Slaughter Revels in New Role

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

By Erin Kelly
Washington Bureau

Rep. Louise Slaughter’s desk sits just a few feet from the door where British troops stormed into the U.S. Capitol during the War of 1812.

Today it is Slaughter who is doing battle. Her weapons are words and her target is the House Republican leadership.

“I’ve never seen such abuse of power in my life,” the veteran Democratic congresswoman fumed as she headed to the House floor to make the latest in a series of scathing speeches denouncing GOP leaders for ignoring their Democratic colleagues. “It’s arrogance, pure and simple.”

Since January, Slaughter has taken on a historic new role as the first woman to serve as ranking member of the House Rules Committee, a powerful body that determines which amendments will come up for a vote on every piece of legislation that goes to the floor.

Many of those bills – on matters from Medicaid spending to abortion rights – have a big impact on upstate New Yorkers, Slaughter said.

“If you’re going to have somebody represent you in Congress, the more powerful they are, the better for you,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “And Louise Slaughter is a powerful member of Congress.”

But Slaughter’s critics say she has become a partisan shill who cares more about scoring political points than getting things done.

“If her goal is to try to bring the two sides together, she wouldn’t be out there on the House floor attacking Republicans every day,” said Carl Forti, a Rochester native and spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The 75-year-old congresswoman and grandmother of seven has made national headlines by using her bully pulpit to blast Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and his leadership team over alleged ethics violations and abuse of power.

Her allies say she has already made her mark by helping to force Republican leaders to repeal changes in ethics rules. That reversal has paved the way for an investigation by the House ethics committee of DeLay’s handling of overseas trips and gifts.

“She played a very significant role in that with her relentless advocacy for a high ethical standard,” Pelosi said.

Slaughter said she is reveling in her role as the first woman to be the Rules Committee’s top minority party member.

“It’s a whole new world. It’s almost like learning a secret handshake,” said Slaughter, who has served on the panel since 1989. “I’m enjoying it immensely.”

Real Fighter

Pelosi, who has served with Slaughter for nearly 20 years and is a friend, said she appointed Slaughter to the job because of the New Yorker’s “boundless energy, wonderful intellect and great love for Congress.” “I also needed somebody up there who was a real fighter for our democracy, somebody who would stand up against the tyranny of the majority,” Pelosi said.

Forti blasts Slaughter and House Democrats for obstructing while failing to offer their own ideas.

“Their response to everything is, ‘We’re against what you’re for,’” he said. “It’s hard to put forward a debate when they refuse to stand for anything other than ‘no.’”

Slaughter says she and other Democrats have plenty of ideas but are thwarted by Republican leaders who make it almost impossible for the minority party to offer amendments. She pointed to a Democratic amendment – quashed by GOP leaders – that would have opened an investigation into $9 billion in missing money that was supposed to be used to rebuild Iraq.

“We fight mightily for what we believe in, but what we do doesn’t get a lot of press coverage unless it passes,” she said.

Slaughter serves upstate New Yorkers well, even when she loses, said Rodney Capel, executive director of the New York State Democratic Party.

“Her constituents have someone there to fight for the little guy, to work to protect their interests,” Capel said. “I think there’s value in that.”

But Forti said Slaughter risks alienating the Republicans she needs to help her secure federal funds for her home district.

“Only time will tell if this is going to hurt her,” he said.

Works with Reynolds

So far, it doesn’t appear to be harming her – at least with New York Republicans whose districts border her own.

Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-Clarence, Erie County, is part of the Republican leadership that Slaughter spends much of her time attacking.

Reynolds, who chairs the National Republican Campaign Committee, said he and Slaughter will continue working together to get federal funding for Rochester-area projects despite their opposing leadership roles.

“We come from very different political philosophies, but we understand the need to work as a team to achieve success for the region,” Reynolds said.

Slaughter said she tries to temper her hard-nosed attitude toward Republicans with a little Southern hospitality. Despite nearly five decades as a New Yorker, Slaughter has retained her native Kentucky twang, which at times softens her harsh words.

Just minutes after criticizing Republicans on the House floor, she hosted a lunch to introduce freshman Republican Rep. Randy Kuhl of Hammondsport to JetBlue Airways chief executive David Neeleman. Afterward, she invited Kuhl to see her new Capitol office, which she is restoring to its 19th-century grandeur with fresh paint and new carpeting.

“I think that by and large, my personal relationships (with colleagues) are good,” Slaughter said. “I fight for what I believe in, but it’s not a personal thing against anyone.”

But that doesn’t mean she’s going to stop rapping the Republicans anytime soon.

“I am tough,” she said. “I take this business very seriously. I know how long it took for a woman to get here.”

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