Senate GOP Chooses Moderation; House GOP Bright Lines

Both the House and Senate Republican conferences are meeting in separate retreats this week to chart a course for the year ahead. That includes identifying both political and policy strategies, and ensuring that members are on board to the greatest degree possible. As details emerge, it's interesting to see how different those strategies will be. According to Congressional Quarterly, House Republicans seem eager to draw clear distinctions with the Democratic leadership:

As a feisty, ambitious backbencher in the "Gang of Seven" in 1994, John A. Boehner worked with his top aide, Barry Jackson, to develop a list of conservative principles that would become the "Contract With America."

Now House minority leader, Boehner has once again turned his attention to devising a conservative manifesto, with ending earmarks as its centerpiece. And again, there is input from Jackson, who is now a top political adviser to President Bush...

Boehner declined to discuss the details of the conversations but said he expects to develop a unified GOP position on earmarks in appropriations, tax and authorizing bills.

The Senate GOP appears to have decided on a moderate course centered on bipartisan achievements that can be taken to the voters:

According to internal Conference e-mails and participants in a daylong, closed-door Conference retreat at the Library of Congress, Senate Republicans will rely largely on supporting legislation that has garnered bipartisan support regardless of who the lead sponsor is...

Alexander and other lawmakers Wednesday outlined a series of bills and issues they hope to pursue this year in a handful of areas including entitlement reform, health insurance, the creation of a two-year budget cycle and legislative steps Congress could take to keep "jobs from going overseas," according to the agenda.

There's little question which will excite conservative voters more. Erick Erickson of RedState has already launched a shot across the bow of the Senate Republican leadership, and there's word of dissension from Senate conservatives.

But the fortunes of Congressional Republicans will be influenced by what happens at the top of the ticket. If the presidential matchup is Clinton vs. McCain, many in Washington anticipate a decisive Republican victory that will produce coattails at the Congressional level. If that happens, the strategies that these senators and representatives decide on may matter very little.