Parties, Interest Groups Turn Markup Votes Into Campaign Ammo

When the clerk reads the final tally of roll call votes on amendments in the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, the spin machine goes into operation.

Tuesday, for instance, almost as soon as Democrats voted down a GOP amendment to sunset the climate change bill if gasoline prices hit $5 per gallon, the National Republican Congressional Committee was ready with a targeted press release.

“Chris Murphy must have a serious case of amnesia if he’s already forgotten how badly Connecticut families suffered last summer from extraordinarily high gas prices,” said NRCC communications director Ken Spain in the release aimed at the sophomore Democratic congressman from western Connecticut. “If Chris Murphy and the Democrats have their way, struggling American families have no prayer for relief from even higher energy costs that have yet to come.”

The deals that Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) were able to make with moderate Democrats from coal and industrial districts mean much of the drama over whether the bill will pass was removed before the markup began. As a result, it has become an opportunity for both sides to frame their political message against the backdrop of specific policy proposals and votes.

Various interest groups are also joining the action, flooding the airwaves in some states and using the markup as a tool to raise money, lay the groundwork for 2010 campaign challenges and test messages that are certain to remain prevalent as the debate moves forward.

House Republicans in particular have made no secret of the fact that many of their proposed amendments to the legislation were designed to force committee Democrats into tough political corners.

The party’s political arm has wasted little time turning those votes into political fodder. As of yesterday evening, the NRCC has sent out a half-dozen different press releases to the districts of moderate Democrats such as Murphy over specific votes.

The NRCC says they are seizing on their opportunity to show voters that Democrats on the committee are siding with the Democratic leadership on the legislation. “There are critical changes being made to this climate bill that will hurt Americans’ wallets and jobs,” said NRCC spokeswoman Kara Sidone. “We intend to hold these Democrats accountable for failing to stand up for their constituents who will be directly affected by these votes.”

The markup is a rare opportunity for the GOP to get Democrats on the record voting in favor of, say, regulating hot tubs, as the minority party does not figure to get the same opportunity to offer a bevy of amendments when the bill reaches the floor.

Other GOP releases followed votes on disclosure of climate change costs, unemployment rates and electricity targets.

The releases are aimed at the districts of mostly the same Democrats who have been on the fence about the bill, including Reps. John Barrow of Georgia, Bruce Braley of Iowa, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Baron Hill of Indiana, Jim Matheson of Utah, Jerry McNerney of California, Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, Murphy of Connecticut, Mike Ross of Arkansas, Zack Space of Ohio, and Bart Stupak of Michigan.

The Republican National Committee is also using the markup as a fundraising tool, sending out a mailing to its supporters asking for contributions to help “stop the national energy tax.”
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Committee Democrats have maintained a nearly unified front against the bevy of GOP attacks and even those members most heavily targeted by the NRCC have shown no inclination of breaking with their party.

Some Democrats have gone so far as to even say that the NRCC releases have made them less willing to work with the Republicans on their proposals.
Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) — a moderate who says he is still on the fence over the bill as a whole — voted with Democrats on the India-China amendment, but then he crossed over and voted with the Republicans on Rep. Lee Terry’s (R-Neb.) $5 gasoline amendment.

Ross switched back and voted with the Democrats on an amendment dealing with 15 percent unemployment after he saw the GOP press releases.
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Both Melancon and Ross won their re-election campaigns by large margins in 2008. But they also represent districts where Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) prevailed in the presidential campaign, and Republicans have listed the two as among their top targets in the upcoming cycle.
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