Dole Proposes ‘Another Way’ in GOP Reply

Offering “another view, another way,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole said Tuesday night that Democrats and Republicans have profound differences over how to solve the nation’s problems, suggesting, in effect, that Americans give him a chance to lead.

Dole sought in the GOP response to portray himself as a forward-looking man with old-fashioned values shared by most Americans, while describing President Clinton as “almost the last public defender of a discredited status quo.”

The front-runner for this year’s GOP presidential nomination spoke from his Senate office minutes after Clinton completed his third State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress.

The two nationally televised speeches amounted to dueling campaign orations, providing a glimpse of the themes that will dominate the race for the White House this autumn. Unlike the president’s 61-minute speech, Dole’s lasted only about 10 minutes.

Referring to the unresolved--and often rancorous--budget dispute, the Kansas senator said: “What we’re really arguing about are the values that will shape our nation, our government and the future of your child sleeping down the hall.”

“Our battles will not be about numbers. They will be about the character of our nation,” he said, adding:

“Yes, this country has problems. . . . But we can handle them.”

But Dole offered scant details of his own proposals to solve America’s problems. Instead, he recited the GOP mantra that was uttered by most Republicans in Congress throughout 1995:

“We must rein in our runaway government, return power to the people, reduce the tax burden, put parents back in charge of our schools, untie the hands of our police, restore justice to our courts and put our faith once again in the basic goodness, wisdom and self-reliance of our people.”

Dole, 72, said younger Americans must make sacrifices that he did not specify, an apparent reference to reductions in government services already proposed in Republican plans that Clinton has vetoed.

In calling for sacrifices, Dole also evoked, however tangentially, his military service during World War II, in which he was gravely injured.

“Thanks to God and fortune and to those who went before, we don’t have to conquer a dangerous frontier, we don’t have to fight another great war,” Dole said. “What we do have to do is face the fact that we cannot give in to all of our own desires.”

But in scaling back government, Dole vowed: “We will always be mindful of the poor and disadvantaged, education and the environment.”

Dole also noted that Clinton has vetoed the GOP welfare reform plan, opposed the Republican Medicare reform proposals, fought against a proposed $245-billion tax cut and vetoed a balanced budget, and then said:

“It’s as though our government, our institutions and our culture have been hijacked by liberals and are careening dangerously off course.”

He added: “We know the way back.”

Other Republicans responded similarly, agreeing even before the address to describe Clinton as a “say-anything, do-nothing president . . . long on promises but short on follow-through.”

“Bill Clinton talks like a born-again conservative but, when the American people focus on what Bill Clinton really believes, they see a congenital liberal,” said House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas).

Rep. Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.) said he found it “stunningly peculiar” that Clinton would hail the demise of big government, while offering what Walker characterized as “a prescription for even more big government.”

“There was a series of disconnects that creates a real credibility gap,” Walker added.

Other Republican lawmakers offered similar critiques.

“The president said repeatedly this is the end of big government,” said Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach). “Yet, in this speech, he proposed no fewer than 10 programs and program expansions and not a single cut.”

Huntington Beach Republican Dana Rohrabacher asked, “Is there anything this man doesn’t want the government involved in? If you’ve got an itch, he’ll find a way for the government to scratch it.”

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who watched the speech from his office, criticized what he said was Clinton’s attempt to appear as a moderate.

“I figured out what he thinks is the formula to be perceived as a new Democrat and moderate. He gave half a Bob Dornan-Ronald Reagan speech and half a liberal speech,” Dornan said. “He thinks that by giving half and half, you come out in the middle as a moderate.”

If Republicans shared any feelings of guilt when Clinton, by inference, blamed them for the recent federal government shutdowns and implored them to raise the federal debt ceiling to avoid a government default, they did not acknowledge them.

“I was incredulous,” said Rep. David M. McIntosh (R-Ind.), a member of the House freshman class that has been criticized by Clinton and others for contributing to the current state of gridlock. He said the fault lies with Clinton, who chose not to sign GOP budget bills because proposed spending reductions were deeper than Democrats preferred.

McIntosh said Republicans plan to resubmit essentially the same bills as those vetoed by Clinton.

“Everything he asked for [Tuesday evening], let’s send him those bills. If he really meant it to the American people, he’ll sign it. If he didn’t, he’ll veto it and we’ll take it to the [November] election,” McIntosh said.

Other Republicans also dismissed the president’s remarks.

“They were hollow words coming from a hollow man,” Rep. Ron Packard of Oceanside said.

The Republican National Committee, fearing that Clinton would use his high-profile address to bash the GOP congressional agenda, began faxing out statements challenging the president’s assertions even as Clinton spoke.

“There’s a big gap between his rhetoric and his actions . . . and how he represents what we Republicans are doing,” said Mary Mead Crawford of the GOP committee.

One Republican, however, had a more positive take on Clinton’s message. Rep. Jay C. Kim of Diamond Bar said it’s hard for anyone to disagree with wanting to help children and families, improve education or eliminate crime.

“I think it was one of his best speeches. And with a few exceptions, I agree with most of what he said,” Kim said. “The vision is fine, but it can never materialize without a blueprint.”

Democrats, meanwhile, expressed far more satisfaction with Clinton’s address.

“The agenda the president has set out provides an excellent starting point for action,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). “The president calls responding to the needs of working people a ‘challenge’ for Congress. I call it doing our job.”

Freshman Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) said he was elated by Clinton’s advocacy of campaign finance reform, an issue on which Feingold has worked tirelessly. “It’s going to help,” he said.

Amid the avalanche of instant analyses, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) offered a seasoned politician’s perspective.

“These addresses--anybody can make of them what they want,” Feinstein said. But in delivering a speech widely perceived as a kickoff for Clinton’s reelection campaign, the president met the challenge, she said.

“It was a compendium of the best achievements and of six goals for the future,” she said. “It was practical and it was proper.”

Rebecca S. Weiner, a writer for States News Service, contributed to this story