall, who leads Carson's congressional office in Oklahoma.
"He feels the likelihood of that is not very real. He figures he is going to stay here in Oklahoma and work for the prosperity of our state."
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Jim Myers (202) 484-1424 jim.myers@tulsaworld.com
Carson is a slick..lying..coninving..dead indian vote getting slime!
He'd be perfect for the job! LOL!
Seven new Republicans were elected to the Senate; one, former Rep. Tom Coburn, replaced retiring GOP Sen. Don Nickles in Oklahoma. But Republicans lost two seats to Democrats -- in Colorado and Illinois -- creating a net gain of four and swelling their ranks to 55.
That's still not the 60 needed to stop debate and force a vote, but it's significantly closer to that magic number than before.
"It's a big difference," says veteran GOP lobbyist Charles Black. "Having four more Republican senators strengthens your hand."
Even so, the additional GOP members may only provide minimal help in some areas, especially when it comes to the various legal reform bills expected to be introduced.
Several of the new members replace senators who were already in the legal reform camp, two of the newcomers are Democrats who traditionally oppose civil justice reform measures, and at least one, newly elected Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, is the former head of the Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers.
The House, meanwhile, where minority rights are sometimes viewed as an oxymoron, remains even more firmly in the GOP's grip and far more likely than the Senate to carry out a presidential agenda.
A CHANCE FOR COMPROMISE?
The significance of the Senate's larger GOP majority, however, may hinge more on the legislative strategy of the new Senate Democratic leadership than on anything else.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, the only Senate incumbent to lose on Nov. 2, was widely viewed by many Republicans as spending more time obstructing their agenda than trying to reach a legislative compromise.
His defeat, they say, and his expected replacement next year by Nevada's Harry Reid, the Democratic whip and a skilled floor tactician, may lead to a change in tactics.
"Daschle was the poster child for obstructionism," adds a former senior Republican Senate staffer who now lobbies. "The question is how Democrats will respond to the loss of the poster child."
That response could be what longtime Senate Parliamentarian Robert Dove calls "a real change of heart." Dove, now a consultant at Patton Boggs, believes a change could be evident as early as next week when the lame duck Congress reconvenes.
The decisiveness of the GOP victory in the 2004 election, Dove says, "settles a lot of issues, and settles them in a way that enormously increases the power of the majority leader and his agenda."
After the 2000 election, says Dove, many Democrats believed that it was only a matter of four short years before George W. Bush's "illegitimate" presidency was overturned.
"The obstructionism was a symptom of this," he says. "Now it's time to make your peace with the devil, and act the way the Senate usually acts -- with both sides getting something."
And that means that especially knotty legislation, such as reaching an asbestos settlement that satisfies not only trial lawyers but also insurance companies, asbestos makers and labor unions may finally be achieved. At issue is the size of a trust fund, now totaling more than $100 billion, and the medical criteria used to determine who has a valid claim.
Most Congress watchers believe that the lame duck session, which begins Nov. 16, will do no more than the bare minimum: Members will pass the mandatory spending bills and then leave town, not returning until January.
But when the 109th Congress does convene, there ought to be plenty of action with little delay.
"My experience says that the administration has only a limited time before it becomes a lame duck itself," says Dave McCurdy, a Democrat who represented Oklahoma's 4th District for 14 years and now heads the Electronic Industries Alliance. "The longer it takes, the more independent these agendas become."
Ping!!
Carson was an excellent pick for them. He is a true moderate. This pick would signal that they are done screaming, and now they want to get smart and win. The interesting thing is, though, they just got finished explaining McAuliffe was a money man, and not a policy maker.
One thing is for certain.
Whomever they pick will be someone who is a recent loser of one type or another.
There is one "winner" they could pick...
How about Bill Clinton? ;)
Well, I for one believe it.
America didn't pick Kerry because he wasn't far enough to the Left...
BTTT!!!!!!!
BWAHAHAHA! Bring it on!
I don't know, I think this would be a wise choice for the Democrats. Brings them, at least visibly, back to the middle a bit. However, with that being said, the DNC won't pick him because of the risk of pissing off the ultra-left wing peace activists, PETA folks, and all other extremely liberals. They are worried about losing those folks to a stronger third party candidate like Nader was in '00.
My bet? The Democrats are going to try to at least look nominally centrist with their candidate in '08. Despite all the Hilary hoopla, I expect someone like Evan Bayh to be their nominee. If that's the case, the ultra-liberal wing of the party is going to turn to a third party candidate that represents their values . . . someone along the lines of Gavin Newsome (Mayor of San Francisco). Personally, I would love to see that. If Newsome could run strong in California, it would actually bring it into play for whomever the Republican nominee is.
I don't know much about him, but from this article, it sounds as if he is far too good to be a DemocRAT. Someone like him could never lead that party of pukes.
Like ConservativeMan55 said -- Carson worked for the Clintons. Two years ago he held onto two campaign checks from Hillary Clinton as he was afraid to cash them as he knows how Oklahomans loathe the Clintons.
He is nothing but a sleezy, lying trial lawyer who is friends with the Clintons and covered it up in this election. He wouldn't even admit to supporting Kerry until one of the last debates.
Carson pretended by Conservative but Oklahomans knew better in spite of all the slick Clinton-type ads.
He is perfect for DNC -- a loser!
Doesn't Carson claim to be pro-life and pro-gun? There's no way liberal Democrats will let him become Chairman of the DNC.
Brad Carson ran the most hateful, vicious, and downright evil campaign in Oklahoma history. He'd be perfect for DNC chair!
Well, look at the half-truth (at best) that made it into print in Oklahoma's 2nd largest newspaper.
I wonder how THAT ever happened??
There were a lot of people in places you wouldn't expect who were quietly pulling for Carson.
And there was some who were loudly expressing their pessimistic view of the race.
Such as Speaker Hastert.
Gee I wonder!!!!
He won absolutely no endorsement from the NRA.
There should be a retraction on that story.
Don't get me started. I just resigned from the NRA over their cowardly reaction to his lying about this in the campaign.
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