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Barbour Says Dole Resigned Out Of Sense Of Obligation![[Barbour]](barbour.jpg)
Aired May 15, 1996 JUDY WOODRUFF, Anchor: Continuing now with this extended edition of Inside Politics, the head of the Republican Party says he talked to Senator Dole about this decision about 10 days ago. I spoke to Haley Barbour about one hour ago, and I asked him why Bob Dole did it. HALEY BARBOUR, Republican National Committee Chairman: He told me when he said he was going to do this a couple of weeks ago, that he had missed four votes in eight years, and he knows that he should be, and he wants to be, a full time candidate for president to the exclusion of all else. And he couldn't do that and still do his job as leading the Senate and as representing Kansas. So in Dole's way, he wasn't going to run away from his responsibility. He said he was going to resign his seat, do it in a way where the Senate had chance to make an orderly transition - get a new leader. For the Governor of Kansas to pick a- to pick a successor, 'cause Kansas deserved a full time senator, and America deserved a clear choice in this election, which meant he had to be a full time candidate. WOODRUFF: If that is the case, then why didn't he say this right after he nailed down the Republican nomination, because he said when he came back to Washington after it was clear that he was going to be the nominee of the party that he was going to get back to work and it was clear from all the people around him that he was going to run his campaign out of the Senate for a while. Is this an acknowledgment that that didn't work? BARBOUR: Well, of course, Judy- everybody in your industry last night and today was saying Dole was just going to step back from his duties as Senate leader. Bob Dole started talking to other people about this a month ago, very shortly after he locked up the nomination on the first of April, and told me, the first of this month that he had made the decision to do it because he knew that it was only right that, that- that the consequences of this election are so big, and the election is so important, it's only right for him to be a full time candidate. And he couldn't be a full time candidate and still uphold his responsibilities and duty to the people of Kansas and his fellow senators. WOODRUFF: So this was not his inten- you're saying this was his intention all along? BARBOUR: Well, I can't tell you what his intention was all along. He asked me to come over and meet with him the first of May, and I met with him that first Saturday, and he had already made this decision. I- I- you know, I can't tell you when before that he made it. But he and Scott Reed, his campaign manager, had been talking about this for two or three weeks before they ever asked me to meet with them. WOODRUFF: What do you say to those, Haley, who say this is - among other things - it has a lot to do with wanting to separate himself from a Republican congressional agenda that has proved to be very unpopular with the American people. ![[Quote from Barbour]](quote.gif)
BARBOUR: Judy, Bob Dole is going to get a chance to go out and take that message to the American people - and he will be able to be a full time candidate who can go to the people and talk to them away from Washington, and you're going to see - he's going to be talking about exactly the same things that the American people voted for in 1994 - smaller government, lower taxes, less spending. Policies that are tough on crime and drug dealers - genuine welfare reform. The difference between Dole and Clinton is, Clinton says all those things, but Dole really does what he says. And so he'll be able to take that message, which is the agenda that Bill Clinton has vetoed. The first balanced budget in 26 years, welfare reform, tax cuts for working families - he'll take that same agenda out to the country, away from Washington, and the American people- I'm very confident, will embrace that agenda idea. WOODRUFF: Are you saying that the unpopularity of the Newt Gingrich Republican revolution of 1994 has nothing to do with this decision? BARBOUR: Oh, this is a decision that is typical Bob Dole. Bob Dole does his duty for his country. When the country calls, Bob Dole stands up and does his duty. He has won the nomination to be one of the two candidates for president of the United States. The country demands - deserves - that he be a full time candidate. He's never- he's never shirked his duty to the country and he's not going to do it now. WOODRUFF: Let me ask you about word that we're hearing of a- of a shake up, for lack of a better word, inside the Dole campaign, and among other things, it may be Haley Barbour - you - who is going to come in and, either as the new manager of the campaign, or in a very senior position - and that you are going to move away from your post as chairman of the RNC. Have you talked to Bob Dole about that? BARBOUR: No. Nobody's talked about that except reporters, Judy. I'm going to stay right where I am, doing the job that I'm doing for Republicans to the best of my ability, and Scott Reed, who is the campaign manager for Bob Dole, and he's been involved in this decision with Bob Dole for over a month - he's going to continue to be the campaign manager. We-It's a good thing- WOODRUFF: Do you know about- about any other senior advisers - not to, to age you, Haley. Do you know anything about any other senior, more experienced people being brought into the Dole campaign? BARBOUR: Well, I don't specifically, Judy, but look. Now that President Dole- that Senator Dole is the nominee, and the campaign is beginning in earnest - it's six months from now until the election - many people who were for other candidates are coming on board because they want to help Bob Dole. As the general election campaign matures, you're going to see a lot of people leave what they're doing - take time off from their jobs - because they want to help Bob Dole be president, and more important, they want to see the right agenda for America's future, a [unintelligible], smaller government. WOODRUFF: Do you have any- do you have names for us today? BARBOUR: No, but I think it'll be a bevy of people. We had 20 or so Republican governors in town yesterday, and the only question they had is `How can we help? How can we do more to make sure Bob Dole is president and the Republican majorities in Congress are increased?' WOODRUFF: Haley, one other question. As we all know, the Dole campaign, at least between now and the Republican convention is al- in August, is almost out of the money. How can Senator Dole go out and aggressively campaign now - at the start of June, which he says he's going to do, when he has almost no money to do it, and you've got the Democrats saying, `We're going to be watching the letter and the spirit of the law to see that the RNC doesn't help him in a way that it shouldn't. BARBOUR: Well, I hope the Democrats will. I hope they'll also look into their hearts about the $12 million of tax-payer money that Bill Clinton was given to seek his party's nomination that he's now spending for the general election purpose. But, you know, I couldn't care less what the Democrats do? Bob Dole is going to follow the letter and spirit of the law, and the good news is, we at the Republican Party have an opportunity now for him to be available much more often, to go out and speak to our groups, to take our message to the country - all totally as the law envisions and, we're just delighted that he's now going to have more time for it, and President Clinton can send all the lawyers he wants to over, and we'll- we'll open the books for them. WOODRUFF: All right. Haley Barbour, the chairman of the Republican National Committee. Thank you for being with us. BARBOUR: Thank you, Judy. |
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