Democrats Don’t Want to Be ‘Wanted’

WASHINGTON — Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) is a wanted man. Together with 27 of his Democratic colleagues, his likeness has been slapped onto a GOP “wanted poster,” a takeoff on the ones featuring felons on post office walls.

Waxman is wanted, however, “for voting against at least seven of 10 provisions of the ‘contract with America’ and for aiding and abetting President Bill Clinton’s big government, pro-tax, anti-family, anti-military agenda in the House of Representatives.”

Since its release this month as part of a fund-raising strategy, the “wanted poster” has stirred a major outcry, especially by California Democrats, who make up a fourth of the targeted lawmakers.

But after a string of recent news conferences attacking the poster, the flap has not been resolved. Democrats still deem the poster a targeted attack on minorities. And Republicans still shout back that the uproar proves their point--it was vocal liberals they were going after.

The bickering began when those on the poster scrutinized the photos and found that most of those listed are black, Latino, Jewish and female--even though plenty of other white male Democrats cast ballots against seven provisions of the “contract with America.”

The “wanted” lawmakers charged that the posters were targeting members of minority groups and feeding into the intolerance they already grapple with. To prove the point, Waxman and others unveiled copies of some of the hate mail they receive in a steady stream at their congressional offices.

“For years I have wondered why the Jewish race has been kicked out of almost every country in the world,” said one bitter letter to Waxman from a Claremont businessman. “Now, after watching you and your buddies, I can see why no one would have any sympathy for the Jewish race.”

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When Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) first saw the poster, she was meeting with a former gang member in her office. Even before the impact sunk in with her, she said, the young man told her he clearly viewed it as a “hit piece”--in the street sense--not the campaign sense.

Citing the steady stream of mail she receives complete with racial slurs, misogynistic statements and pornographic photographs, Waters says she is deeply concerned about the increasingly angry climate she feels as an elected official.

It has gotten so bad, she said, that she intends to end mail delivery to her Los Angeles home, in favor of a post office box, and to travel with a bodyguard. She has also sent the poster to the office of the House sergeant-at-arms, which handles House security, and the FBI.

“In the twisted minds of the McVeighs of the world, this could be a hit list,” Waters said, referring to Timothy McVeigh, the man arrested in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.

Rep. Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles), whose face also appeared on the poster, said he considers the fund-raising campaign so offensive he is calling on the Republicans to return any donations they might receive.

“Using race-baiting politics to raise money constitutes an all-time low in our public political dialogue,” Dixon said. “These funds are tainted because they were raised by an insidious appeal to bigotry and intolerance.”

There has been no word on how many posters went out last month or how many dollars have come in, but GOP lawmakers say there is little chance they will heed Dixon’s request.

“It is about ideology and voting records,” Rep. Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.), who is chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said of the poster. “Any insinuation that it is anything other than that is outrageous.”

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Not surprisingly, Republican lawmakers consider the Democratic outcries way overblown. They say there were no sinister motives in the selection of the 28. In fact, the faces of the 28 Democrats were accompanied by a letter seeking $28 to help Republicans boost their majority next year. The whole project was called Project 28.

One of those watching the fracas from the sidelines--one with a little bit of experience with wanted posters--agrees.

“I think the whole incident was blown way out of proportion by the Democrats,” said John J. Pitney Jr., a government professor at Claremont McKenna College, who has written about Republicans in the House. “Politicians have been using similar devices for years. The idea of a wanted poster is not original.”

In fact, Pitney recalls helping to come up with a wanted poster to skewer Democrats during the savings and loan crisis while he was working for the Republican National Committee.

Pitney does acknowledge that Republicans should have anticipated the attacks and paid a bit more attention to the makeup of the poster.

Other Republicans are not willing to give an inch. They say the Democratic outrage just proves their point that it was outspoken liberals, not racial minorities, they were targeting.

“We picked the most outspoken liberals,” said Craig Veith, communications director for the Republican campaign effort. “These are the people who love to hold press conferences denouncing us. That’s the reason they’re on the list.”