GOP Senator Proves the Power of One

Locals in Vermont refer to Republican Sen. James M. Jeffords as “Jeezum Jim,” because he often stumbles into his sentences by muttering, “Aw jeez, um . . . . “

But the lawmaker whose single vote could control the fate of President Bush’s budget policy made his position clear Thursday after yet another negotiating round with White House officials.

As the talks ended, Jeffords told Vice President Dick Cheney that they didn’t have a deal. And then, just to make sure, Jeffords went back to his office and sent the vice president a note reiterating his decision.

As long as Jeffords continues to withhold his vote, the White House will be stumbling for a way to save the $1.6-trillion tax cut that was a centerpiece of Bush’s campaign for the presidency.

Jeffords is not the only potential GOP stray on the budget vote, due in the Senate today. But he has gotten the most attention because the White House has given up hope of convincing Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) to vote for the tax cut, and it believes that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who also has wavered, will ultimately fall in line. Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia is the only Democrat who has endorsed the Bush plan.

The stalemate with Jeffords underscores the enormous sway each senator holds in the evenly divided Senate. It also shows how lawmakers can seize even the slightest bit of leverage to push for measures that would otherwise fail.

In the current dispute, Jeffords has sought to benefit a program he helped create as a House member 26 years ago that guaranteed children with disabilities full access to public education. The measure, called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, called on the federal government to pay 40% of the cost. But the government never came through and now pays only 15%, much to the dismay of school districts.

Both in the House and after winning his Senate seat in 1988, Jeffords has tried to close that funding gap. An amendment he offered last year failed by three votes. But now, he can truly force the issue, offering his tax cut vote in exchange for the special education funding.

Cheney has tried to seal such a deal. The White House pledged to provide the money Jeffords wanted--$180 billion over 10 years--but would not agree to categorize the funding as “mandatory,” protecting it from future cuts. Jeffords balked at those terms.

The administration has used other means to try to influence the senator. White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. did interviews with Vermont radio and newspaper reporters Wednesday, urging voters to put pressure on Jeffords to “give the president a chance.”

But by late Thursday, GOP leaders had given up. Asked about negotiations with Jeffords, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said, “I’ve about run that string out.”

Those close to him say Jeffords, 66, has taken such an unbending stand largely because he cares deeply about education and wants to preserve a program he considers part of his legacy. He has served on education committees almost from the moment he arrived in Washington after winning his House seat in 1974. He tutors fourth-graders at a public school near Capitol Hill every week.

But his position also can be traced to another issue increasingly important to Vermont voters: property taxes. States are required to comply with the special education program, even though the federal government has yet to fully fund it. That has added to an already onerous property tax bite in Vermont.

Republicans could try to punish Jeffords later for his defection. But a senior Republican aide said Thursday that would be a “foolish” reaction. “In a 50-50 Senate,” the aide said, “you can’t pound too hard.”

In any case, Jeffords seems comfortable--and politically safe--cutting his own path. In the House, he was the only Republican to vote against President Reagan’s tax cut plan of 1981. The vote infuriated the administration, which went so far as to cut off Jeffords’ supply of White House tourist passes, a perk that Congress members dole out to constituents visiting Washington.

Even so, Jeffords continued to defect from his party. He was the only GOP senator to co-sponsor President Clinton’s health care reform measure. And he was one of only five Republican senators who voted to acquit Clinton on both articles of impeachment that stemmed from the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal.

If Jeffords leans left, it’s partly because that’s the prevailing posture in his state. Vermont’s other senator, Patrick J. Leahy, is a Democrat with a generally liberal voting record. Its lone member of the House of Representatives, Bernard Sanders, is an independent who describes himself as a socialist.

It wasn’t always that way. In fact, Democrats didn’t win a single statewide election in Vermont from 1856 to 1958. Republican presidential candidates carried Vermont 27 times in a row. But the state’s political tilt has shifted dramatically since the 1960s, pushed leftward by a steady influx of urban refugees drawn by Vermont’s bucolic charm.

Jeffords, whose family traces its Vermont roots back to 1792, has always straddled this political divide. And his success at doing so has made him politically untouchable.

“Jim is senator for life,” said Garrison Nelson, a professor of political science at the University of Vermont.

Times staff writer Janet Hook contributed to this story.