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U.S. Senate Goes Democratic As Jeffords Quits Republicans
BURLINGTON, Vermont, May 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords quit the Republican Party here on Thursday, handing control of the U.S. Senate to the Democrats in an upset for U.S. President George W. Bush.
Citing growing differences with the party and with the Bush administration, Jeffords, a 67-year-old veteran member of Congress, said at a press conference: "In order to best represent my state of Vermont, my own conscience and principles I have stood for my whole life, I will leave the Republican party and become an independent."
He said he had agonized for weeks over the decision, saying he was no longer at home in a party that had veered too far to the right.
"Increasingly, I find myself in disagreement with my party. I understand that many people are more conservative than I am and they form the Republican Party," he said. The election of Bush as president sent the party shifting further to the right, he added.
"Given the changing nature of the national party, it has become a struggle for our leaders to deal with me and for me to deal with them. Indeed, the party's electoral success has underscored the dilemma that I face within the party," he said.
Bush gently rebuked Jeffords. "I respect Senator Jeffords, ... but, respectfully, I couldn't disagree more," he said.
The president pointed to recent bipartisan congressional victories on cutting taxes and reforming public education and vowed to pursue efforts to win support for his ambitious agenda.
"I was elected to get things done on behalf of the American people and to work with Republicans and Democrats and we're doing just that," he said in Cleveland, Ohio, as he touted his controversial plans to bolster faith-based charities with government funds.
Bush even challenged House and Senate negotiators, working to craft a compromise tax-cut bill after the chambers passed different versions, not to take their traditional recess next week "until they have finished the job."
Earlier, the Senator told cheering supporters that he had promised not to help Democrats stymie the tax plan.
But the decision by Jeffords, who formally informed the president during an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, threatens many of Bush's plans, especially efforts to appoint conservative jurists to federal courts.
Jefford's defection switches the balance in the Senate to 50 Democrats and 49 Republicans, with Jeffords agreeing to "conference with the Democrats for organizational purposes."
Jeffords, a moderate, said that he disagreed with Bush on "very fundamental issues" including abortion, judicial appointments and the environment.
But some Republicans were quick to point out that Jeffords indicated he would not automatically vote with Democrats on the issues once they come to the floor.
"I have changed my party label but I have not changed my beliefs," he said. I hope that the people of Vermont will understand it. I hope in time that my colleagues [in the Senate] will as well. I am confident that it is the right decision."
Jeffords said Bush's tax-cutting measures and education policy prompted his decision to bolt the party which had held 50 seats in the Senate against 50 for the Democrats with Vice President Dick Cheney holding the crucial tie-breaker vote.
The life-long Republican's decision will have a domino effect on power in the Senate by automatically switching all the Senate committee's chairmanships back to the Democrats for the first time since 1994.
Bush played down possibly the worst setback yet to his agenda, saying that the loss of his Senate majority to the Democrats would not cripple his legislative goals.
The razor-thin Democratic majority in Congress now represents a tectonic shift in power in the chamber as it will usher in a Democrat Majority Leader, a position that offers sweeping powers to set the agenda and enhances Democrats' ability to challenge Bush's policies in such controversial areas as national missile defense and China.
Democrats are likely elect Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle the chamber's majority leader.
"It certainly complicates the president's agenda," said Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. "With the Democrats in control and setting the legislative agenda, it is up to them what items they prioritize."
Daschle said political compromise would still be crucial to passing legislation.
"A historic 50-50 Senate now becomes history itself," he said. "What does not change ... is the need for balanced compromise."
"We still face the same challenges."
Republican Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee, chairman of the Governmental Affairs committee agreed that, "on big ticket items it's going to remain the way it always is."
Much will depend on Bush's leadership and level of popular support as he tries to persuade Congress to pass key pieces of his agenda, he added. "A seat or two here or there is not going to make any difference."
And Republicans are going to be wooing conservative Democrats over to their side, said Majority Leader Republican Trent Lott.
"There's always that possibility, but also we'll also be looking at ... having good candidates in the field in 2002," when one-third of the Senate seats come up for reelection, he said.
Senate Republicans said they were disappointed by Jeffords' decision, but some acknowledged their party's growing intolerance was partly to blame.
"The message is be not only tolerant by appreciative of the fact that there are different views on issues and don't condemn or retaliate or seek vengeance against those who disagree on specific issues," former republican presidential candidate and Senator John McCain told reporters.
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