Tuesday, February 01, 2000
McConnell denies targeting first lady
BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The man who directs Republicans' nationwide strategy for winning Senate seats says he attaches no particular importance to knocking off Hillary Rodham Clinton in her New York race.
“I wouldn't say it's all that important. It's one seat out of a 100,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
But many observers doubt that is the full story behind the feelings of Mr. McConnell and other Republicans toward Mrs. Clinton's probable race against New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
While it is true that Hillary Clinton as senator would have no more votes than a senator from Nevada, the symbolism attached to defeating her would be sweet for many in the GOP.
“For Mrs. Clinton to join the inner club would be a perpetual poke in the eye for all the Republicans who tried to remove her husband from office,” said Robert Spitzer, political scientist at the State University College of New York at Cortland. “I have no doubt that he (McConnell) is disdainful of her and her husband.”
Veteran GOP consultant Eddie Mahe says that if Mr. McConnell is feeling any pressure to make sure Mrs. Clinton is defeated, it probably is coming from his colleagues in the Senate and other Republicans in the Washington “club.”
It would be a significant mark against him, Mr. Mahe said, “if there was some sense that we lost that race because of something he did or failed to do.”
But others say the race has become so high profile that the burden of winning it is off Mr. McConnell's shoulders.
The NRSC primarily helps most in races where candidates need a lot of campaign advice and have a hard time raising money. The Giuliani-Clinton race doesn't fit that category.
“There is no question that Giuliani is going to have enough money,” said Gary Jacobson, political scientist at the University of California at San Diego.
“I think McConnell is going to have little to do with it. It is off his shoulders.”
But Mr. Spitzer and others say Mr. McConnell could help by continuing to encourage Republican contributors nationwide to channel contributions to the New York by seeing that ample GOP soft money — unlimited contributions from corporations and the wealthy for promoting the party and issues but not specific candidates — is directed there as well.
On the other side, Mrs. Clinton's efforts to raise substantial amounts of soft money for her race already have been widely noted — and viewed as a bit ironic.
“She is following the Mitch McConnell formula for running for office, piling up as much money as she can,” said Burdett Loomis, political scientist at the University of Kansas.
Mr. McConnell himself says: “There will be some things we can do to help. We can probably be more influential in a race in a smaller state.”
One role Mr. McConnell can be expected to continue to play is that of tweaking the first lady at every opportunity.
“He will have fun with this without a doubt,” Mr. Loomis said.
Mr. McConnell has shown no inhibitions about commenting on the race during his frequent appearances on network news shows.
When asked about his initial reaction when she decided to run, he snapped, “I thought it was a little strange.”
But the ultimate judgment, he reminds interviewers, will be from the people of New York.
“It is for the people of New York to decide whether someone who grew up in Illinois and lived in Arkansas should be a senator from New York,” he said.
While the Clinton race is important for Republicans, the larger pressure on Mr. McConnell this year is to retain or enlarge the GOP majority in the Senate, said Norm Ornstein, political analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.
“If the Republicans lose the Senate, even if they win New York, that's not going to be good for Mitch McConnell,” Mr. Ornstein said.
The GOP majority currently is 55-45.
But Mr. Ornstein said, “The way expectations have gone, if he gets through this with Republicans maintaining existing numbers, that will be seen as very positive for him.”
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