May 22, 2000
Foes tie Lazio to Gingrich, Contract with America
By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Supporters of New York Senate candidate Hillary Rodham
Clinton yesterday sought to link Rep. Rick A. Lazio to former
House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the "Contract With America," but
her new opponent called the strategy "laughable."
"I think people on both sides of the ideological spectrum
will find it laughable as well. The last thing, I think, that
Hillary Clinton's supporters want to do is to talk about my
record, because, I think, it scares the bejabbers out of them,"
the New York Republican said on "Fox News Sunday."
Mr. Lazio — who appeared on all five Sunday morning
political talk shows in his first full day as a Senate candidate
— did not shrink from the comparison.
"On the 'Contract With America,' which they're quick to
raise, which one of those things is she against? A balanced
budget? Welfare reform? Strong national security? Truth in
sentencing?
"She's against all those things, I presume, by their attack.
I'm for those things. I'm proudly for those things. Those are the
things that helped turn America around," he said on NBC's "Meet
the Press."
On CBS' "Face the Nation," Mr. Lazio said: "If that's what
they're against and I'm for, I'm comfortable fighting on those
grounds."
Linking Mr. Lazio, who entered the House in 1992, with Mr.
Gingrich is an easy task: An analysis in Congressional Quarterly
showed the New York Republican voted with the speaker 83 percent
of the time in 1995. On the other hand, the centrist Republican —
who supports some abortion rights and some aspects of gun control
—voted with President Clinton 72 percent of the time in 1994 and
59 percent the previous year, according to voting records.
In virtually every television appearance he made, Mr. Lazio
faced a coordinated assault by supporters of Mrs. Clinton,
including campaign adviser Harold Ickes, campaign manager Bill de
Blasio and spokesman Howard Wolfson.
"Beyond the fact that Lazio was a key lieutenant of Gingrich
and someone who was very proud of having helped build the
Gingrich revolution and supporter of the 'Contract with America,'
the core point here is that the issue contrast [between him and
Mrs. Clinton] is profound," Mr. de Blasio said.
Said Mr. Ickes: "Rick Lazio is just out of step with the
mainstream of New York."
Rep. David E. Bonior, Michigan Democrat and House minority
whip who has been an ardent defender of President Clinton, also
criticized Mr. Lazio's connection.
"Clearly, when Rick Lazio was in the United States House of
Representatives during Gingrich's first term, he went down the
line with the 'Contract With America.' You just check out his
votes," he said on CNN's "Late Edition.
"And not only that, check his comments, check his quotes in
the paper with respect to Newt Gingrich over that period of time.
He was very supportive of Speaker Gingrich."
But Rep. David Dreier, a California Republican who appeared
on CNN, noted that "most of the Contract With America was signed
by President Clinton: balanced budgets, unfunded mandates,
national security" and welfare reform.
Mr. Lazio, who starts the campaign almost a year after the
first lady began testing the waters, said he understands his
greatest task —and his greatest danger.
"My challenge is to make sure that people know the real Rick
Lazio before the other side gets out and tries to fool the New
York people about who I am," he said on CNN's "Late Edition."
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, interviewed yesterday on "Fox
News Sunday," said he finds it "amazing" that supporters of Mrs.
Clinton are "already trying to demonize" her new Republican
opponent.
But host Tony Snow countered that such analogies can only
constitute demonizing "if you assume that Newt Gingrich is a
demon." He asked Mr. DeLay — the House's third-in-command — if
that was his assumption.
The Texas Republican responded carefully. "Well, the left
has tried to demonize Newt Gingrich all this time, and, in some
cases, were successful," he said.
But Mr. DeLay went on to say it is "so hollow to try to tie
Rick Lazio to Newt Gingrich," he feels "sure New Yorkers are just
going to laugh about that one."
A New York Post/Zogby poll released yesterday showed 46
percent of New York voters supporting Mrs. Clinton, compared with
32 percent in favor of Mr. Lazio. Sen. Mitch McConnell, chairman
of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, pointed out on
Fox that "her numbers are not that much different than they were
before [New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani] left the race."
The poll also found two-thirds of likely voters don't know
enough about Mr. Lazio to have an opinion of him, either
favorable or unfavorable. Seventeen percent said they were
undecided about whom to support, up from 11 percent a week ago
when the Republican candidate was Mr. Giuliani.
So Mr. Lazio spent the day trying to define himself before
the other side did it for him. Before giving a commencement
address at a Long Island college and flying to four upstate
cities, Mr. Lazio said he is "just a plain old New Yorker"
—native of Long Island, son of an auto-parts dealer, married with
two small children who attend public school.
Asked by "Fox News Sunday" if there were any skeletons in
his closet like drug or health problems, he said: "I'm clean as a
whistle."
Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton, who spent Sunday in Albany and
Troy, scolded Mr. Lazio for using his campaign announcement a day
earlier to attack her as a liberal carpetbagger with political
ambitions beyond the Senate.
"I was a little disappointed yesterday that my latest
opponent has already started hurling insults instead of offering
ideas about what we can do to improve the lives of New Yorkers,"
Mrs. Clinton said.
Another issue widely discussed on talk shows yesterday was
whether Mr. Lazio will benefit from any of Mr. Giuliani's $20
million campaign war chest and, if so, how much. Mr. Lazio starts
the race with $3.5 million; Mrs. Clinton has raised $12 million.
Mr. McConnell said he expects Mr. Lazio will receive about
two-thirds of Mr. Giuliani's contributions. He stressed that Mr.
Giuliani "could not [legally] transfer" the funds "directly" to
Mr. Lazio. But he could transfer them to the National Republican
Senatorial Committee, Mr. McConnell said.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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