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Staffers Quit Democrat Firm Over Attempt to Switch Electors

NewsMax.com Wires
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000

WASHINGTON (UPI) – Two top staffers in a Democrat consulting firm have resigned in a disagreement over a plan to contact Republican presidential electors in an effort to sway them to vote for Al Gore when electors cast their ballots Monday.

Ben Chao, one of two men who resigned from the firm of Bob Beckel and Associates, told United Press International Friday that "Beckel is compiling a report he will send, or may have already sent, to Republican electors on voting patterns, allegations of fraud in the election" and other political and demographic information about the 2000 election.

His letter will include "an editorial comment from him reminding the electors they have the option of abstaining from voting in the Electoral College."

"I did not think it was in my best interests or those of my clients to be associated in any way with this activity, so I resigned," Chao said, adding that it was an amicable separation.

Beckel, who heads the firm and managed Walter Mondale's disastrous presidential race in 1984, is well known as a frequent guest on political chat shows and as an occasional substitute host on CNN's "Crossfire."

He did not return telephone calls to his office Friday seeking comment.

"He is not doing background checks or opposition research on electors," Chao said. "The report he is going to send them is the only communication he has had or will have with electors."

"I think there are any number of people out there with any number of schemes.

"It is probably a lot more talk than it is reality," Chao said. "I think Beckel is doing something completely different" from what other people are said to be doing, "and he is working alone."

Chao says that any efforts to disrupt the electoral process as it goes forward would be ill-advised. Electors meet in their state capitals Monday to cast their ballots, which are counted in a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. The other staffer who resigned is Bud Jackson.

"We Democrats need to be talking about what we are about, what we are for, not what we are against," Chao said.

Beckel's Plan to 'Kidnap' Republican Electors

Shortly after the Nov. 7 election, UPI and other news outlets reported on efforts by Beckel to – using his word – "kidnap" Republican electors who are not bound by law to President-elect Bush and to switch them to failed Democrat former candidate Al Gore.

After a barrage of publicity and with Gore campaign chairman William Daley and recount adviser Warren Christopher publicly disavowing his effort, Beckel softened his tone, saying he was merely compiling information to send to some of the Bush electors.

"The simple fact of it [is] that when the Supreme Court decision came down, I got the sense that if three electors flip, giving Gore the presidency, he would not accept it," Chao said.

"If by some fluke, Al Gore wins a vote in the House, he would not accept it. Therefore, I saw no reason to instigate potential trouble with this report.

"I urged [Beckel] not to send the report. He told me, 'Ben, this is something I have to do.' At that point, I figured I am a young guy in the business, I make my living working for political candidates, and so I quit."

Chao said he still considered Beckel a close friend.

Bob Beckel

Exclusively Represented by Keppler Associates

Combining political savvy, sharp wit and top-level campaign experience, Beckel is one of the nation's premier political analysts. He writes a syndicated column for The Los Angeles Times, hosts CNN's Crossfire Sunday, and is a regular contributor to CBS This Morning. The founder and president of a highly successful political consulting firm, he managed Mondale's 1984 presidential campaign, politicizing Wendy's "Where's the beef?" slogan.

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Biography

Combining political savvy, campaign experience and a sharp wit, Bob Beckel has emerged as one of Washington's leading political analysts. Bob brings a veteran's perspective from his years in the White House, on Capitol Hill and leading dozens of election campaigns. In his own captivating style, he blends wry tales of life in the political trenches with a strategist's concise analysis, entertaining as he informs.

After a political baptism in Robert Kennedy's 1968 campaign, a tour of duty in the Peace Corps and a successful stint heading up his own consulting firm, Bob joined the government in 1977. As the youngest deputy assistant secretary of state in history, he steered the controversial Panama Canal Treaties through Congress. He moved to the White House to head an administration effort to press Congress into passing the Mideast and Salt II Treaties.

He resumed his career as a political consultant until Walter Mondale asked him to manage his 1984 presidential campaign. As national campaign manager, he oversaw Mondale's successful race for the Democratic nomination. Beckel is credited with pulling together the campaign after its defeat in New Hampshire, and he became known as the man who so effectively wrapped "Where's the Beef?" around Gary Hart.

During the 1988 presidential campaign, Beckel was an on-air consultant for ABC News. He regularly appeared on CBS This Morning and as the on-air consultant for WUSA/Channel 9 News in Washington, DC during the 1992 presidential campaign. For the two years it aired, he was the moderator on Fox Television's weekly public affairs program Off the Record. He was also a co-host on Mutual Radio's Buchanan & Company.

Beckel is president of Bob Beckel and Associates, a political analysis and public affairs company he formed in 1985 which monitors trends and developing issues in American politics for its clients.

Beckel is also a popular speaker and commentator. He is co-host of CNN's Crossfire Sunday and regularly appears on CBS This Morning. He has appeared often on CBS News and NBC Nightly News and is a frequent guest on shows such as Face the Nation, Meet the Press and Nightline. In addition, he writes a syndicated column for the Los Angeles Times.

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