Georgia Vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Click on C-SPAN and there’s Rep. Tom Price, a Republican from Georgia, blasting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s travel arrangements or hammering the new ‘’Democrat majority'’ for ‘’the largest tax increase in our nation’s history.'’

His Web site screams of ‘’outrageous'’ tax-and-spend liberalism, while his ‘’Official Truth Squad'’ records some two dozen infractions on its ‘’Democrat Broken Promise Meter.'’

Price, a 52-year-old doctor, was largely a backbencher in the last Congress, tending quietly to the concerns of his wealthy suburban district north of Atlanta that produced Newt Gingrich three decades ago. But with his party now in the minority, Price is following in Gingrich’s early footsteps and emerging as one of the GOP’s lead attack dogs.

A mild-mannered Michigan native who settled in the Atlanta area after medical school at Emory University, Price’s job is to get under the skin of Democrats. First elected to Congress in 2004, the former state Senate majority leader is a deputy Republican whip, part of the leadership’s vote-counting team that enforces party unity and gauges rank-and-file support for legislation. He also is vice chairman of the policy committee for the House Republican Conference, which maps ‘’message'’ strategy and develops talking points.

With more of a nasally, Midwestern delivery than a slow Southern drawl, Price regularly takes to the floor for partisan jousting alongside other junior leaders like Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

In one particularly nasty exchange last month, Price had the remarks of Mississippi Democrat Gene Taylor stricken from the official record after Taylor questioned Price’s ‘’decency'’ when Price challenged legislation that would send more federal aid to hurricane-ravaged sections of Mississippi. Price sought to amend the bill so that local governments pony up more of their own money.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Price said he doesn’t view his new role as raw partisanship.

‘’I view it as the responsibility of serving,'’ he said, ‘’which means holding people accountable for what they said they were going to do.'’

Without missing a beat, he then launches a criticism straight from the GOP play book.

‘’Fundamentally, it has become clear that this Democrat majority has picked up right where the previous Democrat majority left off in 1994, and that is with larger taxes, bigger government and less freedom,'’ he said.

Emory political science professor Randall Strahan said the Republicans’ tactics remind him of the ‘’guerrilla'’ operations of young House Republicans led by Gingrich in the 1980s.

‘’This is a way for the minority to get their points in,'’ Strahan said. ‘’This is kind of the point of the spear in message politics.'’

Price’s district is heavily Republican: He won his second term in November with 72 percent of the vote. So Price probably has a lot of leeway to focus on national themes without being accused of neglecting local needs, Strahan said.

The role doesn’t come without risks, and Price has at times found himself in awkward positions.

He was among the first to criticize Pelosi in February over her plans to use a large military plane to shuttle between Washington and her San Francisco district. He called it a ‘’slap in the face'’ to taxpayers and demeaning to the military.

Shortly after, President Bush’s spokesman called the issue ‘’silly'’ and ‘’unfair'’ to Pelosi, who is third in line to the presidency. Pelosi’s predecessor, Republican Dennis Hastert of Illinois, had also used a military plane after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the House Sargeant-at-Arms said he requested a larger plane for Pelosi for security reasons so she could reach California nonstop.

Price also has repeatedly criticized Democrats for using ‘’bulldozer politics'’ by not allowing Republican amendments and limiting time for debate. When pressed, he acknowledges that Republicans used many of the same tactics just last year when they were the majority. Instead, he settles on a subtler criticism.

‘’This new majority said they wouldn’t do that,'’ he said. ‘’They said they were going to take this Congress in a new direction … clearly that hasn’t been the case.'’

Strahan noted that Price quickly rose to a leadership position in the Georgia Legislature and said he could be on a similar track in Congress.

‘’If there’s a risk to it I think it probably has to do with antagonizing Democrats. But when you’re in the minority, that’s sort of your job,'’ Strahan said. ‘’I would guess this will endear him to the Republican leaders.'’