A Politician Who’s Deft at Damage Control

It’s simple logic: If a load of manure falls on you, the best course is to step clear of the mess, not wallow around in it. Amazingly, however, politicians tend to freeze and then wallow. An exception this week was state Treasurer Matt Fong, who gave a textbook demonstration on how to fast-step out of crud.

He may not be completely free, depending on unforeseen developments, and there probably will be fallout from political opponents clambering to capitalize on his embarrassment. But right now he’s getting kudos for deft damage control.

President Clinton could learn a lesson: When caught in a perceived scandal, the best way to respond is to respond--quickly, frankly and plainly.

To summarize, Newsweek magazine on Sunday reported that the FBI is investigating whether $50,000 in campaign contributions Fong received from an Indonesian who owns L.A. businesses actually originated in mainland China, perhaps with the communist government. On Monday, Fong acknowledged the figure really was $100,000, counting a donation from a company headed by the donor’s daughter.

He didn’t hem or haw. He returned reporters’ phone calls. He also sent an overnight letter to the donor, Ted Sioeng, asking him to verify within 24 hours that the contributions were legal. If not, Fong advised, he would return the money. And that’s precisely what he did when Sioeng failed to reply.

“I want absolutely no cloud, no suspicion, no doubt about my . . . conduct,” the moderate Republican said in a statement.

Granted, returning the $100,000 was relatively painless because it came out of Fong’s moribund treasurer campaign account, which received the donations two years ago. Fong currently is running for the U.S. Senate and it’s not clear how much of the $700,000 treasurer kitty he can spend, although some may qualify for his Senate effort. Fong says he also may donate $100,000 to pro-democracy forces in Hong Kong, as a “gotcha” to the commies if they indeed were trying to meddle in his politics.

But regardless of subtleties, what the public saw was a politician who didn’t look like he had something to hide.

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For Fong, the timing was lousy, coming practically on the eve of his first two Senate fund-raising dinners--Tuesday in Los Angeles and Wednesday in San Francisco. He raised an estimated $700,000 at the $1,000 per plate affairs. But some advisors wondered whether the take would have been higher if not for this latest flap involving possibly tainted foreign political donations.

The scandals involving Asian money--foreign Asian, not Asian American--are especially sensitive for Fong, a Chinese American.

“If you have an Asian surname and write a check for a campaign you seem to immediately become suspect,” lamented a Fong strategist, veteran consultant Ray McNally. “But in some ways, all this could help. It could energize the Asian American community. It’s more likely to tick them off than scare them off.”

Of the roughly 500 supporters who attended Fong’s L.A. dinner at the Biltmore Hotel, it seemed at least a third were Asian American. I asked several for their reactions to the brewing scandals--whether they felt unfairly implicated as an ethnic group, whether their political enthusiasm was being dampened or, conversely, whether they now were even more fired up.

Their answers were all of the above.

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“I think it has had a serious impact, a chilling impact,” said Charles Woo, 46, an L.A. toy manufacturer and Chamber of Commerce board member. But the first-generation American added, “I’ve been determined not to let it bother me.”

L.A. attorney Stewart Hsieh, 44, a third-generation Californian, said that “in some ways, I think we’re being picked on.” Consequently, he continued, some of his friends are becoming more politically active “to show them we’re not like [the foreign donors]. We’re American.”

South Pasadena Mayor Paul W. S. Zee, 47, born in mainland China and raised in Hong Kong, said he’s hearing that “now’s the time we really need to pull together and support Asian American candidates. Why are they nit-picking Asian money?”

But, the mayor asserted, “The biggest effect is on political candidates who are fighting each other. They’re just using it as an excuse for attacks.”

No question, all this has made irresistible fodder for Republicans beating on Democrats in Washington--and perhaps, ultimately, for Fong’s GOP primary opponents in California. (San Diego Mayor Susan Golding and wealthy San Diego businessman Darrell Issa, so far).

One can see the TV spot now: Fong took Red Chinese money. Talk about manure!