The Fight for Suburban Votes

The Republicans have decided to make their stand in the suburbs in this November's midterm elections. Earlier this month, congressional leaders introduced their "Suburban Agenda," targeting crime, education and the economy in a slate of bills they hope will rally the suburban voters they've won with in the past. Their raft of proposals, some smacking of an urban relief initiative from the 1970s, are designed to help suburbanites (voters formerly known as Soccer Moms and Dads) curb gang violence, conserve land, save for college and mandate background checks for teachers.

The Democrats' strategy seems to be to fight the GOP's foray on the local level. In House Speaker Dennis Hastert's home state of Illinois, local Democrats are holding press conferences to complain that the GOP's agenda needlessly replicates state and county laws already on the books. They also call federal involvement in local issues plain cumbersome. "A one-size-fits-all or one-suburb-fits-all approach to dealing with local issues has some severe shortcomings," said State Sen. Susan Garrett, who represents the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest.