Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 20, 1995 TAG: 9502210023
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MANCHESTER, N. H. LENGTH: Medium
First on the national Sunday news shows, then on a New Hampshire TV forum, and finally at a state Republican dinner that drew 1,400 people, the GOP prospects sought to position themselves as best suited to take on President Clinton and reduce the federal government.
New Hampshire's leadoff primary is a year from today, but nine candidates, several of them considerable long shots, acted as if it were any day now, scooting from table to table to greet those who paid $100 to hear them.
The dinner and weekend campaigning served as the ceremonial start of the 1996 race, and two weekend polls put the stakes in perspective. They showed Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas far and away the early favorite of New Hampshire Republicans, the voters who dashed his White House hopes in 1988.
Dole, 71, seemed determined to turn questions about his age to his advantage.
Explaining his decision to run, Dole said in remarks prepared for the dinner, ``I thought my generation might have something the country needs right now in her president: someone who knows what made America great in the first place, someone who knows what has been sacrificed to keep us free, someone who would do all in his power to lead America back to her place in the sun and who knows the way.''
Front-runner status doesn't always mean much in quirky New Hampshire, especially a year out. Still, Dole's rivals were clearly in a mood to counter his aggressive early organizing.
Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, for example, announced he had won the endorsement of New Hampshire GOP Sen. Bob Smith. At a televised forum, Gramm sought to position himself as the candidate most in touch with New Hampshire's anti-tax, small government traditions. He noted that he helped write President Reagan's 1981 tax cuts and was a longtime backer of a balanced budget amendment.
Gramm has suggested that Dole and former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander take a friendlier view than he toward taxes, a suggestion Alexander took time to rebut.
Alexander said he proudly raised taxes to improve roads and fund merit pay for Tennessee teachers. But he said his state had no personal income tax, the fifth-lowest tax burden in the nation, and a balanced budget every year.
``I won't take any lectures from Washington, D.C., about that,'' Alexander said in a remark clearly aimed at Gramm.
Dole, too, appeared eager to make sure he was on the right side of the tax issue, which hurt his 1988 bid. ``There'll not be any new taxes as long as Republicans are in control and a Republican in the White House,'' he said on ABC.
For the most part, the GOP contenders at the forum, which Dole skipped, agreed on major issues. They said it was time for a significant shift of power back to the states and a dramatic welfare overhaul that emphasizes work and discourages teen pregnancy.
There was a considerable divide over how important a role abortion should play in the campaign.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said the Republican Party should drop its anti-abortion platform plank and the issue should be an ``irrelevancy.''
That drew sharp rebukes from two GOP prospects who have long odds of winning the nomination but could stir up the race with their outspoken styles.
``It is a baby, not a choice,'' said Rep. Robert Dornan of California.
``You cannot call right to life an irrelevancy,'' said Patrick Buchanan, the conservative commentator who challenged President Bush in 1992. ``A great party has to take a stand.''
Gramm and Alexander, considered at this early stage the prime prospects behind Dole, walked a delicate line on the issue.
Alexander said he was opposed to abortion and had supported restrictions as governor. But he said there should be no federal role on the issue and suggested candidates talk about other things.
Gramm, too, said he opposed abortion but respected Republicans who supported abortion rights. Dole made similar remarks during his weekend stops.
Other potential candidates on hand were Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, Alan Keyes, a former senatorial candidate from Maryland, and Lynn Martin, a former congresswoman from Illinois and Labor secretary under President Bush.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB