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Lawmaker: Democrats' leadership contest 'not over'Tennessee's Ford makes case for opposing California's Pelosi
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Harold Ford of Tennessee said Sunday his run for House minority leader represents the Democrats' only chance for new leadership after Tuesday's midterm losses. "If you believe that the same old tired, failed politics of the Democratic Caucus is a direction we ought to travel, then clearly Nancy's your choice," said Ford, referring to Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi of California. Ford is challenging Pelosi for the leadership post that Minority Leader Richard Gephardt is giving up after Tuesday's elections, which cost Democrats five House seats and control of the Senate. (Bio of key players) Democrats are expected to elect their new leader this week. Though Pelosi said Friday she has a majority of the Democratic caucus, Ford told ABC's "This Week," "The race is not over." "I've made clear the only real change in this race is me," he said. Ford, 32, is the youngest Democrat in Congress and a member of the "Blue Dog" group of conservative Democrats. He was the keynote speaker at the 2000 Democratic National Convention that nominated former Vice President Al Gore for president. Ford voted to give President Bush the authority to go to war with Iraq in the confrontation with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Ford said he would offer "constructive opposition" to Bush and the GOP leadership in Congress, saying he was "tired of playing defense all the time." "I think we can challenge this president and Republicans when they're wrong, and not only challenge them, because all we did in this last election was point out where they were wrong," he said. "What we did not do effectively was say, 'Here's what we're going to do.' " Ford said Democratic leaders have not only failed to win back control of the House since 1994, "They've not been able to produce the kind of an opposition that Americans feel comfortable with." Pelosi, 62, a congresswoman from San Francisco, is among the most liberal House Democrats, and she led the opposition to Bush's Iraq resolution. Some Republicans said Pelosi's elevation could help the GOP portray Democrats as drifting away from the center. (Full story) But Pelosi has rejected the criticism. "I do think that people elected me to be a leader and not an advocate for my own point of view," she has said. "Everyone in the party has their own place in the spectrum." If she does win, Pelosi would become the highest-ranking female leader in House history. As minority whip, she now holds the No. 2 Democratic leadership post in the House. Senate leadershipOn the Senate side, Tom Daschle, who soon will lose his post as Senate majority leader, said Sunday there was no need for a "major regrouping," as Gore suggested in a recent interview. The senator from South Dakota also said his leadership post appears secure. Though candidates backed by the president ousted Democratic incumbents in Georgia and Missouri, Daschle noted that Republicans had 50 Senate seats in 2000 and have 51 in the new term. "I think that to somehow recognize this as a mandate for Republicans or some condemnation of the Democratic approach is wrong," he told NBC's "Meet the Press." Daschle said Bush used Republican efforts to stall the creation of a Cabinet-level Homeland Security Department against Democrats, accusing them of blocking the measure. "Never mind the fact that Republicans filibustered the homeland security bill five times," Daschle said. "All the way through, they've opposed it. They opposed getting it done before the election, so they could blame the Democrats."
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