Enron 'Key' Issue for Democrats (YADA YADA YADA ALERT!) Candidates Tying Company to Social Security

Several Democratic candidates in competitive House races have begun to evoke Enron in their advertising in an attempt to link the collapse of the energy giant to lingering concerns over retirement security.

The effort to connect the Enron employees who lost their retirement savings with potential Republican plans for privatization of SocialSecurity signals a larger Democratic effort to use Enron's demise as a campaign issue in November.

"This is going to be a key issue for us," said Democratic CongressionalCampaignCommittee Executive Director Howard Wolfson on Friday.

Democrats believe that they can use Enron not only to symbolize the potential pitfalls in privatizing SocialSecurity but also on a variety of issues ranging from tax cuts to alleged Republican coziness with special interests.

Republicans argue that no evidence is available that justifies Democratic hopes of Enron as a political point-scorer with voters.

"[Enron] is not a political issue nor is it a proxy for a political issue," said NationalRepublicanCongressionalCommittee Communications Director Steve Schmidt.

At least two Democrats vying for their respective primary nominations, however, are attempting to make political hay out of the defunct energy company.

Ex-Rep. JillLong Thompson (D-Ind.) is running both radio and TV ads seeking to tie Enron to the SocialSecurity issue in voters' minds.

"Ever since thatEnron scandal I have been worried sick that could happen to us," says the woman.

"What happened toEnron workers was tragic and an outrage," says Long Thompson. "Now some inCongress want to let WallStreet gamble withSocialSecurity in the same way."

Long Thompson is considered the favorite in the Democratic primary in the open 2nd district to replace retiring Rep. Tim Roemer (D).

In West Virginia, attorneyJimHumphreys, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to face freshman Rep.ShelleyMoore Capito (R) inthe 2nd district, is airing a television commercial pledging to "take on big corporations like Enron and protect workers' pensions."

Humphreys will faces off with former state Supreme Court Justice MargaretWorkman in the May 21 Democratic primary.

These latest ads are not the first this cycle in which Democrats have mentioned Enron.

Earlier in the year in North Carolina, the Democratic SenatorialCampaign Committee ran an ad attacking ElizabethDole (R) for attending a Senate fundraiser with then-EnronChairman Kenneth Lay just nine days after the Sept. 11 attacks.

And in South Dakota, Senate Majority Leader ThomasDaschle (D) ran an ad in his homestate inJanuary defending his economic-stimulus package and pointing out that under the Republican plan many large corporations would be exempt from paying taxes.

The parties are deeply divided over whether Enron will motivate voters to hand the House to Democrats.

"Anybody who tells you that Enron is not going to be an issue in this election cycle does not have an understanding of how voters feel about it," said DCCCCommunications Director JennyBackus.

Backus called Enron a "metaphor and a symbol for the underlying subtheme in this election, which is thatRepublicans have forgotten the needs of their voters back at home."

She notes that Enron has been an issue candidates have been hearing about from voters and will be a theme national Democrats hope to utilize in a number of districts around the country.

"There is no questionEnron is out there as an issue from the massive onslaught of press coverage," Backus said.

"As a committee we can work with our campaigns," to tailor the Enron message, she added.

Some Democrats, however, say that the Enron message needs to be packaged for specific districts and not used solely as a national issue.

"It will help Democrats against selected Republican incumbents," said Democratic pollsterFred Yang. "It is a candidate-by-candidate issue."

Republicans dismiss the potency of Enron as a political issue and as a metaphor for the Democratic agenda.

"This is not a new argument," said Republican National Committee Executive Director of Political Operations Terry Nelson, "it is just the same old argument wrapped up in a different way."

The NRCC's Schmidt said the idea that Democrats will use Enron in the November elections "speaks to the bankruptcy of ideas in the Democratic Party."

"The American people understand thatEnron was a business scandal," said Schmidt.

"The fact of the matter is that the only instance where Enron got something for its political donations was during the Clinton administration."

"The fact of the matter is that the only instance where Enron got something for its political donations was during the Clinton administration."

Democreeps never learn. I guess a couple of hits over the head with a "Two by Four" would help.

Exactly. This is a Democratic not a Republican scandal. If they wan't to hang themselves, then we should give them all the rope they want.

A privatization plan for SS will not involve letting a person invest in any one stock for a short-term gain. Privitized funds will be invested in diversified fund families for multiple years. Any losses in the short term will be eclipsed by the overall performance during the life of the investment. The rate of return will still be greater than leaving it in the hands of the government.

Bring it on! Let's actually compare the Enron debacle to Social Security itself. Screw hypotheticals. Have the Democrats explain the accounting principles behind Social Security. Have them explain the rates of return to black men. Have them explain the rates of return to divorced women who were married for less than 10 years. Have them explain why it was bad for Enron employees to have all of their eggs in that basket, but it's a great idea for every US taxpayer to have their eggs in an identical one.

If the GOP has any teeth, they'll devour this issue.

You've called that right. All the wailing of Enron employees losing their life savings in this crooked company pales in comparison to the millions of Enron suppliers, customers and contractors who have lost jobs (including mine) and money for dealing with this crooked company. At least some of the Enron employees were in on the fix. The rest of use were dealing in good faith with what we thought was a legitimate company.

No,DemocRats don't ever learn!It's back"The Future"with that famous slogan of"The BeelzeBubba"campaigns"Scaring People First"!!They have nothing to offer but FEAR,GLOOM,and HIGHER TAXES!!!Instead of a two-by-four,I'd recommend a SIX-BY-SIX.We're talking THICK HEADS HERE!!!!

Those Demo candidates have, apparently, failed to take notice that The Media has DROPPED the idea of Enron as something that can be tied to Pubbies. If the MEDIA has dropped it, you can be sure that the issue is not one that has much traction. You may also be assured that they have nothing else whatsoever to talk about.

Michael

I saw a recent poll that showed that Enron was a top concern of 1% of those polled. I guess they must have call the DNC after 4PM that day and didn't get a chance to put a thumb on the scale. Coach

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