The decision by Sen. Connie Mack III, R-Fla., to retire has made the race for his seat the first hard-fought Senate contest in Florida in 12 years.
Mack's decision stunned the political establishment in the fourth-largest state. His poll ratings topped the charts, there were no serious challengers in the wings, and he has risen to his party's No. 3 leadership spot in the Senate as chairman of the GOP Conference.
The former banker's reasoning echoes that of Florida's last surprise departure from the U.S. Senate. Lawton Chiles said he was simply tired of the job in 1988, despite reaching the position of Budget Committee chairman.
In his first public explanation of his decision, Mack hinted to Mary Jacoby of the St. Petersburg Times that he, too, was simply tired of the job. "I just think it's time for me to leave," Mack said. (3/9)
Will Mack also follow Chiles' lead in his so-called retirement years? Chiles returned to politics a more potent force than ever, becoming Florida's governor and winning re-election in 1994 against Jeb Bush, who finally got the job last year.
Mack offers no signs that he will seek office again, but the 2000 presidential campaign might have a place for him if the 1996 race is a guide. He was at the top of Bob Dole's list for a running mate until Jack Kemp signaled his willingness to join the 1996 Republican ticket at the last minute.
Dole later told friends he "should have" picked Mack, according to the May 1997 issue of Washingtonian magazine. Dole said Kemp was "the right choice at the time," but Kemp "didn't give the ticket much of a boost." Washingtonian concluded Mack "would have been a younger, tougher candidate" than Kemp.
Browner In?
Mack's departure set off a scramble in both parties, producing as many as 23 rumored or near-announced candidates. Mark Silva of The Miami Herald labeled the coming contest "a telling test of the parties' fortunes in a state that has been growing increasingly Republican." (3/8)
There are no obvious front-runners, according to various news media reports in the state. Members of Florida's cabinet who could jump to the front of the pack include Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson, a Democrat and former U.S. Representative who once rode in the space shuttle. Attorney General Bob Butterworth is another Democrat often rumored to be thinking of higher office.
On the Republican side, Secretary of State Katherine Harris could run. Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood has long been expected to seek a statewide office.
Several members of Congress are probing the possibilities: Republicans Charles T. Canady, Tillie K. Fowler, Bill McCollum, Joe Scarborough, and Clifford B. Stearns. Democrats James Davis, Peter R. Deutsch and Robert Wexler could also run.
Perhaps the most "intriguing possibility," according to the St. Petersburg Times, is a member of President Clinton's Cabinet: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner, a Florida native and close ally of Vice President Al Gore. "She has a lot of appeal to a lot of people," said Orlando lobbyist Dick Batchelor, who has pitched the idea to Browner. (3/9)
Abortion 2000
Abortion politics is already roiling the 2000 presidential run. On the day Texas Gov. George W. Bush filed exploratory committee papers with the Federal Election Commission, the Republican faced attacks from abortion foes.
In what the Associated Press called his "most extensive" remarks so far on abortion, Bush said on March 8 that the GOP "should `maintain its pro-life tenor' but not exclude people who support abortion rights." The Houston Chronicle reported that Bush's comments "reflected an attempt to stake out ground as a moderate alternative" to the GOP White House hopefuls. (3/8)
Wayne Slater of The Dallas Morning News reported that abortion opponents say Bush "has adopted 'Clinton-Gore language' that won't satisfy anti-abortion voters." Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly "chided" Bush "for supporting exceptions to an abortion ban." Schlafly: "Real pro-lifers think the unborn baby is a life, and he admitted that. But he's admitting that there's some circumstances under which he's willing to take a life." Bush spokesperson Karen Hughes: "No one is going to agree on this issue or any other issue with Governor Bush 100 percent of the time." (Dallas Morning News, 3/9)
In his March 8 comments, Bush said, "America is not ready to ban abortions. . . . America is not ready to overturn Roe vs. Wade, because America's hearts are not right." (Associated Press, 3/9)
Oliver North took issue with Bush's stand: "The Republican Party has got to stand for something, and they cannot win without the pro-life Republicans." (Equal Time, MSNBC, 3/8)
CNN's Bill Press, the liberal co-host of Crossfire, relished the Republican infighting: "It's not the Democrats that I hear complaining about George Bush. It's the Republicans and the conservatives. . . . I heard [Sen.] John McCain [R-Ariz.] say the other night, 'The difference between cannibals and conservatives--cannibals only eat their enemies.' " (3/8)
Blaming the Staff
Elizabeth H. Dole also is taking heat from abortion foes, who say her views on the issue are ambiguous. They also target the beliefs of the emerging campaign staff for her new presidential campaign exploratory team.
Don Lambro of The Washington Times reported that conservatives say Dole has staffed her campaign with "pro-choice liberals hostile to the party's social-activist base." Lambro wrote that Dole made several staff appointments that have a "distinct moderate-to-liberal cast--especially on abortion and other social issues," including campaign manager Thomas Daffron, pollster Linda DiVall, and senior strategist Kieran Mahoney.
Eagle Forum Executive Director Sheila Moloney said, "It makes me skeptical that the northeast establishment types who form her inner circle are not people who necessarily warm to the social conservative message."
Dole spokesperson Joyce Campbell said Dole's "positions on the issues are her own and are not going to be influenced by her staff." Campbell noted that "Linda DiVall has worked for any number" of conservatives, including Phil Gramm, Ralph Reed, and Newt Gingrich.
DiVall, who called the criticism "nonsense," said she has never tried to impose her ideological beliefs on candidates who hired her. (The Washington Times, 3/9)
Palmetto King
Endorsements matter in any campaign, but one of the most prized in the 2000 presidential race will be that of former South Carolina Gov. Carroll A. Campbell Jr. In 1996, Campbell revived the hopes of eventual Republican nominee Bob Dole, who restored his sagging candidacy in the South Carolina primary a few weeks after his threatening loss to Pat Buchanan in New Hampshire. Campbell has not yet decided who will benefit from his legendary organizing skills in the Palmetto State. The Greenville (S.C.) News notes that Campbell must "choose among three tried and true friends"-George W. Bush, Elizabeth Dole, and Dan Quayle. Campbell: "These three are the strength of the party right now, pretty much in the middle of the right-hand side of the road and not off in a ditch somewhere."
Dole should be "on the ticket," Campbell says, because a woman can bring a "dynamism to a ticket that we haven't seen before and from a very respected leader, who happens to be a woman."
GOP insiders say Campbell "will eventually line up with Bush and would probably encourage a Bush-Dole ticket. They suggest that friendships being equal, Bush's perceived electability will be the deciding factor." (The Greenville News, 3/8)
Impeachment Payback
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, was Clinton's chief defender and attack dog during the Senate impeachment war. And now he's getting some payback. Clinton super-adviser James Carville has penned a fund-raising letter for Harkin.
From the Carville direct-mail solicitation: "I want to take a moment to tell you about a stand-up Democrat who's really made a difference and to ask you to join me in supporting him. . . . As long as I live, I'll never forget how one strong leader, Sen. Tom Harkin, has stepped forward and defended the President with courage and tenacity. Even when other Democrats were afraid to step forward, Tom Harkin rose to defend the President's right to fair treatment, and to remind all Americans that this President has worked his tail off to earn their support. ... There's no doubt that the same partisan crazies who are trying to take down President Clinton will be back in a few years to try and take out Tom Harkin. He needs you and me to join his fight. If, like me, you appreciate Tom Harkin's courage in defending the President and the values we share, please fill out the enclosed card and send a contribution today."
Quotables
"There were parts of that process that, it would be better if you don't remember them, I think."-Former White House Press Secretary Michael D. McCurry on why he won't write a tell-all book about the scandal (Inside Politics, CNN, 3/8)
"They're OK. But they can't think strategically. Women's biological destiny is reproduction."-Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky on women (WorldView, CNN, 3/8)
"No one has ever gained more from sexual favors not actually dispensed by themselves."-Time magazine's Margaret Carlson on Hillary Clinton (Inside Politics, CNN, 3/4)