Attention-Seeking Republicans Attack One of Their Own nytimes.com
The smiley bleating never stops, does it Michael? Clarence Thomas was confirmed, despite being about as honest in his confirmation hearings (on abortion, if not on Anita Hill) as Clinton was in his depositions, but Thomas unfortunately has a lifetime appointment. But Thomas was "the best man for the job", as George Bush said in another burst of "presidential integrity"
But on to Bush the younger. Reagan's 11th commandment apparently doesn't carry much weight among the rest of the party. Something Bush the elder had extensive experience with.
As Republican presidential candidates scramble for attention in a political world fixated on the impeachment trial, they have stunned many in the party by aiming their fire not at President Clinton or Vice President Al Gore but at one of their own: Gov. George W. Bush of Texas.
One after another, Republicans in recent days have ridiculed Bush's slogan that he is a "compassionate conservative" or have sought to diminish him through thinly veiled assaults on the stewardship of his father, former President George Bush. This early onslaught is especially striking because Bush, while he seems to be inching in that direction, has not even said whether he will seek the Republican nomination next year.
Advisers to these candidates acknowledge that they are so desperate to catch on -- and
so frustrated that Bush's non-candidacy has catapulted him ahead of the field in early polls -- that they believe the only way to get noticed is to go after the one politician who is sure to get noticed. They want to define Bush in as disapproving a way as possible before he presents himself to the Republican electorate.
Former Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee described "compassionate conservative" as "weasel words" that are "cleverly and deliberately put together to confuse people by meaning nothing." Former Vice President Dan Quayle sent a letter to his supporters declaring, "I have ordered my staff to never -- EVER -- utter the words 'compassionate conservative!"' He called the term "silly and insulting."
Steve Forbes, the publishing magnate, was referring to Bush in a speech last week when he said, "Mealy-mouthed rhetoric and poll-tested cliches are no substitute for a muscular, substantive agenda."
And Gary Bauer, a prominent religious conservative, ridiculed Bush's father, asserting that "the last Bush talked about kinder and gentler, and that resulted in an election loss."
So much for the resolution unanimously passed by the Republican Governors Association last November that called upon candidates to say only nice things about each other. When Colin Powell loomed over the Republican field four years ago, most of the contenders were disciplined -- and politically savvy -- enough to not dare criticize, or cross, the wildly popular general. In rebuking Bush on matters that are not substantive, the candidates risk appearing petty -- and desperate.
"Republicans are gathering in an all-too-familiar circular firing squad," said Benjamin L. Ginsberg, a former counsel to the Republican Party. "It's extraordinary that presidential candidates would not talk about Bill Clinton and impeachment and would spend their time running down a fellow Republican."
On a practical level, they could provoke Bush, whose help they would need to win the battleground state of Texas (and Florida, where his brother, Jeb, is governor) should he not be a candidate. On a broader level, the sniping could stir up resentments and divisions in a party that should be focused on weakening Gore and other Democrats.
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