Republicans spooked by the prospect of actually losing control of
congress this fall have been planning what they viewed as an early Halloween
fright show: a fall focus on the Democratic committee chairmen who
would likely take over if the GOP lost its House majority in the November
midterms. But the Democrats, sources tell TIME, have come up with their
own way to ease any potential voter fears about the members in question
-- they've started making it very clear that no ranking members are
guaranteed committee chairmanships.

The Republicans have begun making their case by focusing on the top
Democrats on each committee, on the assumption they would move from
ranking member to Chairman if the party took over: Rep. Charles B. Rangel
(D-NY.) at the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Rep. John Conyers Jr.
(D-Mich.) at Judiciary and, perhaps scariest of all for the GOP, the
aggressive Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) at the Committee on Government
Reform, which can issue subpoenas.

House Republicans have put out "Democrats Unhinged: The REAL House
Democrat Agenda," as a preview of what the party would do if it won
control, and Republicans planned to go personal soon with a look at what a
Democratic Congress could look like. The party is prepared to use voting
records to argue that several of the chairs-in-waiting are out of the
mainstream, and that overall the new leadership would be overwhelmingly
liberal-leaning.

To try and defuse that line of attack, House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently announced to her ranking members before they
left for the summer break that they could not count on winning a
chairmanship if the party took over.

"She said members should not feel entitled and nobody should assume
anything, including who will be chairs," said a House Democratic aide.
"It's very clear that the Republican strategy is to attack the ranking
members. It's part of their scare campaign to try to sow fear of the
Democrats."

Although Pelosi's twist will not stop the GOP from speculating, it
muddies the argument about the characteristics of a Democratic House.
Pelosi held the 4:15 p.m. Thursday meeting in her conference room to remind
the ranking members of their need to keep the drumbeat of the
Democratic message going during the break so that President Bush wouldn't have a
clear playing field.

Republicans did not seem too torn up when told about the development.
Kevin Madden, spokesman for House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio),
said: "The prospective list of Democrat leadership and committee
chairmen reads like a 'Who's Who' of Democrat hysteria. As much as Nancy
Pelosi thinks she can sweep that mess under the rug right now, there is no
way she can hide the fact that these folks and their ideas are just way
out there. The idea of Charlie Rangel directing tax policy in this
country will keep our base awake at night, and it's sure to keep a lot of
moderate Democrats from pulling that lever in November as well."

Brendan Daly, Pelosi's spokesman, counters: "After 12 years of abusing their power for their special interest friends, no wonder Republicans are afraid of Democrats who will work for the priorities of everyday Americans. The vast majority of the nation wants to go in a new direction, and no amount of Republican fear-mongering will change that."

On Capitol Hill, some decisions are intended for leaking, and Pelosi's
warning to her leaders looks like one of them. She recently has taken
to kicking members' aides out of meetings for sensitive discussions so
that only lawmakers are present. But aides, who luckily for reporters
are often inclined to be chatty, were allowed to stay for her declaration
about chairmanships -- all but ensuring it would find its way to the
public and the opposition.