Badpuppy Gay Today

Wednesday, 19 March, 1997

Campaign funding quarrels and back-burner Whitewater scandals are raging out of control, relentlessly pursued by Republican ideologues like Senator Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah) and rebuffed by White House strategists who insist unwise campaign financing-blame must be shared by Republicans. In the meantime, a host of agonizing problems continue to engulf the nation but are blithely ignored.

President Clinton, in his inaugural speech, offered olive branches to his political foes and followed such offers by making a significant Republican cabinet appointment (William S. Cohen, Secretary of Defense) and by appearing at meetings and photo-ops with prominent Republicans. Clinton's offerings have seemed in the eyes of foes, to count for little. Even his compromises on welfare and trade have failed to appease. The President's enemies, if anything, have grown bolder as they issue accusatory propaganda.

Government agencies, including Commerce and State, have, because of the intense two party rivalries and friction, found themselves wasting hours feverishly trying to find documents that support the charges of one party against the other. A particularly damning suggestion made is that White House policies toward China have been compromised through Chinese-affiliated campaign contributions to the Democrats. A China trip planned for Vice-president Gore has already anticipated the rumors that would be highlighted by such charges, namely that his Chinese hosts blatantly tried to buy White House political influence. Such media focus would not give to the public the affirmative perceptions of Gore's high-level mission he wants emphasized.

"Nobody really expected real bipartisan cooperation after the President's inaugural speech, but both sides gave a good show of supporting the concept until it was safe to start bickering again," says Francis Parmelli, a government critic. "In fact," Parmelli continues, "everyone knew that it was all just a show, that the Republicans clearly want to roast Clinton, and that they expected that as soon as all formal niceties evaporated, it would be back to more of their investigatory probes, and a trading of even nastier charges."

Hopes are being dashed for dual-party cooperation on such issues as balancing the budget by 2002, and though the president has increasingly moved rightward, his Republican critics have failed to meet him halfway.

Senator Hatch, a member of the Intelligence Committee who claims knowledge of corroborative FBI reports, says that the White House was aware in 1995 that the Chinese hoped to influence the American elections. Clinton denies having been briefed on such matters.

In reply, Clinton's spokesperson, Michael D. McCurry, says he suspects Senator Hatch has been "hyperventilating on a talk show," challenging him to come forth with proof, with actual documents.