Capitol Hill's New Reality

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But just because a lawmaker is labeled a moderate doesn’t mean he’s an economic moderate. Senator-elect Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), for example, is considered a centrist because he is a social conservative, but he is a liberal populist on economic issues. Still, in a narrowly divided Democratic House, Tauscher’s band of about 40 economic moderates could wield extraordinary power to influence tax, trade, and budget policy.

Bipartisan Progress?

"There are a lot of pro-business Democrats," says Tauscher. She says her group is willing to work with the White House, but it has been ignored for years. "They don’t call," she complains. "They don’t write. They don’t send flowers."

That could change. One former Bush Cabinet member, ex-Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, predicts that the President will work across party lines to avoid two years of complete gridlock on economic issues from deficit reduction to taxes. "He has no choice," says Ridge. "He’ll have to reach out if he wants to get anything done."

Even in the middle of the harsh partisanship of recent years, certain committees on Capitol Hill have maintained good bipartisan working relationships. Among them are the House Financial Services Committee, the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and the Senate Banking Committee. On the Senate Finance Committee top Democrat Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and senior Republican Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) are close friends and political collaborators.

That bipartisanship is expected to continue even with Democrats in charge. The committees could make progress in the next two years on such issues as raising the minimum wage, reforming immigration law, and protecting retailers and consumers from identity theft. On the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, Democrat Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.) and Republican Michael B. Enzi (Wyo.) are working on bipartisan legislation that would allow smaller companies to lower pension costs.

To break through to the new Democratic leaders, companies will be rushing to stock up on lobbyists with Democratic credentials. But not all Democrats are created equal. In the influence-peddling world, the most important thing is personal relationships with key players on Capitol Hill. That could make Nancy Pelosi’s former chief of staff, George Crawford, a K Street superstar. In recent months, he has added Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Amgen (AMGN) to his client roster.

There’s also a ready source of well-connected talent in the roster of former Democratic lawmakers with close ties to the leadership, including ex-Representatives Thomas Downey of New York and Marty Russo of Illinois. But savvy businesses won’t ditch Republican lobbyists altogether. Some, like former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Livingston Jr. (R-La.), have close ties to suddenly powerful Democrats, too.

Away from the Hill

Business advocates point out that there’s yet another way to connect with newly minted Democratic leaders: get involved with a lawmaker’s favorite charity or pet project. The Financial Services Committee’s Frank is interested in creating incentives for building affordable housing. Ways & Means’ Rangel, whose district includes Harlem, is devoted to trade with Africa and urban development in the U.S.

On the Senate side, Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has a deep interest in suicide prevention. A group of lobbyists and industry organizations helped raise money for the 2005 Suicide Prevention Action Network dinner on Capitol Hill, which honored Reid, whose father killed himself in 1972. The potential payoff from such gestures, says one Republican lobbyist familiar with the event, is that "you can get a member of Congress to say, ‘Oh, that guy really cares about me.’ It won’t get your bill passed, but it helps on the margins."