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>From the Wall Street Journal...
"When outraged Republicans raised a ruckus outside the Miami-Dade County
elections office last week, some protesters at the door weren't local
citizens. They were Capitol Hill aides on all-expenses paid trips, courtesy
of the Bush campaign. Right up front on television images of the event last
Wednesday were Thomas Pyle, an aide to GOP Rep. Tom DeLay, and Michael
Murphy, who works for a DeLay fund-raising committee. Doug Heye from
California Rep. Richard Pombo's office also was in the fray....Behind the
rowdy rallies in South Florida this past weekend was a well-organized effort
by Republican operatives to entice supporters to South Florida....The biggest
contingent appears to have hailed from within the marbled walls of the
Capitol complex in Washington...."In Washington, several GOP aides say the
office of Mr. DeLay, the House Republican whip, took charge of the effort on
Capitol Hill, passing on an offer many staffers couldn't refuse: free air
fare, accommodations and food in the Sunshine State -- all paid for by the
Bush campaign. Aides who accepted took advantage of liberal congressional
workplace rules that allow them to jump from government jobs to political
tasks at a moment's notice by declaring themselves on vacation or temporary
leave. "Once word leaked out, everybody wanted in," says one GOP operative
involved in the effort. Participants estimate that more than 200 staffers
signed on, some spending more than a week in South Florida. Many stayed in
Hiltons by the beach and received $30 a day for food, as well as an
invitation to an exclusive Thanksgiving Day party in Fort Lauderdale....
"Staffers who joined the effort say there has been an air of mystery to the
operation. "To tell you the truth, nobody knows who is calling the shots,"
says one aide. Many nights, often very late, a memo is slipped underneath the
hotel-room doors outlining coming events. On Friday night, one aide received
notice that he and his colleagues were welcome to stay in South Florida until
"further notice." Bush supporters sometimes outnumbered Gore backers by 10 to
one outside the Broward County Courthouse in the Democrat-leaning community.
A block to the north, a recreational vehicle festooned with Bush-Cheney signs
served as operation central, having recently been transferred from similar
duty in Miami....[GOP] camaraderie was on full display at the glitzy
Thanksgiving night party featuring free food and libations at the Hyatt on
Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale -- "a festive family mood," says one protester.
Entertainer Wayne Newton crooned the song "Danke Schoen," until a group of
frenzied female fans rushed the stage. The night's highlight was a conference
call from Mr. Bush and running mate Dick Cheney, which included joking
references by both running mates to the incident in Miami."
http://interactive.wsj.com/archive/retrieve.cgi?id=SB975279431548753691.djm
WSJ,
11/27/00
