By JANET HOOK And PATRICK O'CONNOR
President Barack Obama is looking to an unlikely quarter—lame-duck Democrats who lost partly because of him—to help quell a revolt by House Democrats opposed to his tax deal with Republicans.
Administration officials Friday continued to scramble to build support among the 52 Democrats defeated in November, a group that comprises a substantial number of conservatives and centrists from Republican-leaning districts who failed to withstand the anti-Obama wave of the midterm elections.
Many of these Democrats are already on record supporting an extension of existing tax rates for all taxpayers, but in recent days they have been eclipsed by an anti-Obama uproar from liberals who dominate the House Democratic Caucus. That puts the White House in a curious position of needing the support of lawmakers who lost their jobs in part because of the president.
"A strong leader is one who knows when to compromise," said Rep. Michael E. McMahon (D., N.Y.), a lame duck who has endorsed Mr. Obama's tax-cut deal. Mr. McMahon contrasted the president with "those who would block any and all action by stomping their feet like petulant children."
The White House agreement with Republicans links a two-year extension of all the Bush-era income tax cuts to a one-year extension of unemployment benefits and other aid to middle-income families. In a closed-door strategy session dominated by liberals Thursday, House Democrats adopted a resolution opposing the compromise, threatening to keep the bill off the floor unless it is changed.
Democrats like Mr. McMahon are part of the firewall of support the White House has been assembling to secure passage of the package in the House, which is expected to take up the measure after the Senate acts early next week. If, as expected, only a few of the 179 House Republicans vote against the bill, the White House needs about 40 Democrats to assemble a majority of 218.
One potential cadre of support: 31 Democrats including Mr. McMahon who signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) before the election urging extension of all the tax cuts, including for upper-income brackets. Many in this camp are also members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 54 conservative Democrats, many from the South, who often depart from the liberal wing of the party on on tax issues.
The eventual vote could prove a playbook for future White House initiatives if the president opts to circumvent Democratic leaders in the House by reaching out to the surviving Blue Dogs on legislation that has Republican support.
John Murray, communications director for House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R., Va.), said conservative lame ducks will be hard pressed to vote against the compromise. "Blue Dog Democrats will have to decide whether their legacy vote in Congress will be to raise taxes, so it's hard to imagine many opposing the president,'' he said.
The election took a big toll on the Blue Dogs. Only 26 were reelected, while 28 either retired or were defeated. When House Democrats met Thursday and voted to reject Mr. Obama's tax-cut compromise, many of those lame-duck Blue Dogs were not present, which conservatives say left the impression the caucus was unanimously opposed to the Obama plan. "People shouldn't overreact to it," said Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition, referring to Thursday's vote. "Not everyone in the Democratic caucus was there. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I want to put it in context."
A Blue Dog who narrowly won re-election spoke out on Friday against Democrats who oppose the tax-cut compromise. "Despite the bipartisan compromise laid out by the president, some lawmakers are more interested in extending the last election than the tax cuts for American families and workers," said Rep. Jim Costa (D., Calif.). "The campaign is over and that goes for members of both parties."
Before charting their course,House leaders are waiting to see what happens in the Senate, where approval of the bill is expected by the middle ofnext week. House Democrats are looking to make changes in the bill's estate-tax provisions, or at least to allow for a showdown vote on the issue.
One obstacle to winning support from centrists is the bill's price tag—about $858 billion over ten years. Many centrists seem prepared to swallow it, despite their the group's longstanding concerns about high budget deficits. "I think it'll pass, and I think it should pass," said Rep. Rick Boucher (D., Va.), who lost his re-election bid partly because of his support for Mr. Obama's global-warming legislation.
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