Freshmen Democrats like Va.‘s Perriello torn by party, voters on health care

FORK UNION — By his ninth town hall meeting this week — in a sweltering middle school auditorium — freshman Rep. Tom Perriello is no longer fazed by angry crowds mobilized for and against health care reform.

He and other backbencher Democrats thrown into the front lines of the debate are caught in a crossfire between their congressional leaders to the left and conservative constituents to the right. These newcomers hold clout that could determine if health care legislation passes — and in what form.

Perriello won by just 727 votes last year, and with re-election looming in just 15 months, he has no choice but face critics in town hall meetings around his rural swing district in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As his car rolled into an overflowing parking lot, he was greeted by protesters on both sides of the debate: “Public Option or No Re-Election,“ read one sign. Another declared, “No Obama Care.“

“I certainly catch it from both sides,“ Perriello said.

In the House, the freshmen bloc has the ear of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Conservative Democrats delayed the health care bill for days as tenderfoots such as Ohio Rep. Steve Driehaus asked for time to study the proposals, and Pelosi eased away from a tax surcharge on the wealthy at the request of others.

“They know where the majority comes from,“ said Driehaus, who faces a rematch in 2010 against former GOP lawmaker Steve Chabot, who was ousted last year. “On the one hand, they want to make sure that we hold the base of the Democratic Party. One the other hand, they’re working hard to ensure that we protect the seats that we’ve picked up over the last two cycles. That’s a tricky balancing act.“

Unlike 1994, when the GOP freshmen made their party more conservative, the three dozen freshmen the Democrats brought in this year have pushed the party toward the middle.

Some, such as Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Alabama Rep. Bobby Bright, come from the South. Others, including Colorado Rep. Jared Polis or Nevada Rep. Dina Titus, come from wealthy districts where constituents are worried about a greater tax burden.

Other lawmakers are simply working in unknown territory. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan are holding seats their party hasn’t had for decades.

At times, the freshmen have joined as a team. Nine freshmen senators sent a letter of support last month to Sen. Max Baucus, head of the finance committee, expressing concerns about spending on the health care bill.

“We hear daily from our constituents about this issue; many of them are concerned that we are not doing enough to control costs,“ they wrote.

Of course, challenging the party’s leadership and some of the more liberal ideas comes at a cost. Activist groups such as MoveOn.org have publicly denounced skeptical Democratic lawmakers, running ads or threatening to do so against the likes of Hagan, who wrested a seat from Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole — a seat that had been in GOP control since arch conservative Jesse Helms started there in 1973.

Lawmakers have faced the fiercest lobbying from conservative constituents. After a town hall meeting repeatedly disrupted by heckling and shouting, Driehaus walked out of the Cincinnati building this month with his 13-year-old daughter to face more protesters. Some were shouting his home address, which Driehaus deemed “a veiled threat toward the safety and of myself and my family.“

“There’s a lot of anger out there,“ he said in an interview.

While Perriello and Driehaus have both faced town halls, others have been reluctant to go to the front lines. Hagan is not planning any town halls, and instead will spend the August recess doing photo ops, meeting with health care workers and talking to constituents during open-door meetings.

“It’s a better format for productive discussion,“ Hagan spokeswoman Stephanie Allen said.

Those limited speaking engagements didn’t matter to Republican activists. Hundreds came to Hagan’s office last week with signs deploring the health care bill.

The summer has proven to be a resurgence for conservative political organizing after a lackluster performance during the 2008 election. Activists have flooded the Internet with rally plans, talking points and YouTube videos. Now they’re planning a massive march on Washington next month.

Many are political rookies awakened by the Obama presidency, and in particular the health care debate.

“I always thought protests were kind of ignorant, thinking, ‘What are these guys accomplishing?‘“ said Rick Smith, 38, a self-employed store owner who recently began attending rallies and picketed Hagan’s office. He’s now helping to spearhead protests of his own and is hoping to take his family to Capitol Hill next month.

“I hope the freshmen have their eyes open to what’s going on out here — to see that they need to represent the people that put them in office,“ he said.

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Mike Baker reported from Raleigh, N.C.