TV Ad Assails Dole for Enron Fundraiser
In Election Year, Candidates Across Country Could Face Similar Criticism
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 1, 2002; Page A07
It was, says Elizabeth Dole's Senate campaign, just an afterthought.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the North Carolina Republican suspended campaign activities.
But she kept a Sept. 20 speaking engagement to a Christian women's gathering in Houston. Then, in what
aides called a "last-minute decision," she agreed to let Kenneth L. Lay, then Enron Corp.'s chairman, host a
fundraising lunch for her at a Houston hotel.
It proved a costly decision. North Carolina Democrats today begin airing a TV ad attacking Dole for the Enron
event, making her the first prominent politician to be targeted by a well-financed effort for having connections
to the bankrupt energy company.
She is unlikely to be the last.
In Colorado, Connecticut, Texas and other states, the Enron scandal has seeped into state and congressional
races, forcing Republicans to defend even modest brushes with the company now under widespread
investigation. The targets include the president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, where the state pension
fund lost $325 million when Enron stock plummeted last fall.
It is unclear whether the criticisms will stick, let alone influence voters nine months from now. Even some
Democratic strategists urge caution, noting that many Democrats also have accepted Enron money. But with
polls showing high presidential approval ratings -- along with greater voter confidence in Republicans than in
Democrats on an array of issues -- some Democrats see the unfolding Enron saga as their best hope for a surge
in the November elections.
"Enron has the potential to shape the entire political environment for 2002, impact other issues and reduce
confidence in the Bush administration and Republicans," three well-known Democratic advisers wrote in a
recent memo to members of Congress. "The more people hear, the more corrosive it becomes," wrote James
Carville, Stanley Greenberg and Robert Shrum.
North Carolina may provide the first test. Dole, a former Cabinet member and one-time presidential contender,
is strongly favored to win the GOP nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Jesse Helms (R). Democrats haven't
settled on a nominee, but they have eagerly criticized Dole for collecting $20,000 at Lay's luncheon.
Dole has given $5,000 of that amount -- which came directly from Lay or his relatives -- to a special fund for
displaced Enron employees. But that hasn't stopped a barrage of news stories and critical editorials.
Now comes the Democratic TV ad, to air in three North Carolina cities over 12 days. It says Dole attended "a
secret fundraiser" hosted by Lay. It quotes a Winston-Salem Journal editorial that said, "while Dole's campaign
was publicly stating it had put its activities on hold, it was conducting fundraisers at the house of a scoundrel."
In a section not cited in the ad, the editorial also said, "The state Democratic Party, which has looked silly
trying to find mud to throw at Dole, has uncovered a whole puddle." The Houston fundraiser "shows that Dole
is one more politician into whom Lay appears to have sunk his financial claws."
Democrats note Dole's campaign hired Washington-based consultant Edward Gillespie, a key Enron link to
Republican House leaders and the White House. Campaign sources said Gillespie's Enron lobbying did not
overlap with his work for Dole and he was not involved in the Houston fundraiser.
In Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush is trying to get out in front of his potential Enron problem. The governor, who is
seeking reelection this fall, has joined others in calling for an investigation of the state employee pension
fund's $325 million loss in Enron stock. Much of the stock was bought after Oct. 22, when the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission warned it was investigating the company.
Bush is one of three board members who oversee the fund. He joined Florida Attorney General Robert A. "Bob"
Butterworth (D) in calling for an inquiry focusing on Alliance Capital Management LP, the New York firm that
made the Enron purchases.
Through Alliance, the pension fund paid $9 to $82 a share for Enron stock, which it sold for 28 cents a share
on Nov. 30, according to Florida news accounts. While newspapers have noted the governor's role in overseeing
the pension fund, Democrats are moving cautiously.
Florida Democratic Chairman Bob Poe said, "Right now, I don't see where [Bush] had control of Alliance
Capital. Maybe someone shows me how he should be responsible, but right now, I don't see that."
Poe was more critical of Bush's decision to attend a January fundraiser for the Florida GOP at the Houston
home of Richard D. Kinder, who was president of Enron until 1996.
"It's a tremendous lapse of judgment," Poe said. "For the people who lost their life savings and for the
participants of the Florida pension fund that lost $300 million, this seems incredibly insensitive."
In Connecticut, the Manchester Journal Inquirer reported that Enron spent $297,150 from 1999 to 2001 for
legal and lobbying services. Most of the money went to a firm employing Michael J. Martone, a former top aide
to Gov. John G. Rowland (R). Martone lobbied the state to fund a fuel-cell project proposed by Enron and the
Connecticut Resource Recovery Association.
In Texas, Enron's collapse has touched scores of politicians. Gov. Rick Perry (R) has declined to return roughly
$200,000 in Enron-related contributions. The money includes $25,000 that Lay donated the day after Perry
appointed Lay's choice, former Enron official Max Yzaguirre, to the Public Utility Commission. Yzaguirre later
resigned.
In Colorado, Democratic Senate challenger Tom Strickland accused Sen. Wayne Allard (R) of contributing to
Enron's collapse by opposing prompt enactment of a proposed rule change governing accounting firms.
"Allard asked for the rules to be delayed, which in effect caused the rules to be killed, which killed any chance
of preventing the Enron debacle," Strickland campaign manager Brian Hardwick told the Denver Post.
Allard campaign manager Dick Wadhams told the newspaper that the senator sought "a delay so that Congress
could spend more time considering the measure. The request was made by senators of both political parties."
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