New York Post-May 23, 2000
A CLINTON CORNERED
By JOHN PODHORETZ
AFTER an unimpressive speech kicking off his Senate run on Saturday,
Rick Lazio rallied impressively the following morning. He was energetic,
well-spoken and well-informed during his five appearances on the Sunday
shows. And it was possible to see, in nascent form, the two tacks his
campaign will take - one substantive approach, and one gimmicky.
The substantive campaign will try to draw clear distinctions between
Rick and Hillary. The gimmicky one will aim to focus the public's
attention on less important matters that might have symbolic impact on
voters - like her inappropriate use of White House aircraft and her
status as a carpetbagger.
Lazio blended the two approaches effectively in his clever and
oft-repeated line this weekend: Hillary Clinton is "no more a New
Democrat than she is a New Yorker." With that soundbite, Lazio made
clear that he won't remain silent as Mrs. Clinton continues to pose as a
moderate when everybody who pays attention to politics knows she has
always been the leading left-liberal voice inside the Clinton
administration.
There's no shame in that - in fact, Hillary's leftism is one of the few
indications that she might be a person of principle. But the fact that
she feels compelled to hide behind a false front of moderation shows how
vulnerable her campaign believes itself to be on ideological matters -
even in a state as putatively liberal as New York.
That's why Hillary found it necessary to profess herself "disappointed
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." The charge is absurd - Lazio spoke at great length about what
he'd do to improve the lives of New Yorkers on Saturday, and most of
what he said about her was pretty jokey - but it's telling nonetheless.
Lazio's criticisms are properly the subject of a senatorial race, and
Hillary knows it. He believes in general tax cuts; she doesn't. He
opposes partial-birth abortion; she supports it. He stands against
large-scale government intervention in the economy; she was the author
of the most far-reaching interventionist proposal in the last 30 years.
By complaining so early about Lazio's negativity, Mrs. Clinton is, I
think, trying to enlarge the zone of silence that has surrounded her
troubled marriage to cover the substantive differences between Democrats
like her and Republicans like Lazio. When she says he's gone "on the
attack," she wants people to think about that "vast right-wing
conspiracy" she accused of trying to get her and her husband back in
1998.
That's also the subtext of the Clinton campaign's early effort to paint
Lazio as a Newt Gingrich clone. At first blush, this seems a little
foolish: After all, Gingrich has been out of public office and the
public eye for 18 months now - an eternity in politics, even when you're
talking about someone as notorious as Newt.
The Hillary people have brought up Gingrich because they hope his name
will serve as shorthand for "vast right-wing conspiracy." It may work.
Who knows anymore? But so far, Lazio is handling the substantive part of
the "Gingrich clone" caricature beautifully. He is not fleeing from his
record, but embracing it - even his votes for the Contract with America.
"What is it exactly they don't like?" he said on Fox News Sunday. "The
balanced budget, which was part of the Contract with America? Tax relief
for working families, giving the ability [to those] who are
self-employed to deduct their health insurance, helping people to retire
more comfortably, building a strong national defense?"
What people like Hillary forget about the Contract with America they so
reviled is that it was a document as poll-driven as any Bill Clinton
speech. Every one of its 10 provisions scored 70 percent or better with
the American people. From a distance, that stuff won't sound too bad to
New Yorkers; in fact, it may sound (if you'll excuse the expression)
moderate.
The Clinton campaign wants to make hay out of his conservative voting
record, and it will have some success. But the fact that Lazio was
around to cast votes for these things in the House of Representatives
and to co-sponsor all sorts of squishy soccer-mom stuff is his greatest
asset, as well as his most profound liability.
At least he has a record to run on.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[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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