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Posted on 10/01/2002 6:24:15 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
FIVE weeks before elections that could hand control of the US senate to the Republican party of President George Bush, Democrats were on a desperate hunt yesterday for a new candidate in a critical seat.
The dramatic fall from grace of Senator Robert Torricelli, the flamboyant New Jersey Democrat also known as "The Torch", was confirmed on Monday night when he called off his re-election campaign.
But his departure from the knife-edge struggle for the Senate is threatening another titanic legal and political struggle over yet another American election - before the votes are even cast.
Claims by a jailed businessman that he showered the senator with cash and gifts in an old-fashioned case of political corruption had seen Mr Torricelli’s polls plummet ahead of the 5 November Senate elections.
The Democratic leadership, which currently controls the Senate by the tiny margin of 50 votes to 49, said it would announce a replacement within 48 hours. But Republicans vowed a court fight to stop a new candidate’s name going on the ballot.
Mr Torricelli, 51, shot to political stardom in the high-rolling Clinton era as a man with a golden touch and a glamorous personal life - including dating Bianca Jagger. He tapped wealthy friends to help raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund Democrat politicians, including himself.
But he fell foul of claims that a businessman had illegally showered him with gifts of cash, Rolex watches, designer suits, and earrings for female friends. From being an easy favourite, his poll ratings this weekend saw him slump to up to 20 per cent behind his rival.
Close to tears, the career politician said he was stepping aside "to ensure that the Democratic Party can retain the seat", he said. "It is the most painful thing that I’ve ever done in my life."
The news has given a sudden lift to Republican hopes of retaking the US Senate this November, handing Mr Bush a clean sweep on the eve of a possible war on Iraq. The Republicans already have a majority in the lower House of Representatives, and are expected to hold on to it easily.
Mr Torricelli’s opponent, Doug Forrester, a business multi-millionaire, has poured at least $6 million of an estimated $50 million fortune into his campaign so far. He is vowing to fight any move to replace an opponent he has relentlessly pursued on the cash-for-favours scandal.
He immediately threatened to go to court, claiming local laws say no candidate can be replaced less than 51 days before an election.
"The laws of the state of New Jersey do not contain a ‘we think we’re going to lose so we get to pick someone new’ clause," he said.
Mitch Bainwol, a top Republican campaign official, added: "You can put somebody else on the ballot when somebody else has died, but political death does not qualify. He still has a pulse, which means he’s still on the ballot."
Larry Sabato, a leading US political analyst at the University of Virginia, confirmed yesterday to The Scotsman that Mr Torricelli and the Democrats’ bid to replace a failing candidate was unusual, to say the least.
"It’s unprecedented" in the history of the Senate, he said. The only previous case came from an election for the governor of the state of Minnesota in 1990, where a Republican caught in a scandal was forced out shortly before election day.
"His successor got on the ballot, and he won," said Mr Sabato. "This could easily happen in New Jersey, because it is a Democratic state, which is why the Republican is fighting so hard. If the Democrats get a well-known clean candidate, that person will probably win."
The Democratic leadership is said to be looking at one man in particular, a New Jersey congressman, Bob Menendez. If Republicans fought to block Mr Menendez, a Latino, they could be accused of race discrimination by a minority group the party has been assiduously courting.
Thirty-four of 100 Senate seats are up for grabs in November. US senators serve for six years, with a third of the members standing for election every two years.
If Mr Bush’s party wins the Senate, "it eliminates the largest part of the opposition to his plans for Iraq" and a lot of other things, said Mr Sabato.
In the US constitution, the Senate wields power over foreign policy and over the appointment of judges and supreme court justices, critical to conservatives long-running effort to have abortion declared illegal.
Several Senate seats are too close to call, but the New Jersey race could be decisive. "Literally, it is on the edge of the butter knife," said Mr Sabato. "That’s why this seat matters so much and why everybody brings out nuclear weapons: high-priced lawyers, court challenges, millions and millions of dollars of party money."
Mr Bush is among senior figures on both sides expected to campaign hard in New Jersey; Mr Torricelli was a close ally of Bill Clinton, and called him in London before deciding to step aside.
Mr Bush’s approval ratings in New Jersey run at about 60 per cent favourable, but his popularity is not as all-consuming there as in other parts of the US. The traditionally Democrat state has not elected a Republican senator for 20 years.
Mr Torricelli made his political career raising prodigious amounts of money, while dating the likes of Ms Jagger, vilifying Fidel Castro, and unlike many in his party backing the Gulf war.
But his reputation fell through the floor after jail-cell revelations by a businessman imprisoned for 18 months for making £40,000 in illegal donations to his campaigns.
David Chang claimed that he gave the senator everything from a £1,000 Persian rug to a CD player - along with an envelope stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash. Prosecutors said the evidence would not stand up in court, but the political damage was done. The affair has already earned an official Senate reprimand for Mr Torricelli.
Mr Chang called Mr Torricelli a "master criminal", in interviews broadcast on local TV.
Elected Republicans are running away from that like scalded dogs.
David Chang claimed that he gave the senator everything from a £1,000 Persian rug to a CD player - along with an envelope stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash. Prosecutors said the evidence would not stand up in court,
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But his reputation fell through the floor after jail-cell revelations by a businessman imprisoned for 18 months for making £40,000 in illegal donations to his campaigns
The evidence stood up against Chang.
Iraq is so far down on these guys' radar screens it might as well not exist. The Dems are sweating only one thing - their ability to dictate new Supreme Court nominees. That's what this dogfight is all about.
Good to hear from you! It's been a while since FRIVA in Las Vegas.
You're right. We have the big mo' now.
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