Politics - Parallel Party Pushes Democrats

After President Bush vetoed an expansion of a children's health program on October 3, Democratic leaders ramped up pressure on Republicans to override his rejection. A loose-knit army of online bloggers sprang into action -- but with a different focus. They targeted five wayward House Democrats who had not promised to vote with their party. After a flurry of telephone calls and newspaper advertisements, three of the five Democrats backed the override.

"We felt there was a little bit of hypocrisy in the Democrats' tactics," activist Howie Klein told McClatchy News Service. "Here they were with this expensive campaign to draw attention to Republicans who voted against the bill, but no one was saying anything about the Democrats who voted against it."