To the Point

The Democrats and the Politics of Opposition

After 10 years as the minority on Capitol Hill, Democrats have decided the best way to assert themselves is by opposing all things Republican. After the Terri Schiavo intervention, ethical questions about Tom DeLay, and the lack of public support for changing Social Security, they're accusing GOP of being out of control, abusing their power and protecting themselves from accountability. It's the same claim Republicans made when the Democrats were in power, but the Republicans also pushed the "Contract with America." Will the Democrats follow up with their own agenda or continue to just say "No?" We hear from journalists, Congressional Democrats and Republicans and the Democratic National Committee. Making News: Nationwide Dragnet Grabs 10,000 Fugitives More than 10,000 fugitives from justice have been captured in a week-long nationwide dragnet. Three thousand law enforcement agents were involved, all coordinated by the US Marshals Service. Kelli Arena, who covers the Justice Department for CNN, says that Operation FALCON resulted in the arrests of alleged murderers, armed robbers, gang members, rapists and others accused of sexual assault. Reporter's Notebook: Better to Be Poor in Any Other Rich Country In a list of 30 relatively prosperous nations, only Russia and Mexico have a greater gap between rich and poor than America. Norway has a lower standard of living, but the poorest people do better there than they do in the US, with the world's highest average standard of living. The same is true in countries like Britain, Germany and Canada, according to statistics compiled by Professor Timothy Smeeding at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.