Sunday, July 30, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.
WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John Ensign was still basking in the glory of his anti-abortion victory this week when the quiet power of his home-state colleague Sen. Harry Reid led to a roadblock.
Reid voted in favor of Ensign's bill. But then the Senate minority leader allowed his Democratic second in command to use a parliamentary maneuver to stop the bill in its tracks, moments after it won Senate approval on a 65-34 vote.
Senators were stunned. Ensign sent out a statement calling the Democrats' obstruction "underhanded and disingenuous." One anti-abortion lobbyist said he hasn't seen such a maneuver in his 25 years on the Hill.
But others say Reid's tacit approval of Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin's move is what any savvy leader would have done in the always incendiary abortion debate. He protected his party's position, even though he was among 14 Democrats who voted to approve the measure. Reid has long been an abortion opponent.
Senate Democrats fear that the legislation will become more restrictive if melded with the House version when representatives of the two chambers meet to hash out differences.
The bill is expected to move forward this session, despite Durbin's maneuver. But the stall buys time for Senate Democrats to build support for their provisions, a Democratic senator's aide said.
"This is a way to ensure the integrity of the bill," said John Sides, an assistant professor of political science at George Washington University. Reid is balancing "his own with the desires of the people he represents in the Senate In some way he is doing his personal preference - I want this, not six inches to the right of me on the conservative side."
Ensign's bill would prohibit minors from being taken across state lines for abortions to circumvent rules in states that require parental consent. The Senate bill made exceptions for victims of rape and incest.
After Durbin stepped in to block the bill from going to a House-Senate conference, the anti-abortion lobby came out swinging. Reid is holding up a bill that most Americans support, said Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee.
Johnson called Reid a hypocrite for supporting the bill but allowing it to be stalled.
"This is not the kind of extraordinary maneuver the deputy would be taking if the boss didn't approve," he said. "If Sen. Reid decides that this objection should be removed, it would be removed in five minutes."
He compared Reid's actions to those of former Democratic Leader Tom Daschle - an implied threat given that Republicans succeeded in bouncing Daschle from the Senate by targeting his district in 2004.
That comparison to Daschle is one Reid's office said Republicans are repeating often these days.
"Sen. Reid's position on this issue has been consistent - his goal has been to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and make sure the victims of incest are protected," said Reid spokesman Jon Summers.
"Nevadans know who Sen. Reid is, and they know what he stands for. They're not going to be fooled by the tactics of people who are going to try to pull the same thing on him."
A Reid staffer said Durbin made his objection with the full support of the Democratic caucus. Reid suggests that Republicans, who have majority control of the House and Senate, should simply instruct the House to take up the Senate version of the bill - something Ensign says is not respectful of House members who should be able to debate the issues.
Yet despite the strong feelings involved, Reid and Ensign have avoided sharp remarks between them - in keeping with their long-standing agreement not to criticize each other even as they disagree on national issues.
Ensign says only that Democrats are undermining the will of Americans.
Reid's office said the senator would have the same position regardless of the bill's sponsor.
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