Reprinted from The Washington Times , 5am -- May 4, 1998
TOP POLITICAL STORY
Goodling opponent finds GOP friends
By Sean Scully
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
For the second time, Charlie Gerow is trying the impossible --but this time he has some powerful friends.
Mr. Gerow, a Republican lawyer and professor, is trying to unseat Rep. Bill Goodling, Pennsylvania Republican and chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. He took 45 percent of the primary vote against Mr. Goodling in 1996.
"It is a pretty formidable task taking on a committee chairman," Mr. Gerow said. "When I first decided to run, even some of my closest friends politely chuckled."
This time, Mr. Gerow has the backing of conservative activists, including Gary Bauer, head of the Family Research Council, and Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan's attorney general.
Mr. Gerow "holds positions that are important to me," including support for term limits and a strategic missile defense, said Mr. Meese, who won't directly criticize Mr. Goodling, yet went to the district last week to campaign for the challenger.
Mr. Bauer's political action committee -- the Campaign for Working Families -- endorsed the challenger and sent him $5,000.
"The conservative grass roots have become upset with the leadership" in Washington, said Peter Dickinson, executive director of the PAC.
Conservatives nationwide have expressed frustration with Republicans on Capitol Hill, saying the confrontational fire of 1994 has dimmed. Upstart conservative challengers knocked off centrist favorites in early elections in California and Illinois. Conservative leaders have warned of a split in the party.
Mr. Gerow said he shares the conservative frustration but is not aiming to split the party.
"If I thought for one minute there was a prospect that a liberal Democrat could take this seat [because of a GOP primary fight], I wouldn't run," he said.
Mr. Goodling, a member of Congress since 1974, has long been dogged by charges that he was too cozy with Democrats when they were in power.
"Education and foreign affairs should be a bipartisan effort," he said in a 1994 interview.
He's also earned the wrath of conservatives since the GOP victory in 1994. For example, he generally opposes school vouchers, citing constitutional concerns.
In 1994, he supported $400 million for the Goals 2000 program designed to set standards for education and widely disliked by conservatives.
And in 1995, he opposed a Republican plan to disband the Department of Education, backing an alternative to merge it with the Department of Labor.
"Conservatives have become disappointed ... they clearly believe that we need to reclaim the legacy of Ronald Reagan and put the conservative agenda back on the front burner," Mr. Gerow said.
Mr. Goodling couldn't be reached for this article, but he has denied being soft on conservative issues. His record has some conservative highlights: His committee helped create the 1996 welfare reform legislation and since 1995 has been pushing to cut off funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.
"We think he's the best man for the post," said John Thompson, chairman of the Republican Party of York County, which endorsed the incumbent, "particularly now that Congress is going to do more about education."
Republican officials in Washington are taking Mr. Gerow's challenge seriously.
"We're paying very close attention -- but ultimately the voters are going to make the decision," said Mary Crawford, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is backing Mr. Goodling.
In comments to The Washington Times last month, Mr. Goodling acknowledged that he has a tough primary challenge and said that some of the very positions that have helped Republicans improve their image at large, could hurt him in the primary.
"In a low-turnout year, people angry that you haven't abolished the Department of Education could make the difference," he said.
- Staff writer Nancy Roman contributed to this report.
Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
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