Clinton Scandal, Starr Probe Trickle Down Into Elections
By Erika Niedowski, CQ Staff Writer
When Democrat Bobby Russell launched his first negative ad in Kentucky's 6th District, he did not mention any of his six primary opponents. In fact, his target was someone not even running in the race: Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr.
Needing an issue to distinguish himself in the crowded field, the Madison County prosecutor bought 30-second TV spots attacking Starr, whose five-year, $40-million investigation of President Clinton's financial dealings and alleged sexual misconduct has left the independent counsel with nearly rock-bottom approval ratings.
"What Ken Starr is doing is just plain wrong," declared Russell in the spot, which began running March 23. He is hoping to succeed Democratic Rep. Scotty Baesler.
Russell may be the first candidate to invoke Starr's name on the airwaves, but he is hardly the only congressional hopeful from either party trying to exploit the White House scandal on the campaign stump.
From Kentucky to California, Starr's probe and the president's alleged sexual dalliances are seeping into candidates' news releases and proclamations, lending an increasing degree of uncertainty to an election that was supposed to be defined by the status quo.
Nate Coulter, one of four Democrats vying for the seat of retiring Arkansas Democratic Sen. Dale Bumpers, is pushing a plan to limit the "unfettered power" of independent counsels such as Starr.
Republican Tom Roberg, who is challenging Democratic Rep. David E. Price of North Carolina, is running a 60-second radio ad that asks, "Do you remember an America where character, ethics and honesty were the rule and not the exception?"
Republicans Peter Rusthoven, a candidate in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Daniel R. Coats of Indiana, and Mike Burkhold, who hopes to challenge Democratic Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. of South Carolina, are trying to taint their opponents simply by association.
"You're taught since you're a kid [that] you're judged by the company you keep," Burkhold said, referring to Democrats who are linked to Clinton by party affiliation.
For these Republicans' use of the scandal on the stump marks a sharp departure from the predominant party strategy of keeping quiet and may reflect a growing uneasiness with that approach.
California Rep. Frank Riggs, who now wears a button declaring "Character Matters," has staked his own position. A candidate for the GOP Senate nomination, Riggs staged a news conference March 19 outside Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer's Los Angeles office, calling on her to speak out about former White House volunteer Kathleen Willey's allegation that the president groped her.
Boxer, as Riggs pointed out, ardently defended Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings and demanded that former Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., resign over sexual misconduct charges, has been largely silent on the allegations. She even dodged the media during the Democratic Party's meeting in California March 21-22.
But this has turned into an intraparty fight as well. Some GOP candidates have started criticizing fellow Republicans for their silence: Former state Sen. Jim Holcomb, who is challenging Rep. Bill Jenkins in the primary, has said he is ashamed that the Tennessee freshman has not spoken up for "common decency and morality."
Others are trying to exploit the scandal to make money. Republican Charles Gerow, a primary challenger to House Education and the Workforce Chairman Rep. Bill Goodling of Pennsylvania, has invited former FBI agent Gary Aldrich, whose book alleged wild sex at the White House, to host his first major fundraiser March 30.
Of course, with the president maintaining high approval ratings in the polls, the strategy could backfire. "I think you could raise money off of it, but you'd probably pay a price for doing it," said GOP fundraiser Matt Keelan.
Democrats, who need only about a dozen seats to recapture the House, could face a backlash if they start defending the president too loudly before all the answers are in. Democratic consultant Gary Nordlinger called Russell's strategy of attacking Starr a waste of money and "plain loco."
Indeed, no one knows who will benefit from the scandal. "How this unravels is hard to tell," said Roger Davidson, a political scientist at the University of Maryland-College Park.
© 1998 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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