Liberal Wing of Congress Rallies Behind Clinton

President Clinton is fast learning who his foul-weather friends are on Capitol Hill, and he’s finding them in strange places.

The Democrats most willing to stand by Clinton in his time of trouble are the ones he has infuriated the most in policy debates: the liberals who fought his rightward tilt on welfare, the budget and other issues.

At the same time, some of his bluntest critics in the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal have turned out to be Clinton’s centrist soul mates on policy.

The split underscores a striking irony in Clinton’s trauma: His moderate Democratic allies may be the most endangered by his personal misdeeds because they generally come from closely divided districts where such issues pose the biggest political risk.

“It’s all about self-protection,” said a moderate House Democrat who is in a tough race for reelection. “Liberal Democrats are free to protect the president because they will be reelected no matter what they say. The rest of us in swing districts have to be careful.”

Now, as Congress prepares to weigh the president’s fate once it receives independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr’s report on the Lewinsky matter, analysts say Clinton will be under pressure to stake out confrontational stands with Republicans on contentious budget issues--in part to make sure his political defenders stay solidly behind him.

Indeed, some Democrats wonder whether the final imprint of Clinton’s presidency on government, on his party and on the nation’s social agenda could wind up being skewed by the political maneuvers he may have to take to preserve his presidency. “He was heading toward this long-term legacy where he was going to be Mr. Third Way,” said one Clinton ally, referring to the president’s oft-used phrase for the political course he had been charting. “Now the only way he can shore up his political base is to tack back left.”

Palpable Discomfort Among Democrats

As members of Congress began returning to the Capitol this week for the first time since Clinton’s Aug. 17 speech admitting he had had a relationship with Lewinsky that was “not appropriate,” discomfort among Democrats was palpable.

“Don’t ask me questions like that,” Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday after he left a closed-door meeting of Senate Democats and a reporter asked if Clinton should resign.

Most other Democrats at the meeting--reportedly a somber, emotional affair--tried to avoid reporters altogether by sneaking out a little-noticed back entrance to the room.

Such scenes fuel the impression of a party scurrying to distance itself from a president facing a political future seemingly as stable as the Russian ruble. But beyond the ritual criticism of Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky, Democrats have been responding in a variety of ways.

Although the differences do not break down entirely along ideological lines, most of the more-forgiving voices have come from the party’s left wing:

“We all make mistakes,” said populist Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who at Tuesday’s meeting urged fellow Democrats not to cut and run from the president.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has been hovering around the first family during the crisis. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a liberal icon, joined Clinton at a news conference in Massachusetts last week. Black Democrats proudly flanked Clinton at another event. “I’ve been with you from the beginning,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). “And I will stand with you now till the end.”

Lewis did not note that he had opposed Clinton on several issues, most prominently welfare reform.

By contrast, some tough words for the president have come from moderates who rallied around Clinton’s New Democrat banner.

Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.) complained that Clinton should not have lashed out at Starr in his Aug. 17 speech. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said her trust in Clinton’s credibility had been “badly shattered.” Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) is said by associates to be deeply disturbed by the president’s conduct and is agonizing over the statement he will make--perhaps as early as today--breaking his silence on the subject.

A prime reason Clinton’s misdeeds put many moderates in an awkward position is that many have worked hard to divorce the party from its image of being out of step with traditional values. Lieberman, for example, has been a vocal critic of sex and violence on TV.

Moderate Democrats also tend to come from more conservative districts, where competition with Republicans is stiff. That’s why Rep. James P. Moran (D-Va.), co-chairman of the centrist House New Democrat Coalition, recently told a reporter that his allies may have a more powerful political incentive to distance themselves from the president.

“Now is not the time for moderate Democrats to tie themselves to the president too closely,” said Jim McIntyre, Moran’s press secretary.

By contrast, many liberals have the political latitude to defend Clinton because they come from safe districts where his popularity remains high. That is particularly true of members of the black caucus, given that several polls have found that African Americans remain among Clinton’s most unflagging supporters.

Like Lewis, many of Clinton’s liberal allies are the same members who fought bloody battles with the president over his efforts to overhaul welfare, balance the budget and expand his trade negotiating powers. But Clinton has been working hard to mend fences by pushing an agenda far less likely to antagonize the left: health care reform, shoring up Social Security, more education spending.

Further Testing of Clinton’s Core Support

Clinton’s ability to keep his core supporters behind him will be further tested this fall, when he and GOP congressional leaders lock horns over the budget. The GOP has larded many of the year’s 13 appropriation bills with amendments that liberals loathe on the environment, abortion and other social issues. Many analysts are expecting Clinton to drive a hard bargain on those issues--both to keep the party together and to distract attention from his personal problems.

“To the extent that he can continue to talk about, say, more money for education, he wins that fight without really trying,” said Stanley Collender, a budget expert with Fleishman-Hillard, a public affairs firm.

But legislative victories are unlikely to overcome the personal bitterness and disappointment many of the party’s most vulnerable candidates feel.

“People need to understand the depth of members’ anger about the behavior and about the fact that their political future has been put at some risk because of this guy’s behavior,” said a senior House Democratic aide. “The depth of the personal animosity toward Clinton is very great.”

One Democrat facing a tough race this November compared the situation to that of the New York Yankees entering the World Series, only to find Babe Ruth drunk.

“You know he got you there, but you’re still very angry that he showed up drunk,” he said. “Whether it’s alcohol or Monica, you’re angry.”