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Whitman Endorsement Strictly a Party Favor
By Fred Snowflack Daily Record Christie Whitman is no real fan of Bret Schundler. Anyone who tells you different is not being honest. Likewise, Schundler is no big fan of Whitman. But presto, Wednesday night in Parsippany, there was Whitman showing up at a Schundler rally sponsored by the Morris County Women's Republican organization. Things are apparently pretty slow at the federal Environmental Protection Agency these days if director Whitman can take time off for partisan politics. Cynics might say there are more similarities between Whitman and Democratic candidate James McGreevey than there are between the former governor and Schundler. Let's look at some of the issues. Whitman backs a woman's right to have an abortion; Schundler does not. Whitman supported the recently passed $8.6 billion school construction bill; Schundler suggests the measure will benefit only teachers and the construction industry. During her nearly eight years in office, Whitman did nothing to derail the state Supreme Court's Mount Laurel decision; Schundler wants the court ruling overturned. Whitman was an enthusiastic supporter of the state development and redevelopment plan; Schundler has doubts about it. None of that seemed to matter Wednesday night. Whitman was introduced by Lynn Schundler, the candidate's wife, and entered a very festive, a very hot and a very crowded ballroom in the Parsippany Hilton. "It's really important that Republican women get out there and support Bret," Whitman said. Schundler, she said, cares about issues that are most important to women. She said they include good schools, safe neighborhoods and low taxes. And in sticking with the recent theme of the Schundler campaign, Whitman said a win for McGreevey would be a return to the bad old days of "high taxes, high unemployment and high anxiety." She said it took Republicans to clean up the mess that Democrats had left. And why, Whitman asked, would the state want to go through something like that again? You expect a former Republican governor to support a Republican candidate for the statehouse, but the philosophical differences between Whitman and Schundler made Wednesday's event more noteworthy than it ordinarily would be. After all, Schundler has still not been endorsed by acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco. "It's something that you need to have," said Assemblyman E. Scott Garrett, R-Sussex. "Christie Whitman coming out here and saying, 'Come on aboard.'" Garrett pointed out that Republicans need the moderates to win Nov. 6. Mark Peck, a Madison councilman and a man who backed Schundler before it became fashionable, stressed the similarities between the two. All Republicans, he said, support limited government and low taxes. Peck tried to put a positive spin on the differences between them. "Perhaps she (Whitman) has seen the error of her ways," he said, implying that the former governor has turned to the right. Unlikely. Whitman's visit, naturally, had a strong political message: Something along the lines that Schundler really is all right. It came when polls show the Republican getting no more than 70 percent support from his own party. And support for Schundler from women who normally vote Republican is noticeably lacking. Witness a McGreevey appearance earlier this week with Barbara Lasaracina, the state's reigning teacher of the year. Lasaracina, a Republican, said she will vote for McGreevey because she likes the Democrat's views on public education. Schundler's strategy as the campaign winds down is to suggest that McGreevey will emulate former Democratic Governor Jim Florio and raise taxes. That strategy helped Whitman get elected (narrowly) in 1993. But how effective is it going to be in 2001? Florio hasn't held public office for eight years, and you have got to wonder how much political capital there is in dragging his name before the voters. Democrats eventually had to stop running against Richard Nixon, and New Jersey Republicans are going to eventually have to stop running against Florio. Fred Snowflack can be reached at fsnowflac@morristo.gannett.com or (973) 428-6617. _________________________________________________________________________ Democratic candidates across the state are unified under the 2001 Victory Statewide Coordinated Campaign. Volunteer opportunities are available in each of our field offices in every county in the state. For more information, please reply to this email. You have been sent this email because you or someone you know registered with our email distribution list. If you have received this message in error, please reply with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line using the email address you wish to remove. -PAID FOR BY NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE/ 2001 VICTORY-
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