Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 14, 1993 TAG: 9311140086
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Boston Globe
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The president used the draw of a coveted White House dinner invitation to lure undecided members of Congress away from the siren song of anti-NAFTA forces in their home districts, urging their early return to Washington to dine with him tonight and hear one more appeal for support.
In a remarkable demonstration of bipartisan cooperation in the down-to-the-wire campaign for adoption of the free trade pact with Mexico and Canada, leaders of the Democratic and Republican pro-NAFTA forces in the House merged their whip organizations that constantly canvass members and try to prevent last-minute erosion.
"We're going to try to be open and upfront with each other about who we've got," said Bill Daley, the administration's NAFTA coordinator, in discussing the agreement to overcome mutual suspicion that has characterized relations in the intensely partisan battles of the Clinton administration's first year.
As always in such hard-fought struggles, there were conflicting predictions about how the House vote will come out. Opponents of NAFTA said they already had enough votes to defeat the bill, while Clinton's forces insisted they were continuing to close the gap and were within striking distance of the 218 votes needed for victory.
Clinton, meanwhile, promised the House Republican whip, Newt Gingrich of Georgia, that he would attempt to protect any GOP supporters of the pact from Democrats who attack them in next year's election campaign for supporting NAFTA.
Clinton said he would publicly state and put in writing that any such attacks on Republicans are unfair. "I do not believe that any member of Congress should be defeated for doing what is plainly in the national interest," the president told reporters on Friday. He reiterated his pledge Saturday.
Republican pollster Bill McInturff said Gingrich sought Clinton's assurances because GOP House members "are afraid their opponent is going to run a commercial with some empty factory with a locked gate, saying these jobs moved to Mexico because of NAFTA." They want the president's promise in writing, the pollster said, "to make it more difficult for Democratic challengers to run that red-meat ad of the factory gate."
by CNB