• TV Station Drops AFL-CIO Ad
• Sierra Club Takes Aim
• Clinton Preaches To The 'Saved'
• Dole Needs She-Veep
• Holdout Delegate Meets With Clinton
• Poll Shows Dole's Base Slipping

TV Station Drops AFL-CIO Ad

SALEM, Ore. (AllPolitics, July 18) -- A TV station has decided to pull an AFL-CIO ad attacking Rep. Jim Bunn (R-Ore.), citing inaccuracies in the way Bunn's Medicare voting record was presented. The 30-second ad, still running on four other stations, accuses Bunn of voting to cut Medicare to pay for tax credits for the wealthy. But Bunn said the GOP package he voted for increased Medicare spending per person from $4,800 in 1996 to $7,200 in 2002, and most of the tax cuts were targeted at people earning between $30,000 to $75,000 a year. Another area TV station pulled the ad Tuesday, but resumed running it after receiving information from the union supporting the statements made in the ad. The ad is part of the organized labor's $35 million nationwide media blitz aimed at putting the Democrats back in control of Congress.

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Sierra Club Takes Aim

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 18) -- Plans by the Sierra Club to run TV ads blasting Republican congressmen who have voted against environmental protections may stretch election rules. The environmental group asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to rule on the legality of running the ads using tax-exempt membership dues instead of the Sierra Club's political action committee money. The FEC allows non-profit groups to distribute information describing candidates' positions but not endorsing anyone. The planned ads, however, would compare voting records of the candidates and disclose the amount of campaign contributions each candidate received from pollution-producing companies. "It's (for) races where there's a clearly identified person we're trying to help," said Sierra Club political director Daniel Weiss.

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Clinton Preaches To The 'Saved'

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 18) -- President Bill Clinton capitalized on his appeal to women voters, describing himself as a defender of important social programs the Republicans tried to cut. "You know what I'm going to do because of what I've done," he said. "And you know what (Republicans will) do because they've already done it. I just vetoed it and stopped it." Clinton admitted he was "speaking to the saved," addressing the Women's Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Convention. Those attending Wednesday night's event had each given between $125 to $1,000 to the Democratic Party.

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Dole Needs She-Veep

PHOENIX (AllPolitics, July 18) -- Looking to reach out to women voters who overwhelmingly support President Bill Clinton, likely GOP nominee Robert Dole will probably pick a woman running mate, said Arizona's Attorney General Grant Woods, the state chair of Dole's campaign. "I'll say he picks (New Jersey Gov.) Christine Todd Whitman," said Woods, adding, "I say that based upon virtually nothing." But Whitman's pro-choice views and her own admission that she would not accept Dole's offer have essentially taken her out of the veepstakes running. Still, Woods said the GOP needs to appeal to women on economic issues, not just the traditional "women's issues." If Republicans pledge to drastically change the tax system and bring a flatter tax, Dole will win in November, Woods said.

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Holdout Delegate Meets With Clinton

JASPER, Ala. (AllPolitics, July 18) -- Pursuing an idea he picked up in his college days, National Democratic Convention delegate Ken Guin remained uncommitted to President Bill Clinton until he was given a chance to voice his concerns on the issues. Guin, a freshman state legislator, was one of the last uncommitted delegates until he agreed to support Clinton in exchange for a meeting with the president today. Guin's main concern was funding for completing the Corridor X freeway running from Birmingham to Memphis, but he also wanted to discuss the impact of Clean Air Act regulations on the coal industry and the return of moral values to politics and legislation. Guin said he never had plans to support anyone other than Clinton, but that it was important to have uncommitted delegates at the conventions.

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Poll Shows Dole's Base Slipping

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 18) -- California voters showed overwhelming support for President Bill Clinton in the latest Los Angeles Times poll, with 61 percent backing the president and only 34 percent pulling for likely GOP nominee Robert Dole. Some GOP party members are even straying from the Dole camp, with 25 percent of registered Republicans and 34 percent of GOP women saying they are inclined to vote for Clinton in November. The telephone poll surveyed 1,570 people and had a margin of sampling error +/- 3 percentage points. In another Western state, Utah's KSL-TV/Deseret News statewide poll shows Dole with a surprisingly modest lead in the conservative stronghold state. Dole received 46 percent with Clinton at 35 percent. Clinton took only 25 percent of the vote in Utah in 1992. The Utah poll questioned 616 residents and had a margin of sampling error +/- 4 percentage points.