Nader On The Attack
TRENTON, N.J. (AllPolitics, Oct. 22) -- From the steps of New Jersey's Statehouse, Green Party presidential nominee Ralph Nader stepped up his verbal attacks on the two major parties and complained that corporate interests now dominate politics and politicians. Calling the Democrats and Republicans "look-alike parties," Nader focused on President Bill Clinton's shift toward the political middle. He said that Clinton's strategy is to "defeat your adversaries by becoming like them -- almost. That comes at a great cost to the American people." The third-party candidate also singled out for criticism his host state's popular Republican Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, who GOP nominee Bob Dole frequently uses as an example for successful tax-cutting. "New Jersey under Christine Whitman is a model for how the federal government should not be run," he said. New Jersey is one of the 21 states in which Nader has qualified to be on the ballot, but he predicts Clinton will win it in a landslide.
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Dem Leading Illinois Race
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AllPolitics, Oct. 22) -- The latest poll in Illinois' U.S. Senate race shows Democrat Dick Durbin leading his Republican challenger Al Salvi by nine points. The telephone survey of 910 likely voters, taken between Oct. 11-16 by The Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, revealed Durbin receiving 48 percent support to Salvi's 39 percent. Nine percent of the voters are still undecided while four percent favor third-party candidates. Durbin's lead is strong in the traditionally Democratic Chicago, but the race is tighter in other parts of the state. Salvi is focusing efforts in suburban Chicago, which leans Republican. The poll, published Monday, has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points.
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Blaming The Media
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (AllPolitics, Oct. 22) -- House Speaker Newt Gingrich accused the media of being biased and timid in its coverage of a Clinton Administration that "reeks of corruption." During campaign stops in Northern California Tuesday, Gingrich ran through a litany of alleged scandals involving the White House, ranging from Whitewater to Filegate. "My honest opinion is that the media is biased and it's timid and that they're dealing with a man who is ruthlessly and relentlessly dishonest, and they are simply not willing to take him head on," the Georgia lawmaker said. Gingrich focused on recent allegations of illegal campaign contributions to the Democratic party, and charged that it was the responsibility of news organizations to uncover such abuses. "I am frankly disturbed at the passivity and timidity of the American news media, allowing Bill Clinton to cheerfully lie his way to re-election," he said.
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Mixing Religion, Politics
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Oct. 22) -- The Christian Coalition whacked the Democrats Tuesday for raising money at a Buddhist temple near Los Angeles. Ralph Reed, the coalition's executive director, said his quarrel was not with the Buddhists but with the Democrats who, he said, turned "a Buddhist temple into a den of thieves." The Christian Coalition has been sued by the Federal Election Commission for allegedly stepping over the line into political partisanship with its pre-election voter education guides. "We will win that case," Reed predicted.
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Endorsing Gramm
EL PASO, Texas (AllPolitics, Oct. 22) -- U.S. Senator Phil Gramm (R-Texas) is leading in Texas' U.S. Senate race, among both voters and newspaper editors. Public opinion polls show Gramm ahead of Democratic nominee Victor Morales, and his lead could be boosted by recent endorsements from the majority of the state's largest newspapers, including the El Paso Times, Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman. In editorials, the papers cited the senator's budget-balancing record, economic expertise and stand against big government, as well as Morales' failure to define himself on several key issues. Morales campaign spokesman Steve Hall gave little credence to the endorsements, saying, "Victor Morales did not have much editorial support in the Democratic primary or the Democratic runoff, and he still won." Gramm press secretary Larry Neal insisted that the voters will most likely agree with the opinion's of the newspapers' editorial page. "The differences on issues -- whether it's the balancing budget amendment or same-sex marriage -- is startling," Neal said. "Mr. Morales brings to the mix an additional ingredient though: There are still a long list of issues on which he has no opinion."
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