Freshman Democrats key in debate over wiretapping

FRESHMAN DEMOCRATS KEY IN DEBATE OVER WIRETAPPING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Manu Raju]
An unpredictable group of House and Senate freshman Democrats could determine the outcome of the latest debate over President Bush’s foreign-intelligence surveillance program, after they backed a six-month interim bill in August and are now torn over supporting new bills moving through Congress. Most of these Democrats hail from conservative-leaning districts and states, where there is the perception that Democrats are weaker on national security issues than Republicans. After supporting the White House-backed interim bill last summer, however, a number of the freshmen encountered a strong backlash from Democratic voters and groups concerned over the new authority that the Bush administration won to wiretap Americans without court warrants. Holding together freshmen is one major problem facing House and Senate Democratic leaders, who are trying to walk a tightrope in reconciling diverging views within their caucuses while attempting to appease their base and look strong on terrorism.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/freshman-democrats-key-in-debate-over-wiretapping-2007-10-30.html