Car PAC Pumps Up 2 GOP Hopefuls : Politics: The foreign auto dealers’ lobby group provided $600,000 in last-minute aid. Some charge it is a front for Japanese auto makers.
AutoPAC, an association of foreign car dealers accused by some Democrats of being a front for Japanese auto manufacturers, has spent almost $600,000 to assist two Republican Senate candidates in the final two weeks of the election campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The political action committee, also known as the Auto Dealers and Drivers for Free Trade, spent $357,600 on behalf of Rep. Robert C. Smith (R-N.H.), who is running to fill a vacant Senate seat in New Hampshire, and $202,565 on behalf of incumbent Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R-Minn.).
Founded by Tom Nemet, a New York Nissan-Volvo-Jaguar dealer, AutoPAC made its reputation as a potent political force in 1988 when it was credited with defeating the Senate bid of then-Rep. Buddy McKay (D-Fla.).
Democrats have since tried unsuccessfully to cripple AutoPAC by filing complaints against it with the FEC and the Justice Department, at one point suggesting it be required to register as a foreign agent. Neither the Justice Department nor the FEC acted on these complaints.
AutoPAC is the acknowledged leader among a number of well-heeled national lobbying groups involved in making last-minute, independent expenditures on behalf of candidates in close congressional races. As long as these groups do not coordinate their efforts with the candidate, they are permitted under federal election law to spend unlimited amounts of money.
By comparison, these same PACs are permitted under federal law to make direct contributions to a candidate of no more than $10,000.
In New Hampshire, most of AutoPAC’s money was spent to air two television commercials attacking the record of Smith’s opponent, former Sen. John Durkin (D-N.H.). One commercial dealt primarily with Durkin’s votes on taxes; the other alleged that Durkin has an inconsistent record on the abortion issue.
In response to these ads, Durkin told voters that AutoPAC was trying to buy Smith’s vote in Congress “so the Japanese could put you out of work.” Using a derogatory racial term, he charged that the Japanese who attacked Pearl Harbor now “are trying to stage a sneak attack on our election process in New Hampshire on Nov. 6.”
Frank Glacken, AutoPAC executive director, said that while the group’s ads make no mention of the free trade issue, Durkin’s response clearly demonstrates why AutoPAC has set out to defeat him.
“Bob Smith is an internationalist,” he said. “John Durkin is a nationalist, an isolationist with a xenophobic perspective on the world.”
Likewise, AutoPAC has also produced television commercials that attack Boschwitz’s challenger, Democrat Paul Wellstone.
Glacken said the group, which will spend about $1 million independently in this election, has done nothing to alter its strategy in response to the criticism it received after the 1988 election. However, he said AutoPAC has been somewhat more cautious with its independent expenditures because of the volatility of many races this year.
After the 1988 election, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed an FEC complaint alleging that the AutoPAC’s independent expenditures were actually being coordinated with the Republican Party. At the same time, four Democratic senators asked the Justice Department to investigate whether AutoPAC should be required to register as a foreign agent because of its apparent ties to Japanese and other foreign auto makers.
Glacken denied allegations that AutoPAC is a front for either the Japanese auto dealers or the Republican Party. He noted that the group give direct contributions to some Democrats and also independently spent $93,750 on a direct mail campaign in support of Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.). Johnston earlier this month defeated a challenge by white supremacist David Duke.
But Anita Dunn, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said AutoPAC’s support for Johnston proves nothing about its political affiliation.
“The Louisiana Senate race was an easy choice for anyone who wanted to say that they support Democrats too,” she said. “The truth is they (AutoPAC) often give an unfair advantage to Republicans late in the game by spending huge amounts of money.”
Another group heavily involved in making large independent expenditures on behalf of congressional candidates is the National Realtors Assn. PAC. It has spent a total of $976,977 on behalf of eight candidates: Johnston, Smith and Reps. Peter Hoagland (D-Neb.), Jack Buechner (R-Mo.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Larry E. Craig (R-Ida.), Rep. Ben Jones (D-Ga.), and Hank Brown (R-Colo.), who is running for a vacant Senate seat in Colorado.
The National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), has independently spent $216,697 of its funds on broadcast advertising designed to defeat incumbent Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), who has authored several anti-abortion proposals in the Senate.
Likewise, the National Education Assn. has reported spending $100,000 on behalf of Helms’ opponent, Harvey Gantt.
Other targets of NARAL’s independent expenditures include Florida Republican Gov. Bob Martinez, Rep. Denny Smith (R-Ore.) and Rep. Tom Tauke (R-Iowa), who is challenging Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa.). NARAL’s efforts include telephone campaigns as well as commercials.
