Copyright 2000 The Washington Post
The Washington
Post
October 14, 2000, Saturday, Final Edition
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A10
LENGTH: 367 words
HEADLINE:
POLITICS; Republicans Rap Democrat for GOP-Like Votes
BYLINE: Juliet Eilperin
BODY:
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Thomas M. Davis
III (Va.) isn't letting a little thing like his own voting record prevent him
from attacking Rep. Calvin M. Dooley (D-Calif.). In a new ad, the NRCC accuses
Dooley of being soft on crime, basing the charges in part on the congressman's
votes to transfer funds from "Truth in Sentencing" grants to crime prevention
programs and to increase funding for the Legal Services Corp.
Dooley, it so happens, was joined on those votes by Davis and a slew of
other Republicans. "The Republican Party has a criminal case of hypocrisy. For
them to attack me as soft on crime when their own campaign chairman has voted
the same way that I have, is a stunning display of either stupidity or
desperation," Dooley said. "Do Republicans think their own chairman is soft on
crime too?"
But NRCC spokesman Jim Wilkinson argued that context is
everything in an election year.
Several weeks ago the NRCC attacked
physician Paul Perry, the Democrat challenging Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.),
for supporting collective bargaining among doctors, a position Davis also holds.
"I've said it once, I'll say it twice," Wilkinson said. "All politics continues
to be local, particularly in October."
Spending Spree Rolls On
New Jersey Democratic Senate nominee Jon Corzine's personal
spending spree is headed for the $ 50 million mark, according to campaign
finance documents released this week.
Corzine, a former Wall Street
investment banker, dropped $ 37 million of his own fortune on the Senate primary
and spent another $ 9.3 million between July and September for a running total
of $ 46 million heading into the final weeks of the campaign, where he is
certain to spend millions more.
All the cash helped Corzine blow past
former New Jersey governor James Florio in the primary and has propelled him to
a solid lead over GOP nominee Rep. Bob Franks, according to recent public polls.
Before Corzine came along, the record for personal spending on a Senate race
belonged to California Republican Michael Huffington, who plowed $ 30 million
into a losing race in 1994.
Staff writer Ben White contributed
to this report.
LOAD-DATE: October 14, 2000
