Money in Senate Race

“TV Blitz Fueled by a Fortune,” Sept. 12: Your report on the Mike Huffington-Dianne Feinstein Senate race is a shameful admission to what so many believe, that “we have the best Congress money can buy.”

Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, as co-chairmen of “Project Vote Smart,” with prominent founders such as Barry Goldwater and George McGovern, are lending their support to the Center for National Independence in Politics, providing a wealth of important facts about all candidates running for Congress. The center just issued its 1994 election edition of the Voter’s Self-Defense Manual, which not only monitors the campaign financial history of all candidates but also their performance in voting on 15 legislative areas, their key votes plus much more relevant information.

Since campaign finance reform has been pledged by both Democrats and Republicans, and with a bill now pending in Congress, the manual reveals some interesting figures. The money raised for the 52 Californians running for the House of Representatives amounted to $37,239,353 as reported to the Federal Election Commission from Jan. 1, 1991, to Dec. 31, 1992. This amounts to an average of $716,141 for each candidate. Even deducting the amount used by Huffington ($5,443,247), which includes unprecedented personal funds, from the grand total for that time period, it amounts to $611,443.

Of course the above figures are peanuts compared to the current spending of $100,000 per day by Huffington and $62,000 per day by Feinstein to see who can outdo the other in their campaign for the Senate.

Complete finance information and more about all candidates’ performance may be had free by calling this hot line number: 1-800-622-SMART.

SELMER O. WAKE

Santa Barbara

Only in California could an unknown Texas oilman, in three short years, move to California, use his wealth to unseat popular Santa Barbara Republican Rep. Robert Lagomarsino, promise to remain in that office for many years, then turn around, one year later, and make a run for Feinstein’s Senate seat, funded by $10 million of his own money.

Unlimited funds mean unlimited access to the best campaign consultants money can buy. This is a frightening prospect for politics in general. Soon, only the wealthy will be running this country. Anyone who could fund his own campaign, regardless of previous political experience, could buy a seat in Congress. Perhaps we should suspend the months of political campaigning and simply put the various House and Senate seats up for bid. This will guarantee triple flips in the graves of the founders of this once-democratic nation.

ANN-MARJA LANDER

Long Beach

I read with interest about all the creativity, talent, technical expertise and political know-how, not to mention money, going into Huffington’s race for Senate. With all that going for him you would think that he could have introduced one piece of meaningful legislation during his two years in Congress.

DON SCOTT

Santa Barbara

The (motor-voter) registration law may move us a tiny step closer toward improving democracy, but the millions spent by the California multimillionaire candidate for the Senate moves us a giant step away from it.

We must admit that the innuendoes, falsehood and character denigrations, by either candidate, will misinform the voters and move them toward ballot decisions based on misleading sound bites.

How do we go about limiting senatorial campaigns to one month and limiting expenditures to $1 million or $2 million?

JOSEPH WALDBAUM

North Hollywood

Huffington, quoted Sept. 3 regarding an endorsement for his opponent: “It was a setup deal. It was political.” What kind of deal does he think that he is engaged in?

GENE BARMORE

Huntington Beach

As a lifelong Santa Barbara resident, I read “On Huffington’s Turf, Republicans Hold Fund-Raiser for Feinstein” (Aug. 28) with much interest. For far too long, the Republican Party has dissipated its energy in bitterly fighting among itself over personalities and issues that divide moderates from the far right of the GOP. In defeating Lagomarsino in 1992, Huffington has continued to bear the brunt of hostilities from the divisions in the Santa Barbara Republican Party.

Your article unfairly characterizes the majority of Huffington’s constituents as being angry with his performance, when in reality his detractors are a small, vocal minority. Huffington has been solid and very credible in representing the 22nd District.

For the good of the Republican Party as a whole, it is time for all Republicans to lay down their swords and wholeheartedly support him in his efforts to win the Senate seat in November.

LAUREL WATSON

Santa Barbara

The question this November will be which of the two major candidates can best help plutocracy work better. Also, I would like to tell Rep. Huffington that the Senate seat cannot be bought, but who am I kidding?

BLAKE H. FINCHAMP

Huntington Beach