The shift in power on Capitol Hill will probably produce more invitations like the one Rep. Dennis Moore of Kansas got today. He and several other leading fiscally conservative Democrats sat down for an hour with President Bush - at his invitation - to talk about how they could help each other.
"When he was governor of Texas, I heard that he reached out to the Democratic legislature and was able to accomplish some things," Moore said. "He hasn't had to do that because Congress was of his party and he could do pretty much what he wanted. I think we're going to see something different now, for obvious political reasons, because he's going to need some votes."
Moore is the co-chair for policy of the Blue Dog Coalition, formed by moderate and conservative Democrats in 1995 after the Republican takeover. They were looking for a middle ground between both parties' extremes.
Moore said the lawmakers and Bush mentioned some issues, like energy and the estate tax, but no specific legislative goals. After the president spoke, and then each member spoke, there wasn't a whole of time left, he said. But the Kansas Democrat said just the very fact that the meeting took place at all was a break from the past and - hopefully - emblematic of a new political tone.
During his one-minute allotment of speaking time, Moore said he squeezed in a gentle chiding about the ballooning national debt - up $2.8 trillion since Bush was elected in 2000.
"I have seven grandchildren," Moore told him. "We are placing our children and our grandchildren and all the children in the country at risk. We are mortgaging their future. That's not fair to them."
The president didn't respond. But as the Democrats were leaving, Moore said Bush told them, "I think we'll be able to work with Democrats on a lot of issues."
Posted by David Goldstein
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