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Remember when Republicans were talking about the end of the Democratic party as we know it? So soundly were the Dems whipped in the last election, it seemed as though voters might storm into the Capitol and drag away every member of the party.

Not so fast. Republicans were quick out of the gate, as Speaker Newt Gingrich talked about a political revolution and the House blazed through votes on the Contract With America. But across the aisle, Democrats in Congress gradually pulled themselves together, and chipped away at the image of Gingrich and his congregation. The Republicans were selling out the environment to big business, they said. The Republicans were slashing Medicare to finance a tax cut for the rich. Extremist Republican freshmen would shut down the government rather than compromise. Gingrich and his party have plummeted in the polls, and begun to shoot themselves in the foot: last week House Majority Leader Richard Armey suggested paying for a proposed repeal of the gasoline tax [see last week] by cutting education funding (he quickly retreated from the comment.) And telltale party infighting has begun: Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, R-NY, heckled his party's right wing, saying Gingrich and Co. "misread the 1994 elections," and that Gingrich's beloved Contract With America "is something that most people didn't know about and didn't vote for."

All this is sweet relief for the Democratic party as the November elections approach. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, the certain Republican Presidential nominee, has also been taking a battering. There is even talk now of reclaiming control of the House. Give some of the credit to President Bill Clinton, who has handled his budget showdown with Congress deftly. But hard work by once beleaguered Democrats in Congress has been essential to blocking votes and flogging the GOP with issues like the minimum wage. Here's a look at the leaders of this Democratic charge:

David Bonior: As minority whip, Bonior is the number-two Democrat in the House. The Detroit-area Congressman sees himself as a champion of the disenfranchised blue-collar worker, and spends hours on the House floor railing against the business interests he says are driving the Republican agenda. Bonior has also gunned for Gingrich off the floor, filing one complaint after another with the House Ethics Committee charging that Gingrich violated a slew of campaign and tax laws. Most of the charges have not been borne out, although an independent counsel was assigned to investigate one minor charge, but details that emerged about Gingrich's finance and campaign operations likely contributed to his wane in popularity.

Barney Frank: When Congress changed hands last year, Frank was designated as the Democratic pit-bull. His intellect and penchant for biting one-liners made him an effective fighter on the floor and in committee hearings, challenging Republican ideas and often outdebating his opponents; he is especially adept at offering up the one-liner or soundbite for ever-critical media battles for public sympathy. In the House, where pitched rhetoric and fiery speeches are the norm, the verbal prowess of Frank and Bonior have been a major asset to their party. (Frank's needling clearly gets to his nemeses: In an interview last year House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-TX, referred to the openly gay Frank as "Barney Fag".)

Dick Gephardt: Gephardt, former presidential candidate and House majority leader, is now the minority leader of the House. He adopts a quieter, less confrontational tone than colleagues like Frank and Bonior, and has not been particularly visible since the 1994 elections. As party leader, Gephardt's principal role has been as a legislative maneuverer, stymieing Republican votes when he can. He has joined Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle in creating a Democratic agenda in the style (if not substance) of the Contract With America to present before the November elections. Gephardt, who represents parts of St. Louis, has had differences and seemed even to compete with President Clinton. Their competitive relationship has sometimes strained party unity, but with their collective fortunes rising, they are increasingly on the same page. Both Gephardt and Bonior are in good standing with labor groups, which figure to be key influences in both the presidential and Congressional elections of 1996.

Thomas Daschle: Daschle, a mild-mannered South Dakotan, is the minority leader of the Senate. He suffered early criticism for indecision over the first major battle in the Senate, last year's failed Republican attempt to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and was tainted by charges that his intervention with safety regulators on behalf of a friend's commuter air travel service might have contributed to a fatal crash. Recently Daschle has rebounded, continually frustrating Dole with legislative maneuvers that have stalled bills important to Republicans or loaded them with amendments, like a minimum wage increase, that have forced Dole into embarrassing retreat. Like Gephardt (and most every Congressional Democrat), Daschle has had his differences with Clinton. But their relationship, too, has improved of late.

Edward Kennedy: The veteran liberal from Massachusetts was the co-author, with Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, R-KS, of the only piece of major health legislation Congress has passed since Bill Clinton proposed overhauling America's health care system in 1993. The popular bill would allow workers to take their health insurance with them if they changed jobs and prohibit insurers from denying policies to people with pre-existing conditions. Although the bill had bipartisan support, Dole was criticized for delaying its passage and Democrats have attacked House Republicans for loading the popular bill with provisions that might force a Clinton veto. Kennedy is also a key architect of the Democrats' minimum-wage fight, and campaigned on the issue in his closely fought 1994 re-election race.

Chris Dodd: Dodd is co-chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Unlike his fellow leaders, Dodd has not done his battling through legislation or floor speeches so much as he has used television appearances and campaign-style speeches to trump the Clinton agenda and to skewer Republicans. As a member of the Senate special committee investigating the Whitewater affair, Dodd has vigorously blunted charges against the President and helped prevent the committee from receiving an indefinite time extension on its investigation. Dodd lost the contest for Senate Minority Leader to Daschle by one vote, and is expected to try again in the future.