Fuming Dukakis Warns Gephardt of ‘Scrappy’ Race

Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, steaming from attacks by Democratic presidential rival Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, warned Thursday the campaign will turn “very scrappy” if his opponent’s swipes persist.

“People in glass houses shouldn’t start throwing stones, and they shouldn’t be surprised if they get it back,” Dukakis snapped after meeting the Missouri congressman in a forum here on health care.

Gephardt, talking with reporters later, shot back: “If you look back at the governor’s campaigns, I think you’ll see a pattern (that) anytime his issues or his stands on positions or issues are challenged, he resorts to what I think is name-calling . . . like a school kid saying somebody said something.”

Gephardt ignited the feud Wednesday in a speech in Texas by ridiculing Dukakis’ experience in foreign affairs and agriculture. Dukakis returned the fire the next morning at a news conference, condemning what he described as Gephardt’s “Prince of Darkness routine.”

Confrontational Tone

With Gephardt insisting he will not drop the offensive and Dukakis vowing retaliation, the fireworks are expected to bring a sharper, more confrontational tone to the Democratic presidential race.

In his Texas speech, Gephardt charged that Dukakis’ experience in foreign policy consists “almost entirely” of negotiating with the governor of New Hampshire over nuclear power. He accused Dukakis of saying “one thing in New England and another in the South and the Midwest,” and poked fun at the governor for once having noted to Iowa farmers that some Massachusetts farmers improved their lot by growing blueberries, flowers and Belgian endive.

“I have been in negative campaigns before and I know what to do . . . ,” Dukakis said the next morning. “But I don’t think this Prince of Darkness routine will sell.”

A couple of hours later, Dukakis met Gephardt here in a forum about long-term health care. Appearing before several hundred senior citizens, the two men politely agreed with each other that Medicare should cover such care. None of the other Democratic candidates attended.

Flip-Flop Charges

Only once did the congeniality on the stage falter. Dukakis, asked by the moderator if he had flip-flopped on a health care issue, bristled:

“Here’s the flip-flopper over here,” Dukakis said, pointing to Gephardt. “I’m not the flip-flopper.”

Gephardt did not try to defend himself.

As soon as the forum ended and reporters went on stage to meet the candidates, Dukakis, visibly agitated, repeatedly complained about negative campaign tactics.

“If this continues,” he said, his voice a warning, “it’s going to be a very scrappy campaign.”

Asked if he had ever flip-flopped on an issue, Dukakis replied: “Have I ever changed my mind? Sure. But not everyday.”

In a reference to Gephardt’s anti-Establishment speech, Dukakis said: “You can’t beat up on the Establishment and go out and take corporate PAC money.

“You can’t talk about the deficit today if you voted to create the deficit in 1981,” he continued, referring to Gephardt’s vote for President Reagan’s tax cut.

‘Negative’ Campaigning

Gephardt, surrounded by a different group of reporters elsewhere on the stage, calmly denied he was engaging in “negative” campaigning.

“I think what an election is about is getting people to see what a Gephardt presidency is about as opposed to a Dukakis presidency or somebody else,” he said.

In a rare move, Gephardt later got on the bus that was transporting the reporters who are covering his campaign. The Gephardt press corps in the past two days has gone from a handful of reporters to nearly 20.

Speaking into a microphone normally used by tour guides, Gephardt fielded questions as the bus moved along. He again insisted his criticism of Dukakis was fair play. But when the subject turned to flip-flopping, a charge that has dogged Gephardt, he could not resist another dig at his rival.

“Gov. Dukakis, you know, ran for governor in Massachusetts and said that he would never raise taxes,” Gephardt said. “He made a pledge that he would never do it. He ran on that one thing. But he did it.”