RNC takes aim at liberal 'threat'

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Republicans will begin a major campaign offensive today to warn voters of far-left Democrats who would take leadership posts and committee chairmanships if they win control of Congress in November.

Republican officials said yesterday that a series of research papers produced by the Republican National Committee (RNC), some of which will be used in TV ads throughout the election season, will focus on the remarks and votes of liberal Democratic leaders that portray them as far outside the political mainstream.

The Republicans' first target will be House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi -- who would become speaker of a Democrat-run House -- who is quoted as saying, "I don't really consider ourselves at war" with terrorism, and that the elections "shouldn't be about national security."

When Mrs. Pelosi was asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" in May whether the Democrats' promise to conduct hearings on the war in Iraq could lead to President Bush's impeachment, the California Democrat replied, "Well, you never know where the facts take you," a Republican research paper said.

"The first vote each member of Congress takes is for who will lead their party, and for some candidates, the threat of a San Francisco liberal as third in succession to the presidency will be enough to make sure they never reach Capitol Hill," RNC spokesman Danny Diaz said.

Another Democrat singled out by the RNC is Florida Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, who would become the chairman of the intelligence committee if the Democrats win back the House in November. The former federal judge was indicted in 1981 on bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, and was removed from the bench in 1989 by the then-Democrat-controlled Congress in an impeachment proceeding.

Another Republican paper attacks California Rep. Henry A. Waxman, ranking Democrat on the wide-ranging Government Reform Committee, as "a liberal partisan pol poised to 'go after' any and all political opponents."

Mr. Waxman signed a lawsuit brief "that called domestic terrorist surveillance 'illegal,' " opposed reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, and voted against funds for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the RNC said.

"These educational pieces are aimed at informing the electorate about the true agenda that some of these radical Democrats have been espousing while they've been in Congress," Mr. Diaz said. "We are going to remind voters that the people who are in the Democratic leadership are people who are simply unpalatable to the vast majority of Americans."

The campaign papers will be e-mailed to the Republicans' voter list of 15 million activists who in turn will send them to voters within their precincts, districts and states, officials said.

Democrats yesterday dismissed the RNC's attacks.

"It's silly and a desperate attempt to distract voters from the Republicans' record of failure and an attempt to keep hold of power," said Stacie Paxton, the Democratic National Committee's press secretary.