A Party Crasher’s Survival Guide

The circumstances are different, to be sure, but if anyone knows what life in the Senate is like for a party switcher, it’s Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the bolo-wearin’, Harley-ridin’ Senator from Colorado. When Campbell left the Democrats for the Republicans in 1995, no balance of power was at stake, but that didn’t make things any easier. “It’s burned into my memory forever,” says Campbell of the weeks after his switch. “You just get hammered on awfully hard.” The awkwardness lasted a few weeks, he reports. But despite presumed similarities, the Senate functions with a little more dignity than a clique-ridden high school. “Yes, it’s a small group, only 100 people, but they know they have to get along tomorrow on new issues, so most of them don’t get very personal when they disagree.” Tom Daschle and other Democrats still kid Campbell. “They say, ‘Hey, we got a seat for you. If you want to come back, we’ve still got room.’ I think it’s good-natured joking. Or maybe it’s good-natured probing.”