Democratic Party

Four pro-Western parties that out-polled Moldova's governing Communists in recent elections agreed on a coalition deal to form a new government. The four parties have pledged to bring the former Soviet republic closer to Europe after eight years of Communist Party rule. They say they will reform markets, guarantee media freedom and make the judicial system more independent. "The citizens of Moldova must no longer be afraid. . . . The difference between us and the Communists is major.

An act of vandalism at Democratic Party headquarters in Denver took a strange turn when it was revealed that one of the suspects was a Democratic activist. Democratic leaders initially said that the window shattering was an act of political vandalism, possibly by opponents of the proposed healthcare overhaul. But the political leanings of suspect Maurice Schwenkler raised the prospect that one of the party's own might have vandalized its building to make a statement. Schwenkler refused to discuss a possible motive with police.

Some reader questions on the national healthcare debate, focusing on the House bill unveiled Thursday by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco): -- Would the House Democrats' bill raise my taxes more than the other bills making their way through Congress? It depends on your income. The House bill would impose a surcharge on individuals who make more than $500,000 and couples who make more than $1 million. The previous House bill would have imposed the surcharge on individuals who make $280,000 and families that make $350,000.

Re "GOP facing a rebellion on the right," Nov. 3 Describing people like Dede Scozzafava as a "moderate Republican" is disingenuous. She's a liberal on almost every issue. The GOP rebellion is led by those rejecting the left's attempt to undermine their party with liberal Democrats who pose as Republicans. News stories imply these core believers are extremists -- but these are accusations by a media that for decades have been in the pocket of Democrats and supported radical agendas.

The chairman of the state's Democratic Party, which was battered in the November elections, said he will step down. Dick Harpootlian will step aside May 3, the day his party holds the first debate among candidates for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. In November, South Carolina Democrats lost all but two statewide races, including those for governor and U.S. senator. The state is getting early attention from candidates because its Feb.

Is it possible that the Democratic members of the House and Senate slept soundly on Monday night, confident in the knowledge that all questions relating to Monica Lewinsky had been laid to rest by President Clinton's mini mea culpa? To believe that, you would have to accept that these hardened politicians had succumbed to a mass suspension of disbelief akin to peasants beholding a heavenly apparition.

The chief strategist for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gray Davis opines that this year's governor's race will "focus on a handful of issues that matter to people." It will be unlike previous campaigns, he says, that "got sidetracked onto issues of gender, ethnicity and sideshows." For those wanting to cut through that encrypted goo, Davis' strategist is referring to Propositions 187 and 209 on the 1994 and 1996 ballots.

On the eve of the state Democratic Convention here, six women from Southern Illinois--with more than half a century of knocking on doors, pasting up posters and passing out campaign buttons among them--sipped drinks in a Holiday Inn lounge and steadfastly defended President Clinton in the wake of his confession to an affair with Monica S. Lewinsky.

As point man in the Democratic drive to recapture the House, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri has been stumping the country this week warning of dire consequences if voters fail to rally behind his party's banner. Continued Republican control of both chambers of Congress, he told a group of Iowa senior citizens here, would threaten the very existence of Social Security. "This will be the defining issue of this election," insisted Gephardt, who campaigns in Los Angeles today for Rep.

Orange County may have its share of wealth, but not for Bill Clinton. Records released this week show that 179 Orange County residents contributed a total of $12,702 to the president's defense fund. That's 0.0487% of the 367,639 registered Democrats who live in the county. An average of $70.96 per donation. A little less than 3 1/2 cents per Democrat. Who says Democrats are big spenders?