Impeachment Managers Website to Aid Vulnerable Republicans -- 03/25/1999

Impeachment Managers Website to Aid Vulnerable Republicans

25 March, 1999

By Bruce Sullivan
CNS Staff Writer

(CNS) – In conjunction with House Majority Whip Tom DeLay's plan to raise at least $1.5 million to protect vulnerable Republican Members, who voted to impeach President Clinton, an internet site has been established at www.defendourmanagers.com, DeLay's spokesman Michael Scanlon told CNS. The site is currently online, but according to Scanlon will be fully operational by this weekend with profiles of the Members and donation instructions.

The Retain Our Majority Plan (ROMP) was conceived by DeLay to provide at least $150,000 to each of ten Members targeted by Democrats for defeat in the year 2000. The identities of all ten have not yet been released, but CNS has learned that at least two impeachment managers, Reps. James Rogan (R-CA) and Steve Chabot (R-OH) are in the list plus Reps. Heather Wilson (R-NM), Jack Quinn (R-NY), and Jay Dickey (R-AR).

Most of the House managers, such as Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), come from secure districts where their reelection chances are good. However, according to a spokesman for Cannon many of the managers have received unsolicited donations ranging from $5 to $1,000 from people who favored Clinton's impeachment. Cannon is spearheading a House Managers PAC to distribute those funds to the "neediest Members."

"A lot of conservatives are showing their support for what the managers did, while under intense scrutiny and in the face of intense opposition," Cannon aide Jeff Hartley told CNS.

Whether the impeachment will still be an election issue for either Republicans or Democrats in the 2000 elections, which are over a year and a half away, remains to be seen. But for now, it is generating cash for both of them.

Shortly after the impeachment, former Clinton advisor James Carville announced a campaign to oust pro-impeachment Republicans, for which he has formed a PAC called the Democracy Corps.

Additionally the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way said it plans to spend $5 million to defeat the same Republicans.

"Every survey I've seen says that it is not a political issue," said Scanlon. "However, it does remain a fundraising draw on both sides."

At least one political analyst thinks the impeachment issue is a dead horse. "I think it is being blown out of proportion," Luntz Research and Strategic Services vice president Mark McKenna told CNS. "What happens in the next 18 months is much more important," he said.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman John Delcecato told CNS that the Democrats are ready to move beyond impeachment, but the Republicans are not.

"They have demonstrated a desire to focus on the President rather than the real issues that deal with everyday life," said Delcecato. "It's apparent that the Republican Party is unable and unwilling to move on," he said. "That's just not good political strategy."

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