GOP Raps Chamber for Kirk Event
By John Bresnahan and Paul Kane
Just two weeks after being bashed by President Bush as an "obstructionist,"Texas Senate Democratic candidate Ron Kirk was the honored guest of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at a recent "meet and greet" event in Washington. The fact that the Chamber of Commerce, considered by many on Capitol Hill to be an arm of the Republican Party, hosted the May 22 event for Kirk at the Old Ebbitt Grill and even listened to his pitch for its endorsement in his primary race against Texas Attorney General John Cornyn has angered some GOP lawmakers and political strategists.
It has also brought the chamber unwanted attention from White House officials and Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.).
The Mississippi Republican was especially unhappy with the chamber after the organization called for a boycott of Magnolia State businesses as a way to protest the workings of the state's judicial system. Chamber officials feel that system is biased in favor of trial lawyers and are getting behind an effort in the state legislature to push for a special session on tort reform.
Susan Irby, a top Lott aide, circulated an e-mail to all 49 Senate GOPoffices May 23 with a copy of the Chamber of Commerce's invitation to the Kirk event, as well as criticism of the organization's proposed boycott of Mississippi-based companies.
"The Chamber's faxed invite which went to media and others, effused that 'Ron Kirk is respected as a New Democrat who works across party lines and thinks creatively to bring needed reforms to his city and state,'"Irby wrote in her e-mail.
"As you recall, the U.S. Chamber, whose mission is to represent the interests of all businesses, recently urged an economic boycott of businesses - small and large - in the State of Mississippi as a way to call attention to the need for legal reform. Again, this is just a heads up on a very interesting pattern of activity at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."
In an effort at damage control following the Irby e-mail, Bruce Josten, the chamber's executive vice president, spoke last week to David Hoppe, Lott's chief of staff, according to informed sources.
Lott's office would not comment on the flap with the group, although a White House source expressed dismay at the chamber's decision to bring Kirk in after Bush publicly criticized the former Dallas mayor during a May 9 interview with a Texas TVstation.
"Iknow some people around here were really surprised the chamber would do this,"said the White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
"The timing wasn't good. The President had just come out against Kirk, and these guys did this. A lot of people's jaws dropped."
Bush told WFAA-TV in Dallastwo weeks ago that Kirk was "not the right man for the United States Senate, as far as I'm concerned. Ineed a man up here in the Senate that's going to help me get an agenda done. Idon't need an obstructionist. Ineed a positive influence."
Bill Miller, a vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, defended the Kirk event, which is the only one his organization has done for a Senate Democratic candidate so far this cycle. Several House Democrats, including Reps. Ken Lucas (Ky.)and Dennis Moore (Kan.), have gotten similar treatment from the pro-business group, while dozens of Republican lawmakers have been assisted by the chamber.
"It was an opportunity for Mayor Kirk to make his case to the D.C. business community,"said Miller, who added that his organization would "certainly hope"to do a similar event with Cornyn.
Miller also said that the Mississippi boycott and the Kirk event "were utterly unrelated,"despite Irby's e-mail.
"It was not something designed to hurt the citizens of Mississippi or hurt our relationship with Senator Lott,"said Miller.
The chamber has been a overwhelminglyreliable Republican ally for years. In the 2000 election cycle, the chamber's PAC doled out nearly $318,000, with 92 percent of that total going to Republicans. Of the $75,500 given out by the organization in the current cycle, 91 percent has found its way into GOPcoffers.
Dave Beckwith, a Cornyn spokesman, slammed Kirk for attending a Washington event instead of campaigning in Texas.
"Iknow that Kirk is apparently anxious to establish some kind of bona fides with the business community,"said Beckwith, who noted that his boss has been endorsed by the Texas Association of Business and the Lone Star State's local Chamber of Commerce.
"He's clearly counting on Washington special interests to fund him."
But both Kirk and Cornyn raised more than nine-tenths of their donations from Texas residents, according to their last fundraising reports. Kirk has made four trips to Washington since winning the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Sen. Phil Gramm (R).
"As Dallas mayor, Ron has enjoyed broad support from the business community and continues to do so,"said Justin Lonon, Kirk's spokesman.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), a moderate who supported Bush's $1.3 trillion tax cut, introduced Kirk to the Chamber of Commerce crowd May 22. Lincoln burst out laughing at the idea that Republicans were miffed that the chamber would meet with Democrats and one of their top Senate candidates.
"That's comical," said Lincoln, a recent addition to the Finance Committee. "Imagine that, there are open-minded Democrats out there."
Lincoln said Kirk's sevenyears as Dallas mayor were very friendly toward the business community, making the Texas city one of the top destinations in the country for those seeking to set up new corporations.
"[Kirk] has a very good working relationship with the chamber," Lincoln said. "A lot of the business community knows that he put in the effort."
Lincoln also hinted that the Kirk meet-and-greet could be the first of several such events, something the chamber is being prodded to do by the Democratic majority in the Senate. "It's something they've been encouraged to do," she added.
Some Senate GOP leaders were just learning of the Kirk event late last week before departing for the weeklong Memorial Day recess, so they had measured responses to the Democratic overtures of a reliably Republican group. But they made clear they want to know more about how the event came to be.
"I don't know enough about how it happened, but I'll look into it," said Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), whose job as Republican Conference chairman includes outreach to the business association crowd on K Street.
Another Senate leader, Republican Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig (Idaho), suggested that with so much at stake in this election, groups that try to play it safe by being nice to both parties will suffer the consequences.
"Those who straddle the fence often lose their pants, especially if it's a barbed wire fence," Craig said.
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/05/news0530d.html