NJDC Applauds Switch by Jeffords; Says Time Has Come for Bush to “Walk the Walk” of Moderation
Listed in: Other Domestic Policy, NJDC News, Press Releases
Washington, DC: The National Jewish Democratic Council today applauded Vermont Senator James Jeffords for leaving the Republican Party to become an independent, caucusing with the Democrats. His defection has given Democrats a majority in the Senate for the first time since 1994. Jeffords attributed his switch to the shrinking moderate wing within the GOP caucus, and the increasingly strained relationship between the Republican moderates and the Party leadership.
"The NJDC enthusiastically welcomes Senator Jeffords' move to formalize his cooperation with the Democratic Party," said NJDC Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "Throughout his years in the House and the Senate, Senator Jeffords has acquitted himself as a man of wisdom, moderation and dedication to principle. He has long championed key values cherished by many in the Jewish community - including protecting the environment and safeguarding reproductive freedom."
With the change in leadership in the Senate from Republican to Democratic, Forman called on President Bush to "finally fulfill the moderate rhetoric of his campaign. In short, it is now incumbent upon the President to 'walk the walk' when it comes to the tone of his rhetoric - not just talk the talk. The President has consistently spoken of the need for bipartisanship, yet House and Senate Democrats were largely ignored in the rush to pass the President's tax cut. With the Senate in Democratic hands, we are hopeful that the genuine need for real bipartisanship - or as soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle termed it, 'tripartisanship' - will sink in at the White House. And this is not just required because the President's campaign rhetoric promised it. This truly bipartisan approach is, if anything, the mandate represented by the last election.
"All of us in the Democratic family have waited six years for the opportunity to lead the Senate. We now have a responsibility to demonstrate that we can lead effectively and fairly as we tackle our nation's most pressing issues, and that we can reach across party lines to craft a national agenda that fairly represents the wishes of the American people. We have every confidence that Senator Daschle and his colleagues in the Democratic Caucus will make us proud in this respect as the nation's eyes turn towards the Senate in the coming weeks."
