Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994 TAG: 9406140164
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEBANON LENGTH: Medium
The 47-year-old lawyer accepted a unanimous nomination before more than 300 people at the 9th District Democratic Convention to seek re-election this fall against political newcomer Steve Fast, a Bluefield Republican.
Boucher started his campaign in the seat of Russell County, located in the coalfield region where he has traditionally run strongly. Two years ago, he garnered 70 percent of the vote.
Though a listener would have been hard put to hear the words "Republican" or "Fast," Boucher had a not-so-subtle message for his 32-year-old opponent, who is on a leave of absence from teaching math at Bluefield College.
"The other side has already launched the most negative campaign in the history of Southwest Virginia," Boucher said. "Negative campaigns carry their own negative rewards, and that is what our opponents are going to learn in November.
"The voters are saying no to candidates who can only say no themselves," said Boucher, who has won three contested elections to Congress since upsetting an 18-year incumbent in 1982. He twice ran unopposed.
Reached Saturday in Montgomery County, where he was visiting with supporters, Fast said his campaign is only putting forward Boucher's record in Washington. Fast has had Gov. George Allen, U.S. Senate candidate Oliver North and conservative activist Mike Farris stumping for him this spring.
"We have very different philosophies of government," Fast said of Boucher. He criticized Boucher's support for President Clinton's deficit reduction bill last year, which he said resulted in a tax increase for working families.
Fast's platform includes supporting tax relief, reversing cuts in defense spending, supporting gun rights and calling for medical savings accounts instead of "radically altering the present health care system."
In his acceptance speech, Boucher pledged to run a positive race focused on his priority of seeking new jobs for the 200-mile-long district, which stretches from the edge of Roanoke County to the far corner of Southwest Virginia.
He also called for improving the road system to open up areas that need development, and for boosting education, in part through expanding an effort to link classrooms across the district in a fiber optic network.
One of Boucher's key issues, however, will remain health care reform. He's a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and has received national press - and criticism from the Fast campaign - on the proposed increase in the excise taxes on tobacco to help finance health reform.
Boucher said he strongly opposes any tobacco tax increase. He also said he is against mandates for employers to pay a percentage of health insurance costs for all their employees. Such a measure would hurt small businesses, he said.
Instead, Boucher said he wants to use market forces and incentives to reduce costs and expand coverage in the health care system.
Fast charged last month that Boucher flip-flopped on the excise tax issue.
But Charles "Champ" Clark, a Smyth County tobacco and beef cattle farmer, pointed to what he described as Boucher's longtime support for tobacco farmers and others in agriculture, even for ostrich farming in Russell County.
"The tobacco farmer, I don't care where he's located . . . does not have a better friend," Clark said.
"I know all of you think Rick's in good shape, and certainly so do I," Clark told the delegates. "But we cannot afford to lose Rick Boucher."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB