Reid himself has learned to navigate these issues in order to win election in largely rural Nevada. He calls himself pro-gun and, according to a spokesman, opposes abortion except in cases of rape and incest and when the woman's life is endangered.
In the Senate, matters are further complicated by the fact that at least five Democrats -- nearly 10% of the caucus -- are considering presidential bids in which they may need to win the liberal base to gain the nomination but then campaign to the center in a general election.
Republicans have already said they intend to take back power in 2008 by portraying Democrats as big-government tax raisers who would rather safeguard civil liberties than interrogate terrorists.
Conservatives, though splintered over Iraq, immigration and other issues, had succeeded in keeping power since 1994 in part by forging a coalition built on compromise and shared goals -- a practice that Democrats have yet to perfect.
Senior Democrats say they will figure out a way to bridge the divide.
"Tension is inherent in politics, and maybe a little bit of tension is good," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley. "But on the core, fundamental issues, everyone's in line."
Wary that the interest groups' demands may turn off the centrist voters who put them in the majority, some Democratic pragmatists are preparing to press for greater independence.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the committee that designed the party's Senate campaign strategy, is publishing a book in January that is expected to lay out a plan for long-term Democratic dominance. He is expected to embrace a philosophy somewhere between the Democrats' old New Deal reliance on government and conservatives' outright disdain for government.
Schumer signaled as much after the election when he called on the party to "push aside the special interests and always keep our eye on the average American family."
peter.wallsten@latimes.com
janet.hook@latimes.com
