House Republicans Rally for Epic Battle

From the NYTimes
By CARL HULSE
Published: February 12, 2006

CAMBRIDGE, Md., Feb. 11 — House Republicans descended in force upon this Eastern Shore community for three days to ponder their political and policy future and ended up talking about "the Force."

Hunkered down at a retreat intended to help them regain their footing after a corruption scandal and a leadership shake-up, about 180 lawmakers were treated to a film spoof that portrayed Republicans as the "Star Wars" heroes being pursued by the evil Democratic empire led by "Darth Nancy." That would be Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader.

"After a decade of exile, the evil Democratic empire has created their most fearsome henchman to date, a mighty machine built to regain the majority once and for all," said the text that scrolled at the opening of the parody, which superimposed Ms. Pelosi's face on the movie villain.
The short video, produced by the National Republican Congressional Committee, had the audience in stitches, according to those on hand. But it was also a tacit admission that House Republicans are in for an epic battle this November as they try to retain their majority in a midterm election cycle that has historically meant Congressional losses for the party in power.

"There are challenges," said Representative Thomas M. Reynolds of New York, who runs the Republican campaign effort, "but there are opportunities."

The annual retreat was meant to examine both. But it took on new urgency in light of the election this month of Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio as majority leader to replace Representative Tom DeLay of Texas. Mr. DeLay stepped aside permanently because of his persistent legal troubles in Texas and ties to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty last month to corruption charges.

The affable Mr. Boehner, who served in the leadership during the heady days of the Republican takeover in 1994, put a lot of stock in the retreat's potential. After his election, he helped restructure the conference, saying he wanted to provide individual lawmakers with more opportunity to vent and voice their ambitions after years of top-down management of the House.

"So far, so good," he said. But there was still some obvious adjusting for the new leadership team. One colleague referred to the new leader as "Tom," and Mr. Boehner mistakenly identified the chairman of the ethics committee as Representative Joel Hefley of Colorado, who was ousted last year after the panel's investigations of Mr. DeLay.

The retreat was held under tight security at a secluded Hyatt resort. Scores of Capitol Hill police officers joined the local authorities and the Secret Service in securing the grounds of the 400-room complex. Police officers with automatic weapons staffed the guard gate, and small Coast Guard boats patrolled the adjacent Choptank River.

Even some lawmakers said that they were taken aback by the scale of the police presence but that with almost half of the House on hand, perhaps it was prudent. The adjoining golf course, a sore subject these days given the image of lobbyist-financed outings, went unused.
The Republicans were well protected from reporters, who were kept in an idled restaurant about a quarter-mile from the hotel and escorted on and off the grounds by the police. Party officials said the privacy promoted candor.

And President Bush, who arrived for a Friday pep talk to reassure Republicans worried about his poll numbers, cautioned against loose lips as well. He asked the members of Congress to allow his comments about the National Security Agency's surveillance program to "stay in the room" — words mistakenly piped back to the White House press room through an open microphone that was cut off before too much was said.

During a question and answer session, Mr. Bush, asked about his lackluster standing in the polls, told lawmakers that he was not pleased, but that if he took the numbers to heart, he would end up "in the fetal position on the floor," according to one audience member who was granted anonymity because the session was supposed to be private.

And though the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina was high drama on Capitol Hill, Mr. Bush apparently was not asked about the storm or its aftermath, audience members said.
He left before lawmakers and their families wrapped up Friday with a screening of "March of the Penguins," the documentary that no doubt reminded some of the difficult slog to November.
The lawmakers put off until Saturday some of their most vexing issues, new rules governing contacts with lobbyists and limits on the pet projects that are increasingly being slipped into legislation. Republicans are divided on how to approach the subjects, a split illustrated by Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's call for a ban on travel for lawmakers paid for by private groups and Mr. Boehner's resistance to that idea.

Party officials who had braced for a potential clash said the lobbying session was a civil exchange of opinions and ideas on the push for changes and would be continued at a Capitol Hill meeting Wednesday since the retreat was cut slightly short because of the threat of snow.
Many Republicans still believe an election-year overhaul is inevitable. Mr. Hastert, on a visit to the captive press corps, pledged that Congress would act in a "timely manner," adding, "I think we need to make some changes, and I think we will."

The Republican leadership predicted that a result of all this talk would be a game plan they could ride to victory in November. And they ridiculed Democrats as not producing their own policy agenda.

But as they imagine themselves in their "Star Wars" roles, House Republicans may also want to ponder this: Ms. Pelosi and other leading Democrats are scheduled to appear on Tuesday with George Lucas, the creator of the real "Star Wars."