Dems test '06 themes on NRCC's Reynolds

BUFFALO, N.Y., April 4 (UPI) -- Testing themes they may use in the 2006 congressional elections, Democrats and their allies are turning up the heat on U.S. Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y.

Michael Brady, Reynolds chief of staff, called the targeting of Reynolds, "natural when you consider that he is a House leader and chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee."

Labor and other groups looking to use congressional ethics and Social Security as wedge issues against the Republicans want to see how they play out against Reynolds and hope to influence GOP congressional campaigns across the country.

One group, The Campaign for America's Future -- which counts Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich and the Rev. Jesse Jackson among its advisers -- has gone so far as to air commercials making an issue out of Reynolds' support for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. In the 30-second spot, Reynolds is called on to repudiate DeLay, who some claim has reshaped the House Ethics Committee to protect himself against potential campaign fraud charges.