Dole Steps Up Effort to Paint Clinton as Liberal
Robert J. Dole issued an unusual campaign rebuke today, telling critics who have portrayed President Clinton as a poll-driven politician of no principle that they have misunderstood a man with a deep commitment -- to liberalism.</br></br>"Some say that Bill Clinton will take any position, say anything as a matter of political convenience," Dole told the Economic Club of Detroit in a luncheon speech earlier today. "But the record of his first term shows a very different story. This is a man with a commitment to a very specific view of government."</br></br>The Republican presidential nominee then took aim at some of the most controversial aspects of Clinton's first two years in office, including his ill-fated "economic stimulus package," the tax increase he pushed through a Democratic-controlled Congress and the failed attempt to overhaul the nation's health care system.</br></br>"These are not actions of a finger-in-the-wind politician that's waiting for the polls," Dole said. "These are the actions of an old-style, dyed-in-the-wool, big-spending liberal committed to a government that spends and spends and taxes and taxes. These are the actions of someone who -- once the spotlight of the campaign has been turned off -- will take every opportunity to increase the size of government even as he decreases the size of your wallet."</br></br>The Clinton campaign responded that Clinton has cut the size of the executive branch since taking office and reduced the federal deficit by 60 percent. "The truth is, despite Dole's negative attacks, the economy is on the right track," said Clinton campaign press secretary Joe Lockhart.