The impact of defeat on the Democrats would likely be felt most in leadership, and the linchpin in nearly all the scenarios is Gephardt. Depending on his decision, the Caucus would either see an explosion of leadership battles or enter a milder rebuilding period. Some observers, however, believe that even Gephardt would not be perfectly safe in defeat. And he has tremendous reach within the Caucus. But certainly nothing less.
Members tend to be fickle, after all.
Of course, many Republicans at the time considered the grandiose Gingrich to be at the root of some of their problems in the electorate. The question is what Gephardt would choose to do, and then what other senior Democrats would do because of it. If Gephardt were to step down, the resultant leadership battles would be fairly well-defined. Dooley lost to Menendez in the race for Caucus vice chairman after the last election. She lost to Frost in the contest for Caucus chairman in 1998, but the lawmaker is assumed to have long-range designs on the upper echelons of the elected leadership.