Chances of passing a "patients' bill of rights" that PresidentBush can sign may depend on the willingness of Sen. John McCain toforge a compromise in the Senate-House conference.
Rep. Lindsey Graham, who led McCain's presidential primarycampaign in South Carolina last year, is urging the senator to helpout the president. Graham is a trial lawyer who supports HMO reformbut feels the latest version of the bill agreed to by Bush andRepublican Rep. Charlie Norwood of Georgia constitutes progress and,with some changes, should be approved.
Teamster GOP
Democratic senators perceived a revised national politicalalignment when Teamsters union leaders were surprisingly passiveabout imposing restrictions on Mexican trucks.
The Mexican truck question long has been high on the Teamsteragenda. Consequently, Democrats were stunned when the union's leadersurged restraint on legislating the restrictions that were vigorouslyopposed by President Bush.
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa and construction union leaderscollaborated with the Bush administration in successfully lobbyingfor oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. HouseMajority Whip Tom DeLay, a key Republican strategist, sees this labor-GOP cooperation as the first dent in the solid facade of the labor-Democrat coalition.
Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle has made it clear behind thescenes that he puts the highest priority on retaining dairy price-fixing in the Northeast, the pet program of Sen. James Jeffords.
The Northeast Dairy Compact, pushed through by Senate RepublicanLeader Trent Lott to protect Jeffords' 2000 re-election bid as aRepublican in Vermont, expires Sept. 30. When Jeffords defected fromthe Republican Party to give the Democrats a 51-49 Senate majority,Daschle ended his previous opposition to the Northeast arrangement.
In Tuesday's weekly Democratic caucus, Jeffords pleaded for help,and Daschle urged Democrats to restrain their criticism of thecompact. Opposition, cutting across party lines, is led by twoDemocratic senators from Wisconsin, a key dairy state: Herb Kohl andRussell Feingold.
House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt did not help his 2004prospects in corn-growing Iowa's presidential caucuses when he urgeda House vote on waiving use of ethanol in California.
Gephardt, who won Iowa's 1988 caucuses, long has boosted ethanoluse. But on July 20, he wrote Speaker J. Dennis Hastert that a waiverof California's reformulated gas requirements "deserves to be debatedand voted on." That waiver, defeated by the House, would haveundermined the Midwest's huge ethanol market.
Donald Fischer, president of the Missouri Corn Growers, andCharles Kruse, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, wrote Gephardton July 27 that "we are concerned" by his efforts. Kruse told thiscolumn that Gephardt's action was "a slap in the face to Missourifarmers."
Democratic strategists, trying to pin down the party's majority inthe U.S. Senate, are pleading with Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber tooppose Republican Sen. Gordon Smith next year.
Smith had not been considered vulnerable for re-election, and noDemocrat other than Kitzhaber would be given a chance to defeat him.Although private Democratic polls show the governor with asubstantial lead over Smith, Kitzhaber--and his wife--so far expressno interest in coming to Washington. He is barred from seeking athird term for governor in 2002.
Robert Novak appears on CNN's "Capital Gang" at 6 p.m. Saturdayand "Evans, Novak, Hunt and Shields" at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 10a.m. Sunday.
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