THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409300483
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Democratic Congressman Martin Lancaster didn't wait for his opponent's signature to dry on the Republican Party's Contract With America before attacking his support of the proposal.
Lancaster accused Walter Jones Jr., who signed the contract on the Capitol steps Tuesday, of supporting the document without being aware of what it contains.
The manifesto, signed by 200 Republican candidates, outlines what the candidates will do in the first 100 days of the next session if the GOP becomes the majority party in Congress.
In a statement issued by his campaign, Lancaster referred to recent news reports in which Jones acknowledged he had not read the complete proposal because he had been too busy campaigning.
``Editorialists across the nation are warning Republican hopefuls to read the document committing them to Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and Dick Armey, R-Texas,'' Lancaster said, ``but I didn't notice my opponent reading anything before he signed on the dotted line to support avowed enemies of our North Carolina staples - tobacco and peanuts. . . .
``I suppose there's not much reason to be surprised that my opponent, who has turned coat on the Democratic Party, the congressional district he lives in, and the traditional two-party election system, would pledge his loyalty to the Republican leadership rather than to his constituents.''
Jones, a former Democrat who is challenging for the 3rd District House seat, called Lancaster's attack ``political rhetoric.''
``They're shooting at this because they don't have anything to offer the people,'' said Jones. ``This contract is the result of what we've been hearing, not just from people in North Carolina, but from people all over the country.''
The document calls for a balanced-budget amendment, line-item veto, and cuts in entitlements and in taxes for the middle class. Lancaster said such cuts would add another $1 trillion to the federal deficit.
``The last time Republicans cut taxes and increased spending, they ran up a $4 trillion debt, all the while promising to balance the budget.''
Lancaster said the proposal would increase the deficit by $1 trillion, ``unless they devastate Social Security and Medicare.''
Last week, after a speech in Camden County, Jones said he favors cuts in entitlements, such as welfare and Aid to Families with Dependent Children, but said he does not favor cuts in Social Security.
In the prepared statement issued by his campaign, Lancaster sought to defuse any impact of ads linking him to President Clinton. A Jones campaign commercial claims Lancaster voted with the Clinton administration 81 percent of the time.
``To the best of my knowledge, no North Carolina Democrat has ever bound himself or herself to toe the party line,'' he said. ``North Carolinians rank high among the Southern Democratic delegations in support for the conservative coalition, which means they vote for their people and not for a party. I happen to rank highest in the delegation in that category.''
The Lancaster campaign contends that it has bucked the administration more than any Democrat in the North Carolina House delegation.
Jones accused the Democrats of ``being out of touch'' with their constituents.
``Mr. Lancaster is criticizing a program and he doesn't even know what's in it. We're not advocating doing away with the increase on taxes for people who make over $180,000 a year. What we're talking about is reducing the capital gains tax, and reducing taxes on savings. We're trying to do something to help working people,'' he said.
``We're willing to put in writing what we're going to do when we become the majority party,'' he said. ``Mr. Clinton talks a lot about a middle-class tax cut and welfare reform, but what has he done? We're trying to do something for the future of this country.''
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