3 Republicans Stress Their Strengths Against Feinstein

Bouncing from issues of foreign policy to state propositions, the three main Republican candidates for U.S. Senate spent much of an hourlong debate Thursday touting their potential to beat incumbent Dianne Feinstein in November.

The front-runner, Rep. Tom Campbell of San Jose, said he is the best bet because he is willing to take controversial positions when necessary. And he took one during the Commonwealth Club event, saying economic aid to Israel is unnecessary because the country’s “economic situation is able to sustain itself.”

San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn said he would be Feinstein’s harshest opponent because he’s the most willing to attack her friendly positions toward China. Twice he called her “Dianne Blum,” an attempt to make clear a link to the Chinese business ties of her husband, Richard Blum.

“I would go after her every vote,” the ex-Marine said, describing himself as a bulldog.

And state Sen. Ray Haynes’ secret weapon would be his ability to distinguish himself from Feinstein “on every issue,” Haynes said. Haynes, who is from Riverside, has sought to define himself as the purest Republican in the race in contrast to Campbell, a moderate who supports abortion rights and some gun controls.

There were a few heated moments, principally when Horn referred to Campbell’s proposal for limited experimental drug distribution programs as a plan for “legalizing drugs.”

“I did not say I’d ever legalize drugs,” Campbell interrupted, his face reddening. “Be accurate.”

There also were moments of levity, including when Haynes was asked about his inability to turn right-wing endorsements into campaign contributions.

“I’m uniquely bad at raising money,” Haynes said, laughing. Then, trying to turn the answer to his advantage, he said that perhaps big donors are shunning him because “I’ve told them more often than not to go pound sand and they don’t like it.”

Campbell tried, with little success, to turn the debate into a discussion about President Clinton’s proposal to invest $1.3 billion in helping Colombia fight drug trafficking and leftist insurgents.

He called it “a jungle war” and challenged the presidential candidates to bring it up on their campaign trails “before it’s too late and we’re in it.”

But the other two candidates largely ignored his suggested topic, sticking instead to their stump speeches.

Applause from members of the Commonwealth Club, a nonprofit public service club founded in 1903, was consistently strongest for Campbell. His most spontaneous support came when he was the only one of the three to oppose Proposition 22, the March ballot initiative that would bar recognition of gay marriages in California.

Haynes said gay marriages would “start breaking down the family,” adding that “it is better for children to live in a family of husband and wife.”

Horn said that while “other folks have different kinds of relationships, they are not marriages.”

Campbell answered with a question: “Why can’t we leave people alone?”

Thursday’s debate occurred just hours after Feinstein and her would-be challengers submitted their final campaign reports before the primary. The reports, like the polls, suggest a Feinstein-Campbell matchup in November.

Indeed, while Campbell trailed the incumbent in fund-raising last year, his latest report showed that he has collected slightly more in contributions than Feinstein--$428,000 versus $412,000--in the first six weeks of this year. But Feinstein, who has a major fund-raising event next week featuring President Clinton, still reported almost twice as much campaign cash on hand as Campbell has--$1.36 million versus $747,000.

Haynes and Horn made scant progress in fund-raising. Haynes reported only $37,753 in contributions and just $17,316 in cash on hand as of Feb. 16. Horn had raised just $13,200 and the multimillionaire had barely touched the $300,000 he loaned his own campaign.

In the past two weeks, the three men have been carrying their divergent messages to radio talk shows and Sizzler restaurants. Horn and Haynes are courting the most conservative voters, while Campbell reaches for moderates.

Haynes, for instance, spoke at a Wednesday night meeting organized by the architects of Proposition 187, the anti-illegal immigration initiative approved by voters in 1994 but largely invalidated by the courts. He told them the United States needs to “have enough guts” to actively deport illegal immigrants. He also spoke of his frustration in serving in a Legislature dominated by Democrats.

“Most of these folks don’t have a basic concept of what liberty is,” Haynes told 30 members of the Coalition for Immigration Reform in Garden Grove. “If they ever were forced to read the Constitution, since a lot of them were products of public schools [they] would have a problem understanding what was written.”

Feinstein remains far ahead of the GOP candidates in the polls. And with less than two weeks to go before the primary, she unveiled a television commercial earlier this week in a move to solidify her position. Previously only Campbell had turned to television.