The Communist Party USA wants YOU to cast a non-Republican vote on November 3rd...
Communist Party USA: Vote on November 3: Defend Social Security, affirmative action and health care
People's Weekly World
10/31/98 Fred Gaboury
Vote on November 3: Defend Social Security, affirmative action and health care
By Fred Gaboury
This article was reprinted from the October 31, 1998 issue of the People's Weekly World. For subscription information see below. All rights reserved - may be used with PWW credits.
Voter turnout has always been a decisive factor in mid-term elections and that is especially true this year when the right wing is working actively to create a situation where the "good guys" stay home.
Jarvis Tyner, a Communist Party vice chair in charge of legislative, political and electoral work, told the World, "The polls show that the right wing can be defeated on Nov. 3. But there's one important thing to remember about polls - the only one that counts is conducted in the nation's voting booths."
The Republican Party is planning a last-minute ad blitz in an attempt to parlay "Monicagate" into votes. Tyner called this "a desperate attempt" to energize the party's right-wing base while, at the same time, "putting a chill" on voter turnout.
When Congress adjourned Oct. 16 after voting to begin impeachment proceedings against President Clinton, the stage seemed set: The president would be left turning in the wind and the right wing would sweep to victory on Nov. 3. According to that scenario, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) would lose their Senate seats while Senators Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.) and Lauch Faircloth (R-S.C.) would be shoo-ins - and give the Republicans a "veto-proof" Senate.
But, as the saying goes - and the polls show - "it ain't over 'til it's over." In the days since that script was written, things have changed dramatically. Underdogs have become front runners and many that were once considered unbeatable are now fighting for their lives.
A national CNN/Gallup poll conducted Oct. 23-25 shows that Boxer, after stepping up her exposure of the right-wing record of her opponent, Matt Fong, has moved into a 49-44 percent lead.
Boxer came down particularly hard on Fong's recent $50,000 contribution to the Traditional Values Coalition, headed by Rev. Lou Sheldon.
Fanatically homophobic, the coalition opposes women's right to choose, family planning and claims credit for defeating the nomination of James Hormel, a gay businessman, as ambassador to Luxembourg.
The same poll shows Murray (51 percent) so far ahead of Linda Smith (38 percent) that the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has all but cut off financial support to Smith, a right-wing fanatic who even frightens many of what observers call "Chamber of Commerce Republicans."
In one of the nation's key Senate races, Moseley-Braun, while still lagging, is closing the gap - and this despite her ranking near the top of the GOP's hit list and facing a well-heeled opponent supported by every right-wing outfit in the country. Boxer, Murray and Moseley-Braun, the only African American senator and the first Black woman to earn the title, were all elected in 1992, "The Year of the Woman," which saw the number of women senators increase from two to six.
Nowhere are the declining fortunes of the right wing more apparent than in the senatorial races in New York and North Carolina. Both offer opportunities to defeat two of the most consistent Republican right-wingers now sitting in the Senate.
The most recent polls show Democrat Rep. Charles Schumer leading by a 48-44 margin, easily within striking distance of a Nov. 3 victory - and this despite surveys showing that D'Amato has enjoyed a great deal of success in hiding his record as one of the most consistent friends of big business.
Faircloth, first elected in 1992 after switching parties, makes no effort to hide his record: a millionaire farmer and factory owner who serves as Senate spokesperson for the National Right to Work (for less) Committee and stands to the right of Jesse Helms, North Carolina's other senator.
In other races, several candidates are beneficiaries of the growing backlash against the Republican "Get Clinton" vendetta. In Wisconsin, Democrat Russ Feingold (47 percent) has overcome an early lead by GOP challenger Rep. Mark Neuman (40 percent), a staunch supporter of House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Feingold earned the wrath of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), chair of the RepublicanSenatorial Committee, for his support of campaign finance reform and has become the target of millions of out-of-state dollars.
Wisconsin is one of the states where hard-bitten members of the "Gingrich Gang," first elected in 1994, face defeat. Democrats there stand poised to recapture two of the four seats that went to Republicans in 1994.
The backlash against the ultraright has even spread to Idaho, for years considered safe territory for right-wing candidates - but not this year. Helen Chenoweth, U.S. Representative from Idaho's First Congressional District and darling of the religious right, has no better than a 50-50 chance of winning a third term During his interview with the World, Tyner emphasized that the electoral picture "is not static. In an election as close - and as important - as this year's, every vote counts, especially yours."
PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS!
freerepublic.com |
