*LOST IS FOUND: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Lugar (R.-Ind.) on February 25, quietly and unanimously approved the extremely anti-American Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), long a goal of the United Nations. The treaty, flatly rejected by President Reagan, now goes to the full Senate, where it needs a two-thirds vote to be ratified. LOST would create a new international body and court that could totally wipe out U.S. deep-sea mining and oil drilling and tightly restrict U.S. ocean research and exploration. President Clinton tried to move the treaty forward, but with no success. Now a Republican-controlled Senate committee is taking up the cause.
*PHONE FRIST: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) schedules all floor votes in the Senate and can single-handedly block the Law of the Sea Treaty. To register your opinion with the Republican leader, call Frist's office at: (202) 224-3344.
*ASHCROFT BEATS ACLU: A new Gallup Poll shows that 64% of Americans believe the Patriot Act is either "about right" or "does not go far enough in restricting people's civil liberties in order to fight terrorism." Only 26% said they think the law goes "too far."
The same poll pitted the judgment of Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft against the judgment of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) when it comes to properly balancing the need to protect Americans from terrorist attacks with the need to protect basic civil liberties. Fifty-seven per cent said they have a "great deal" or "moderate amount" of confidence in John Ashcroft. Only 43% could say the same thing about the ACLU. A majority, 53%, said they trusted the ACLU "not much" or "not at all."
*ELWAY IN? With the surprise announcement last week by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R.-Colo.) that he would not seek re-election this year, the political scene in the Centennial State was upended. Former Sen. Gary Hart (D.) and Rep. Mark Udall (D.) quickly said that they would not seek the Democratic Senate nomination, leaving Democrats scrambling for a top ten candidate. Gov. Bill Owens, Rep. Scott McInnis, and former Rep. Bob Schaffer-all considered strong GOP conservatives-were mulling the race. But the most intriguing GOP prospect is John Elway, the retired Denver Broncos great, who is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
*COBURN WILL RUN: Oklahoma Republican Party establishmentarians were jolted last week when former Rep. Tom Coburn, a conservative hero, announced he would seek the GOP nomination for the seat of retiring Sen. Don Nickles (R.-Okla.). Efforts by Nickles and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R.-Okla.) to guarantee the Republican Senate nomination to Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphrey did not sit well with the GOP grassroots.
Coburn, the one-time head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, kept his term-limit pledge to retire after three terms in 2000, but he also kept his hand in politics as a conservative activist, occasional talking head, and author of Breach of Trust-How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders. In his time in the House, Coburn consistently and aggressively fought government spending-while rankling party leaders who wanted to increase it. As a senator he would have far greater power to publicize and obstruct big government projects.
*DOWN, NOT OUT: Even before he was defeated in California's Republican U.S. Senate primary last week, conservative former state legislator Howard Kaloogian was launching a new campaign. This one is to recall Democratic State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer for failure to take action against San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's issuing of gay marriage licenses.
Last year, Kaloogian served as chairman of the initial committee to recall former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Last week, he served Lockyer with a Notice of Intent to Recall. Along with fellow Davis-recall operative Ted Costa, Kaloogian has begun collecting signatures to place Lockyer's recall on the statewide ballot. In denouncing his failure to defend California's Proposition 22 (defining marriage as a union between man and woman), Kaloogian contrasted Lockyer with New Mexico Democratic Atty. Gen. Patricia Madrid, who dispatched law enforcement to stop gay marriages in her state.
*CALLING KERRY: After Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry wrapped up the Democratic nomination last Tuesday by winning 9 of 10 Super Tuesday primaries, President Bush called to congratulate him. "Last night I placed a call to Sen. John Kerry," Bush told a crowd in Los Angeles the next day. "I told him I was looking forward to a spirited campaign."
Then Bush said of Kerry: "He spent two decades in Congress. He built up quite a record. In fact, Sen. Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue."
