Democrats face task of navigating between base and center

No plan is offered to end war in Iraq

WASHINGTON -- As the applause of their first days in power fades, Democrats face the daunting reality that their reign probably will be judged not on easy tasks such as raising the minimum wage, but on how they handle the Iraq war, an issue that divides their own party and defies easy solution.

Democratic leaders oppose President Bush's expected escalation of the war this week. They urge instead a U.S. troop withdrawal starting in four to six months. And they will conduct oversight hearings on Iraq in Congress, starting Wednesday in the Senate and Jan. 17 in the House of Representatives.

But Iraq isn't part of their much-ballyhooed agenda for their first 100 hours of business, even though three out of four Americans call it their top priority for the government and it is a major reason for the Democrats' takeover of Congress.

And it is not clear what the Democrats will do after that.

They have offered no concrete proposal to end the war. That could anger the party's liberal base, which is demanding action to end the war. At the same time, bowing to that base could threaten the party's broader appeal.

Democratic leaders say there is little they can do directly to end the war. They note that Bush has the power as commander in chief to send troops where he will and that Bush would veto any legislation to withdraw troops.

"To pretend that we could deal with that in the first 100 hours," said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the House majority leader, "would be unrealistic and dishonest."

Rather, they hope that their opposition to a "surge" in troop levels plus the publicity of televised hearings will satisfy their base while putting more pressure on Bush to end the war.

"The public has spoken," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who will open the House hearings. "The polls are very clear. The policy has to be changed."

Given their reluctance to force that change now, Democratic leaders could be hoping to build a chain reaction. Their hearings could drive a disgruntled public to demand stronger action. That could embolden the Democratic-led Congress to use its power of the purse to insist that money for the troops be used to redeploy them out of Iraq.

The antiwar left doesn't want to wait.

"It could get very nasty within the party," said Tom Matzzie, the Washington director of the liberal MoveOn.org Political Action.

"We have a presidential nomination fight coming up. And we have a revived Democratic grass roots that feels confident challenging Democrats in primaries."

He said he welcomes Democratic opposition to the troop surge, as well as hearings. But he pressed for more forceful actions, such as using Congress' power over spending or the War Powers Act to force a withdrawal.

"The grass roots wants to see opposition to escalation, but we're not going to be overly patient if there's no action on an exit," he said.

"Oversight is needed. But that's not enough. Congress needs to force a change in U.S. Iraq policy."

That is the challenge that will face House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., even as they rack up victories in the coming weeks on such issues as ethics rules, financing for embryonic stem-cell research and banning members from flying on corporate jets.

"They cherry-picked some issues that are popular with the public," said Steven Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. "That will give them a short-term political boost.

"But once you get beyond that 100-hour agenda, the Democratic caucus is very diverse. And getting them to unify is not going to be easy. Their liberal base wants immediate withdrawal, and the caucus is not going to go along with that.

"It's going to be hard to govern."