Ethics Scandals Cast Shadow on GOP Retreat

“We are in trouble.”

Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) made that comment a week ago, discussing his party’s political fortunes. And his remark aptly summarized the attitude here Friday at a gathering of House Republicans.

In years past -- especially since President Bush took office -- these annual retreats have been celebratory affairs, with Republicans reveling in their success and plotting an aggressive legislative agenda.

This meeting, however, was marked by anxiety and uncertainty. The GOP House members, fresh from a leadership battle within their ranks, are divided over how the party should respond to ethics scandals roiling Capitol Hill.

And with Bush having backed off his prime legislative goal of a year ago -- restructuring Social Security -- and promoting no programs of similar scope, some Republican lawmakers wonder whether they need an improved strategy for this fall’s congressional elections.

For Bush, who spoke to the assemblage at a riverside resort on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the campaign message was clear. He urged his fellow Republicans to run on a record that included more tax reductions, more cuts to the federal budget and a tough stance in the war on terrorism.

“We’ve got a record, and it’s a record of accomplishment,” Bush said before a closed-door question-and-answer session.

But, as indicated by Ryan’s comment, new poll results have raised questions among many Republicans about whether the public will embrace the president’s message.

A survey conducted Feb. 1-5 showed that by 50% to 41%, the public favored a Democratic House. And 31% of those interviewed said they viewed November’s vote as a chance to cast a ballot against Bush.

The poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, has an error margin of plus or minus 3 to 4 percentage points.

“House Republicans are at some risk of losing their majority,” said John J. Pitney, a professor at Claremont McKenna College. “The Democrats don’t need a huge tide. A few good ripples could do the trick.”

Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia, a midlevel House GOP leader, said that to stem Democratic advances, Republicans intended to spotlight issues that connected “with the American dinner table.” These include extending tax cuts enacted during Bush’s first term that are due to expire this decade, and addressing energy prices.

Another issue discussed at the retreat -- but unlikely to be emphasized nationally -- was immigration policy. Although most Republicans support tougher border controls, the party is riven over Bush’s call for a guest-worker program.

The GOP meeting, which wraps up today, convened a week after House Republicans elected Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio to succeed Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas as majority leader. DeLay left the post after he was indicted in his home state on money-laundering charges. In winning the race, Boehner upset a DeLay ally, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri.

Also shadowing the retreat were scandals involving former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe), who resigned late last year after pleading guilty to bribery, and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a once-close associate of several GOP congressional leaders who pleaded guilty in January to corruption charges stemming from his business activities.

In a sign of a new wariness toward influence-peddling, lobbyists -- welcomed at previous retreats -- were barred from the grounds this year.

Several measures have been proposed in Congress that would tighten the guidelines governing lawmakers’ dealings with lobbyists. House Republicans, however, are split over how far to go, and no consensus was expected to emerge from the retreat.

Some back a ban on lawmaker trips paid for by interest groups. There also is a push to end the long-standing practice of allowing House and Senate members to insert pet projects into spending bills -- items often included at the behest of lobbyists.

Both proposals have sparked dissent. The privately funded trips are popular among lawmakers, and some say that a ban could deprive lawmakers of valuable fact-finding opportunities or shift the costs for such travel to the taxpayers.

Boehner, in a break with House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), is among those who have questioned the proposed travel ban.

And Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), typifying a view held by many of his colleagues, said Friday that projects added to spending bills could be among a lawmaker’s strongest assets at reelection time.

A newspaper in his area, he said, “believes that I ought to be bringing home the bacon.”

Pitney, of Claremont McKenna, expressed skepticism that approval of new ethics rules would significantly affect the outcome of November’s election.

“No matter what passes, the Democrats will say that it’s not enough,” he said.

Pointing to complaints about the new Medicare prescription drug program, Pitney said Republicans instead should be “working like crazy” to fix those problems.

Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps House GOP candidates, dismissed the possible consequences of the cases involving Cunningham, DeLay and Abramoff (the latter’s cooperation with federal investigators could cause legal woes for Republican lawmakers).

“I have never seen the actions of one member of Congress affect another member’s outcome” in an election, Reynolds said.

Still, Reynolds said he was attempting to recruit Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a champion of reform, to stump for House Republican candidates this fall.

Bush, in his speech, urged unified GOP support for initiatives he outlined in his State of the Union address last week: big boosts in funding for science and math education, increased research aimed at making the U.S. more competitive in the global economy, and faster development of alternative energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

At the start of his question-and-answer period, in remarks heard by reporters when microphones were left on, Bush defended the secret spying program he authorized after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Some GOP senators have joined Democrats in questioning the legality of monitoring international phone calls and e-mails of people in the U.S. without obtaining court warrants.

Sept. 11 “changed the way I think,” Bush said, echoing his previous comments on the issue. “I wake up every morning thinking about a future attack, and therefore, a lot of my thinking and a lot of the decisions I make are based upon the attack that hurt us.”

Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman, on Friday sounded a more positive note about the party’s direction than he had last week.

“With a new [House] leadership team and a clear recognition that reform is essential to upholding our principles, I see real renewal occurring that is healthy and positive,” he said.