June 2000

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Candidates Duke It Out Over Fuel 6/28/2000 11:29 PM As consumers' anger over rising oil and gas prices continued to reverberate in the Midwest, the presidential debate began to shift yesterday from a focus on the role of the Clinton-Gore administration to that of major oil companies. Campaigning here in the Midwest battleground where gas costs are the highest in the nation, Texas Gov. George W. Bush accused Vice President Gore of backing a multimillion-dollar tax break for the same oil companies Gore claims are "gouging American consumers." Read the article Specter Sends Second Letter to Gore 6/28/2000 11:25 PM Sen. Arlen Specter sent a second letter to Al Gore on Wednesday demanding an apology for a comment by Gore's campaign spokesman likening the Pennsylvania senator to former Sen. Joe McCarthy. "Since you have not responded to my (first) letter and your surrogates are repeating their outlandish, defamatory statements, if your campaign intends to continue your character assassination of me, I think you ought to be man enough to say it yourself," Specter wrote. Read the article Bush Prepares New TV Ad Blitz 6/28/2000 11:24 PM With just over a month before the Republican National Convention, George W. Bush is raising money for a final pre-convention TV ad blitz touting his presidential bid. "Please click on my Web site and contribute to my campaign," the Texas governor wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "Every cent will go to TV ads to let Americans know what I would do as president." Bush cannot spend privately raised money after he becomes the official Republican presidential nominee at the July 31-Aug. 3 convention in Philadelphia. At that point, he will get $67.6 million in taxpayer money to run his fall campaign. Vice President Al Gore, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, will get the same. Read the article Cornhusker Osborne Ready to Take On Washington 6/27/2000 10:33 PM Tom Osborne had no experience in electoral politics when he entered this year's race for the open 3rd District House seat. But Osborne has had plenty of experience at winning during his 24 years as head coach of University of Nebraska's football team - something he easily transferred to his late-starting second career in politics. By cruising to an easy Republican primary victory May 9 in the mainly rural, overwhelmingly Republican district, the 63-year-old Osborne virtually assured himself a place in the 107th Congress as the successor to retiring five-term Republican Rep. Bill Barrett. Osborne took 71 percent of the vote to defeat two primary opponents and is heavily favored for the general election over the Democratic nominee, real estate investor Rollie Reynolds. Read the article Republicans Criticize Gore Aide 6/27/2000 10:26 PM Al Gore's campaign spokesman was criticized Tuesday by top Republicans, including George W. Bush, for comparing a GOP senator's decision to release Justice Department information about the vice president to "McCarthyite tactics." Bush said it appeared the aide, Chris Lehane, "got a little carried away" and Arlen Specter, the senator in question, sent a terse letter to Gore seeking an explanation and "prompt apology." Read the article Virginia Senate Candidates Sharpen Distinctions 6/27/2000 10:24 PM Bill Span is George Allen's kind of voter. The 71-year-old retired Navy pilot is a Republican in Virginia Beach, the state's most Republican city. He voted for Allen in 1993 and would do it again. Read the article Political Impact of Gas Prices Ripples Across the Country 6/27/2000 10:23 PM Suddenly, the hottest U.S. political issue isn't education, taxes, jobs, world peace or even abortion. It's the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Gas prices shot to the forefront of the presidential race this week and triggered scores of finger-pointing speeches from members of Congress, governors and others. What remains to be seen is who will pay the political price if gasoline is still hovering above $1.60 a gallon at election time. Read the article First Black GOP Woman in Congress? 6/27/2000 10:22 PM Joan Johnson is insulted when people ask why she's a Republican. "This is a question that's never asked of a white person," snaps Johnson, who jumped into the race for Rep. Rick Lazio's House seat when the Long Island congressman decided to challenge Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Senate. "It says to me that in America, the majority race thinks that blacks are assigned to one party, and that's an insult," she says. "Because people can get off the boat from China, Vietnam or any place and be anything they want to be. But if I'm black in America, I'm supposed to be a Democrat." Read the article Congressman Blunt Urges 90-day Suspension of Federal Gas Tax 6/27/2000 10:20 PM Soaring budget surpluses have combined with the Midwest's higher gasoline prices to justify a three-month suspension in the federal gas tax, Rep. Roy Blunt said. Blunt, R-Mo., urged colleagues on Tuesday to lift the entire 18.4-cent tax on gasoline and diesel fuel, saying the government can use budget surpluses to cover losses in Highway Trust Fund revenue, estimated at about $8 billion. "There's lots of finger-pointing over the issues of why gas prices have skyrocketed," Blunt said. "But consumers shouldn't be the ones stuck with paying the extra bills while investigations are conducted." Read the article Lazio Rips Clintons Over Pricey Gas 6/26/2000 10:29 PM Republican Rick Lazio attacked Senate rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Clinton on Monday for not doing more to fight rising gasoline prices. Using a suburban Buffalo service station as a backdrop, Lazio said the first lady should "get out of the motorcade, check the prices at the pump and join me today in fighting for the repeal of the Clinton-Gore gas tax to help get these gas prices down for New Yorkers." Read the article Bush: Split INS Into Two Agencies 6/26/2000 10:29 PM George W. Bush told Hispanic leaders on Monday he wants to split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two parts: a welcoming one for legitimate immigrants and a tough one for border enforcement. Bush also called for allowing relatives of permanent residents to visit the United States while their own immigration papers are being processed. Read the article Poll: Bush Widens Lead Over Gore 6/26/2000 10:28 PM George W. Bush is widening his lead over Al Gore in polling among likely voters a little more than four months before the presidential election, new surveys suggest. Bush was chosen by 52 percent of voters and Gore by 39 percent in a weekend telephone survey, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll released Monday. Read the article House GOP Races Toward Drug Benefits 6/25/2000 10:56 PM Hoping to neutralize Democrats on one of the defining issues of the campaign, House Republicans will try to push through a plan this week to pay for drug benefits for senior citizens and launch one of the most ambitious federal efforts in three decades to expand health coverage. The vote is likely to escalate a high-stakes battle between the Republicans and Democrats over which party gets more credit for addressing an issue that is a top concern of millions of elderly Americans and a growing number of aging baby boomers: the mounting cost of prescription drugs. Read the article Bush Staff Responds to Clinton 6/25/2000 10:54 PM Gov. George W. Bush's presidential campaign says President Clinton's criticism of the Republican state party platform is just a sign of frustration by the Democrats. "These comments show that Al Gore is so weak that he has to have President Clinton attack our state party and our governor," campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan said Sunday. "The vice president is relying on President Clinton to carry on his attack campaign in Texas. "The truth is that Texas is solid Bush country, which enabled governor Bush to campaign in Kentucky, Ohio and Florida during the Texas Republican Convention." Read the article Crowded Republican Field to Replace Talent Could Make for Wild Race 6/25/2000 10:48 PM When Republican Rep. Jim Talent of Chesterfield decided to run for governor, it touched off one of the hottest Republican congressional primary fights in the state. The sprawling 2nd Congressional District scoops up the suburbs of west St. Louis County stretching into St. Charles County and is considered a solid Republican district by the GOP leaders. The GOP hopefuls are state Rep. Todd Akin, former Talent district director Barbara Cooper, state Sen. Franc Flotron, Boeing test pilot Jack Jackson and former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary. Read the article Bush Up in Two Polls, Gore Support Seen Softs 6/22/2000 10:10 PM Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush has widened his lead over Al Gore in two new polls released Thursday, suggesting that the vice president still has not solidified his political base among traditional Democratic voters. Bush posted a 12-point lead over Gore in a bipartisan poll of likely voters sponsored by Voter.com, an Internet news service, and an eight-point advantage in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of adults. Read the article Carnahan Outlines Senate Campaign Strategy Against Ashcroft 6/22/2000 10:05 PM Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan said Wednesday a theme of his campaign for the U.S. Senate will be to portray incumbent John Ashcroft as a conservative Republican who is "trying to repaint himself" as a moderate. Carnahan, in Washington for fund-raisers, told reporters he thinks the race is a dead heat that may be decided by wavering voters in the suburbs of St. Louis and Kansas City. "The big suburban areas around the cities are great opportunities for me," Carnahan said. "They are not tightly organized and are heavily populated. There is an independent-mindedness of people there." Read the article Bush Puts Emphasis On Science and Math 6/21/2000 10:45 PM George W. Bush today came to De Anza Community College, here in the heart of Silicon Valley and considered among the best community colleges for math education, to bemoan America's poor record in science and math education. And he offered yet another plan to spend more money on education: $2.3 billion over five years to improve student performance and recruit people to teach math and science. Read the article Bush Defends Texas Legal System 6/21/2000 10:44 PM Dogged by death penalty protesters, Texas Gov. George W. Bush defended his state's legal system Wednesday as "fair and just" and said there was no need for a moratorium on executions. "As far as I'm concerned there has not been one innocent person executed since I've become governor," Bush said. Since he took office 5½ years ago, 134 inmates have been executed in Texas; death penalty opponents question whether all got fair trials. Read the article Bush Supports Oil Price Probe 6/21/2000 10:43 PM George W. Bush voiced support for an investigation of soaring gasoline prices, but he put most of the blame on the Clinton administration's failure to convince foreign crude producers to "open the spigots." "I do think it's fair to have the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) investigate," Bush told reporters Wednesday, adding that the results would be "healthy" for the debate about prices that have climbed above $2 per gallon in Chicago and Milwaukee. Read the article Audit: State Democrats Improperly Reported Expenses, Contributions 6/21/2000 10:43 PM The Missouri Democratic Party improperly reported $223,458 in expenses and $80,250 in contributions for the 1996 election cycle, according to a Federal Election Commission audit. An FEC spokesman said Tuesday the commission has not decided if it will seek penalties. The audit was conducted after a routine review of campaign documents. Read the article Report: Clinton Seeking British Home 6/20/2000 11:05 PM President Clinton is seeking a home near Britain's Oxford University, where he studied in the 1960s as a Rhodes scholar, London's Evening Standard newspaper reported Tuesday. Citing British security sources in a front-page report, the Standard said that Clinton was eager to settle in the Oxfordshire countryside after he leaves the White House early next year. His wife, Hillary, will not accompany him, the newspaper said. Hillary Clinton is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate from the state of New York. Read the article Bond and Ashcroft Huddle with Farmers to Talk Hard Times 6/20/2000 11:02 PM A bit of rain in recent days has helped out Jim Savage's small farm just south of Columbia, near the Missouri River. "We've really had a shortage of water," said Savage, 80, retired from an agriculture professorship at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "It was getting bad." But how about those gas prices? Savage just winced like he'd eaten a lemon. Read the article Gas Price Investigation Opened 6/20/2000 10:57 PM The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal investigation into soaring gasoline prices in some areas of the Midwest and will begin issuing subpoenas to oil companies by the end of the week, congressional sources said Tuesday. FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky told some members of the Illinois congressional delegation that the sudden price spikes in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas and elsewhere are "sufficiently questionable" to warrant a formal investigation into possible price gouging and collusion, according to one lawmaker present. Read the article Bush Campaign Holds Hope in California 6/20/2000 10:55 PM See George W. Bush shake hands with Hispanics in the streets of Santa Ana. Hear Bush describe himself as a "new kind of Republican" who rejects using immigration as a divisive issue. Watch Bush run hard to catch Al Gore in a state that leans heavily Democratic. The Republican presidential candidate is going back to basics in his bid to win California, spending time walking the streets of Democratic strongholds and focusing on a key group, the 13 percent of voters who are Hispanic. Read the article Talent Unveils Plan for Quality, Affordable Health Care 6/20/2000 10:54 PM If elected Missouri's governor, Republican Jim Talent is promising to increase the number of public clinics, get tougher on poorly managed nursing homes and offer Missourians cheaper access to health care insurance. "Quality, affordable and accessible health care is paramount to fulfilling Missouri's promise," Talent said Monday, as he outlined his basic proposals -- which carry a four-year price tag of about $90 million in added state spending. Aides say that cost will lead to less spending for hospital stays and emergency room visits. Read the article Bush Hits Democrats on Technology Education 6/19/2000 10:55 PM George W. Bush today described the Clinton administration's efforts to advance technology education as convoluted and burdened by bureaucracy, and he proposed consolidating all of those initiatives under one $3 billion program. At the same time, he proposed $400 million in new spending over the next five years for the Education Department to research ways that technology can be used to boost student achievement and to create a clearinghouse that states and local officials can use to learn about education technology programs. Read the article Gas Price Rise Shakes Democrats 6/19/2000 10:54 PM Top House and Senate Democrats have privately warned President Clinton that skyrocketing gasoline prices seriously threaten the party's chances of retaking the House and Vice President Gore's prospects of winning the presidency. Their fears are shared by strategists in the Gore campaign who see the strongest threat of voter defections to the GOP in the battleground states of the Midwest, where gas prices have soared well above $2 a gallon, more than anywhere else in the nation. Read the article Bush Wants To Reflect Hopeful Tone 6/18/2000 10:50 PM George W. Bush wants to give Republican principles a "markedly different" tone, his campaign says – more optimistic and inclusive than was expressed four years ago in a time of strident partisanship in Washington and factional struggles in the GOP. Bush's early decision not to press for changes in the GOP's uncompromising position on abortion has helped buy a tentative peace with some of the religious conservatives who defied presidential nominee Bob Dole in 1996 and made the Republican platform adhere to their views. Read the article House Seats Likely To Shift by 2020 6/18/2000 10:49 PM By 2020, New York stands to lose five House seats while California, already the largest state delegation with 52 members, would add nine if current Census Bureau population projections hold true, a private statistical group predicts. Overall, 25 of the House's 435 seats could shift between now and 2020, with the South and West gaining at the expense of the Northeast and Midwest, researchers at the Population Reference Bureau report. Read the article Missouri Republicans Finish Convention Delegate Selection 6/18/2000 10:46 PM Republicans used speeches and their state party platform Saturday to criticize Democrats who control the White House and the Statehouse, declaring only the GOP can "fulfill Missouri's promise." More than 600 state convention delegates roared as gubernatorial candidate Jim Talent, U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft and other statewide candidates predicted a new era of GOP dominance in Missouri after the November general elections. Read the article Bush May Have Hope in Massachusetts 6/16/2000 7:32 PM Massachusetts is home to such famous Democrats as the Kennedys, but its Republican governor and lieutenant governor give George W. Bush a glimmer of hope this fall. Arriving Thursday for two fund-raisers aimed at generating more than $1 million for the Republican National Committee, Bush joked that he would only take the outcome of his home state of Texas for granted in the fall matchup with Vice President Al Gore. Read the article McCain Out to Help GOP Candidates in California 6/16/2000 7:31 PM Many politicos eye California as the state that could make the difference in the fight for partisan control of the House. And national Republican strategists have delegated one of their biggest guns to boosting the party's most endangered Golden State incumbents. Arizona Sen. John McCain, fresh off his failed but attention-grabbing Republican presidential bid, spent a chunk of his time earlier this month stumping for fellow Republicans in Southern California - affirming a pledge to be a GOP proxy that he made after ceding the nomination to Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Read the article Bush Takes Swipe at Gore's Tax Plan 6/16/2000 7:30 PM George W. Bush mocked presidential rival Al Gore and his revised tax-cut plan Friday, suggesting the vice president was merely responding to polls and was still on the wrong track. "Yet another change," the Republican said aboard his campaign plane. "What he ought to do is release the results from the focus group he ran." Bush said of his own plan, "I thought mine was very good when I laid it out; I still think it's very good." Read the article Republicans Unveil Internet Site 6/16/2000 7:29 PM Republican convention planners unveiled a redesigned Internet site Thursday in hopes of luring Web surfers who might not tune into the event on television. "There's a famous saying, all politics is local. Republicans recognize that because of the reach of the Internet ... all politics is personal, getting the information you want, when you want it," Republican Chairman Jim Nicholson said at a news conference. Read the article Campaign on the Web: Deep Links and High Jinks 6/15/2000 7:45 PM Staffers working for the campaign of Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) got a bit of a shock last Saturday when they visited Democratic primary candidate Maria Cantwell's Web site (www.cantwell2000.com) and saw a goofy picture of their boss posing next to "Buster the Salmon," a protester who regularly attends Gorton campaign events. The photo looked familiar, and with good reason. It was actually from Gorton's own site (www.slade2000.com), which includes candid shots from a recent bus tour. Read the article Bush Offers McCain Convention Role 6/15/2000 7:42 PM George W. Bush, moving to decide major campaign matters, has sent questionnaires to his top running-mate choices and Wednesday offered John McCain a prime-time speaking role at the Republican convention. Colin Powell also is likely to star at the convention. McCain accepted a Tuesday speaking role as part of a night dedicated to honoring the "strength of America," Bush campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes confirmed after GOP officials leaked details. Other speakers that night could include Condoleeza Rice, Bush's foreign policy adviser. Read the article Bush Proposes New Spending for Disabilities 6/15/2000 7:42 PM Texas Gov. George W. Bush, back on the campaign trail today after nearly a week of rest and strategy sessions, proposed a new package of programs to help people with disabilities. Bush said as president he would spend $880 million over five years to support Americans with disabilities as they try to live independently, support themselves and participate in community life. The programs would build on the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed 10 years ago this month by then-president George Bush. Read the article Ashcroft is First to Air Television Ads 6/15/2000 7:39 PM The first television ads in what is expected to be a bitter election for U.S. Senate in Missouri were to begin running in the St. Louis area Thursday. Republican Sen. John Ashcroft and his wife, Janet, appear in the 60 second spot, talking primarily about what they call "Missouri values" and education. David Ayres, Ashcroft's campaign manager, said the ads will run on four broadcast stations "so long as people get the message and not so long that they flick the channel whenever it comes on." Read the article Danforth Says No to Possible Vice Presidential Bid 6/15/2000 9:55 AM Former Sen. John Danforth has withdrawn his name from the list of potential running mates for George W. Bush, the former senator's office said Tuesday. In a newspaper interview, Danforth had said the idea of running for vice president was ``very tempting'' and ``would have been a dream.'' But, after mulling it over for two weeks, he said he and his wife Sally decided they didn't want to give up living in Missouri and their close contact with family here. Read the article Poll Finds First Lady, Lazio in a Dead Heat 6/8/2000 2:20 PM With the latest poll showing Republican Rick Lazio pulling even in the Senate race here, Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is refocusing its attention on core demographic and regional blocs it believes are up for grabs since the withdrawal of Rudolph W. Giuliani. Read the article Bush Campaigns in Tennesee 6/8/2000 2:19 PM A two-year budget, a commission to study pork-barrel spending and a commitment to accelerate the appointments process are ways George W. Bush hopes to improve government. In a visit today to the home state of Vice President Al Gore, who spearheaded a 1993 program to "reinvent" government, Bush was casting his proposals as part of a larger drive to restore civility and order to the government process. Read the article Ex-State Treasurer Wendell Bailey Begins Campaign for Missouri's No. 2 Post 6/8/2000 2:18 PM Former state treasurer Wendell Bailey kicks off his campaign for lieutenant governor today at Union Station, the first of 10 cities he plans to visit during an old-fashioned, whistle-stop campaign tour. The Willow Springs Republican will use the cross-state jaunt to pitch himself as the No. 2 advocate for Missourians. The trip also marks the third attempted political comeback for the 59-year-old automobile dealer. Bailey said he would use the office's vague responsibilities to promote solutions to Kansas City and St. Louis schools' accreditation woes, road-funding problems and issues concerning the elderly. Read the article Bush Vows Positive RNC Convention 6/7/2000 10:10 PM George W. Bush, who promised to bring civility to Washington, plans to break with tradition and lower the decibel level on partisan attacks at the Republican National Convention by focusing on his plans for the White House, aides said Wednesday. "Governor Bush is a different kind of politician. He plans to offer a different kind of convention," chief campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes said in a telephone interview. Read the article Danforth as Bush's Running Mate is Logical Choice 6/7/2000 10:09 PM Jack Danforth for vice president? The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The former Missouri senator would bring gravitas and intellectual heft to the GOP ticket. Danforth, the subject of the latest vice-presidential trial balloon floated last week, was known for his willingness to play a major role in important legislation during his 18 years in the Senate. A moderate, he became a leading voice on entitlement reform and Cambodia, on civil rights and cable regulation. Read the article Ashcroft Targets Women's Pension Inequities 6/6/2000 10:22 PM Working women deserve the same opportunities to save for retirement as men, Sen. John Ashcroft said, announcing support for pension reforms aimed at eliminating inequalities in the law. Ashcroft, who planned to introduce legislation Tuesday, said most retirement-age women have no pension other than Social Security. That is the case for 300,000 women in Missouri and 14 million nationwide, he said. Read the article Republicans Propose Patients' Bill 6/5/2000 10:57 PM Republicans offered new proposals for a patients' rights bill that would give some Americans expanded rights to sue their health plans, but only after exhausting all other remedies. Damages would be capped and class action suits prohibited. Democrats immediately criticized the proposals, saying they didn't go far enough to hold HMOs accountable when their decisions to deny care harmed patients. Read the article Ford Urges Bush on Pro-Choice VP 6/5/2000 10:56 PM Former President Ford encouraged George W. Bush to consider an abortion rights advocate as his running mate, saying such a choice could be the difference between winning and losing a close race. "I think we need, as I've said repeatedly, a team that reflects the broadest possible spectrum of the Republican philosophy, which means that somebody who is pro-choice, for example, or at least is more so than some (Republicans) would like," Ford said Monday at the National Press Club. Read the article Ford Says Lazio Is a Formidable Foe 6/5/2000 10:55 PM Former President Gerald Ford said Monday that Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton should be careful of underestimating new GOP rival Rep. Rick Lazio. "I'm sure the Clinton people think they've got a better chance of winning now that (New York Mayor Rudolph) Giuliani is out and Lazio's in," Ford said at the National Press Club. "I hope they're overconfident because I think Lazio is going to be a better candidate than one would think at the outset," he said. Read the article Crowd Shows Up for Show Me State's Suddenly Open Seat 6/5/2000 10:50 PM With less than six months until the general election, popular four-term Democratic Rep. Pat Danner appeared a shoo-in for re-election in Missouri's 6th District. But the scenario changed, for both major parties, on May 22, when Danner unexpectedly announced her retirement. The sudden appearance of an open seat - in a potentially competitive district, no less - has both Democrats and Republicans buzzing. Since Danner withdrew after Missouri's March 28 filing deadline, would-be candidates were given until May 30 to jump into the race. Read the article Talking Baseball and Politics With George W. Bush 6/5/2000 10:47 PM It was late in the day and Texas Gov. George W. Bush looked, well, bushed. An hour earlier, he had been sitting on the state Capitol steps in 92-degree heat during tedious, drawn-out opening ceremonies of a U.S.-Mexico border governors conference. Then he'd weathered three live TV interviews. Now, he was being led into a vacant bar on the 16th floor of a Holiday Inn to chat with some state political columnist. He looked at me like, who'n hell are you?; weakly smiled and sprawled in a big chair. Such is the plight of a presidential candidate. Read the article According to the Votes That Count, Bush is Way Ahead 6/5/2000 10:46 PM A new national poll rates the presidential race a dead heat, but some political observers say that's not the case. They point to the map. When the contest is measured by polls done in separate states, Vice President Al Gore could be at a serious disadvantage against Texas Gov. George W. Bush, at least at this early stage in the election. Read the article Lazio Holds Steady Vs. Clinton 6/4/2000 10:53 PM Rep. Rick Lazio has only been a Senate candidate for two weeks, but he's holding steady against Hillary Rodham Clinton in the polls. Clinton leads Lazio 46 to 42 percent, with a 3-point margin of error, in a poll commissioned by the Daily News and the cable station NY1. The poll was conducted by phone last week by the firm of Blum & Weprin among 1,001 registered voters. Read the article Virginia Senator Warner To Run Again 6/4/2000 10:52 PM In his first indication that he plans to seek another term, Republican Sen. John Warner told about 2,000 delegates to the state GOP convention Saturday that Senate candidate George Allen will chair his re-election campaign in 2002. Warner, 72, made the comment almost casually as he introduced Allen, a former governor challenging Democratic Sen. Charles S. Robb in the November election. Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, did not elaborate on his plans. Read the article GOP Govs Back Bush on Death Penalty 6/4/2000 10:51 PM Two Republican governors and political allies of George W. Bush said he has not compromised his support of the death penalty by blocking a condemned murderer's execution in Texas so potential DNA evidence can be reviewed. "I think it was very appropriate that he did it, and I don't think it anyway undermines his commitment to the death penalty," GOP Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania said on "Fox News Sunday." Read the article McCain Skips Bush Visit To Arizona 6/1/2000 12:11 AM George W. Bush picked up political cash and support in Arizona Wednesday, while his former presidential rival, Sen. John McCain, stayed away from a fund-raiser involving the "soft money" donations he opposes. "He has stated all along that he will do everything he can for the Republican Party and for Governor Bush, but he will not help to raise soft money," said McCain spokesman Todd Harris. Read the article Helms Similar to Naysayer Macon 6/1/2000 12:10 AM When he exercises his authority to say no, Sen. Jesse Helms is taking his cues from a fellow North Carolinian who exasperated presidents and other politicians two centuries ago. Helms, R-N.C., unveiled a portrait in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee room this month of Nathaniel Macon, who in the 1820s chaired the committee that Helms now heads with the same parsimony, piety and deep suspicion of the federal government. Read the article Bush Advises on NY Senate Race 6/1/2000 12:09 AM Rep. Rick Lazio has a good chance to defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton in New York's Senate race "if he doesn't treat her as a victim," Republican presidential contender George W. Bush said Wednesday. The Texas governor's comment was picked up by an open microphone during a break while taping an appearance on the MSNBC talk show "Hardball." Read the article Lazio Blasts Clinton in NY Race 6/1/2000 12:08 AM Rick Lazio launched one of his most stinging attacks yet against Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday, asking whether his Senate rival's campaign is "about ambition, or is this about public service?" The Republican congressman said New Yorkers should ask candidates: "What have you done for us for the last eight years? Have you been in our corner, or are you just a Johnny-come-lately who is aspiring to a position?" Read the article Bush Making Inroads Out West 6/1/2000 12:07 AM George W. Bush, with his Texas twang and political history conforming to "the credo of the West," is performing better than expected in many Western states, but he hasn't loosened Al Gore's grip on vote-rich California. Starting with Oklahoma and Texas and moving west to the Rocky Mountain states, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and the Pacific Coast, 13 western states offer 152 electoral votes %u2013 more than half the total required to win the presidency. California alone accounts for 54 votes. Read the article Missouri Primary Splitting GOP? 6/1/2000 12:06 AM Eyeing an open seat in the House, top Republicans are wading forcefully into a contested primary as the party picks a candidate to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Pat Danner of Missouri. Speaker Dennis Hastert intends to campaign for Sam Graves, a state senator and one of five hopefuls in the primary race, according to GOP sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Read the article