The Brattleboro Reformer from Brattleboro, Vermont • 3

VERMONT Monday, October 28, 1996 Brattleboro Reformer Congressional candidates in high gear; Long gets endorsement By ROSS SNEYD Tha AjaocUted Praaa MONTPELIER As candidates crisscrossed the state this weekend searching for votes, Vermonts newspapers began endorsing their choices. And Democrat Jack Long, running a quixotic campaign for Congress, got one of the biggest prizes, an endorsement from The Burlington Free Press. He was described as the only candidate in this race who is balanced, free of political action committee influence and interested in the concerns of Vermonters. The two leading congressional candidates, incumbent Rep. Bernard Sanders and Republican Susan Sweetser, offer extremism, the Free Press said in its Sunday editions.

Vermonters looking for a moderate who will represent everyone not just the rich, not just the poor should give Long their vote, the newspaper said. Back on the campaign trail, the two heavyweights in the congressional race were stumping for votes. They got their best opportunity Saturday in Rutland. Late autumn always brings the big grudge match between the Rutland High and Mount St. Joseph Academy football squads.

And in election years, that crosS-town rivalry also draws the politicians. Saturday was no exception. Sanders and Sweetser took advantage of glorious, warm and sunny weather to prowl among the 2,000 fans crowded into the Rutland High stadium. Campaigning at the Rutland-MSJ game has practically become a political rite of passage. Sweetser took in the pre-game festivities and Sanders raced to Rutland after a Montpelier rally to catch the halftime crowd.

People have been wonderful," Sweetser said after the game. I think theyre starting to pay closer attention (to the election). With barely a week left before votes are cast, she and other statewide politicians hit the road in full stride on Saturday stumping for votes and laboring to energize their core supporters. Sanders loyalists gathered Saturday morning on the Statehouse lawn to hear speeches, listen to a song written in the congressmans honor and get fired up for Election Day. With Sanders roughly 20 points ahead in the polls, though, some fear complacency.

Lets look at it as if Bernies 5 percent behind in the polls, said Ron Pickering, president of the statewide Vermont Labor actor Robert Redford, who praised Sanders for his environmental record. But even more than that, both sides were intent on making high profile appearances around the state this weekend so their supporters could see them and get energized for the final push to Nov. 5. "We've got some stuff planned just to show theres energy in the campaign, that Susans got supporters out there, said Sweetser campaign field director Jeff Conner. Showing up at a spirited event like the Rutland-MSJ game only builds on that enthusiasm, Sweetser said as long as the politicking is confined to pre-game or halftime.

I dont do anything during the game. Theyd probably hand me my head, she said. Council, AFL-CIO. Apathys our biggest enemy. Sanders delivered one of his trademark speeches from the steps of the Statehouse to fire up the roughly 100 supporters who turned out.

What this election largely is about is what happened in Congress over the last two years, he said. Mr. Gingrich and his friends have developed an odd idea of national priorities. Most of what he said was standard fare from throughout the campaign. And at this stage, most candidates are busily hammering home the messages they have developed for months.

The television and radio advertising wars increasingly are how they reach voters and that continued unabated this weekend. The Sanders campaign, for example, began airing a radio spot featuring Sweetser Sanders views of 104th Congress show stark differences Where they stand Long said it also illustrated what has been a constant theme in his campaign. I tend to be a moderate, he said. The greatest differences among the candidates came on taxing and spending questions. Sanders and Sweetser agreed on none of them.

They differed, for example, on whether the president should have the line item veto. Sanders said no; Sweetser and Long said yes. They also disagreed on whether a two-thirds super-majority vote should be needed in Congress to raise taxes. Sanders voted no; Sweetser and Long said they supported it. The issues where all three candidates shared the same view largely were on social matters.

For example, Sweetser and Long said they would have voted as Sanders did to reject a bill that would have banned partial birth abortions. They also all three agreed they would have opposed a bill that would have denied public education and limit other benefits to the children of illegal immigrants. And they also agreed on support for the 1995 farm bill. Ive been saying all along Im a fiscal conservative but Im also a social moderate, Sweetser said. But she parted company with Sanders and Long on other key social issues, most particularly crime.

Sweetser said she would have voted in favor of a bill that would have made it more difficult for prisoners to appeal on constitutional grounds to the federal courts their death sen tences in state courts. The provision was part of an anti-terrorism bill. Victims can never put these crimes behind them, without limits on appeals, Sweetser said. Sanders said he believed the approach was potentially unconstitutional. You dont have to combat terrorism by throwing the Constitution in the garbage can, he said.

Sweetser and Long said they would have supported a different terrorism bill that would have provided more money to deport suspected terrorists and allowed chemical markers to be placed in explosives to help trace them after an attack. Sanders opposed the measure. Long and Sanders both opposed a repeal of the assault weapons ban, but Sweetser said she would have supported it. I think my views on crime are a lot more mainstream than Mr. Sanders, Sweetser said.

Long agreed with Sanders vote late last year on a Republican welfare reform plan that eventually was vetoed by the president. Sweetser said she would have supported it. Long and Sanders parted company on a final version of the bill that the president did end up signing. Long said he would have supported it. Sweetser said the welfare reform votes were one of the starkest differences between herself and Sanders, illustrating their divergence on an issue that crossed both social and economic lines.

He had four different welfare reforms that he voted No on, she said. By ROSS SNEYD The Associated Press MONTPELIER The positions taken by Vermonts leading congressional candidates on the issues that came before the 104th Congress demonstrate just how starkly they differ politically. Of 19 key votes in the House during the past two years, covering issues from foreign policy to farm subsidies, the three leading candidates agreed unanimously on just four. Republican Susan Sweetser said she would have voted with incumbent Rep. Bernard Sanders on just those issues, although Democrat Jack Long agreed with Sanders on a total of 11.

The issues were identified by Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan organization founded by former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter that is dedicated to educating the electorate. Project Vote Smart said the congressional votes highlighted major policies debated in the House during the past two years. Sanders and Sweetser said the comparison of their stands on the issues proved what they have been saying all along: They have vastly different ideas about government. Clearly, Ms. Sweetser and I have very different points of view, Sanders said.

Bemie and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum, Sweetser said. It has nothing to do with him trying to paint me as a Newt Gingrich clone. CRIME: Allowed detection agents in explosives, expanded deportation of criminal aliens, funded deportation of suspected terrorists, limited death penalty appeals, among other provisions. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long yes. ENVIRONMENT: Required wildlife refuges to expand recreational uses, including hunting and fishing.

Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long yes. FOREIGN POLICY: Sought international sanctions against Cuba and stronger sanctions. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long yes. FOREIGN POLICY: Authorized foreign affairs funding and abolished one of three foreign affairs agencies. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long no.

CRIME: Repealed 1994 ban on semi-automatic assault weapons. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long no. HEALTH: Made health insurance portable and established medical savings accounts. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long no. IMMIGRATION: Reduced illegal immigration by hiring agents and allowing states to deny education and limit benefits to children of illegal immigrants.

Sanders no; Sweetser no; Long no. LAW: Limited punitive damage awards and limited the time within which a product liability action had to be filed. Sanders no; Sweetser no; Long no. LAW: Vote to override presidents veto of bill reducing frivolous private class action lawsuits and requiring the losing party to pay the winning partys legal costs in certain cases. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long no.

By The Associated Press Here is the list of issues identified by Project Vote Smart as representative of the votes taken by the House during the 104th Congress. Incumbent Rep. Bernard Sanders vote is listed after each issue along with how Republican Susan Sweetser and Democrat Jack Long would have voted. Some of the issues were modified by the Senate or in a conference committee before they were sent to the president. Others did not survive in the Senate or were vetoed.

And different versions of some, such as welfare reform and the health care bill, became the final proposal and candidates positions changed depending on the specific language in the bill. ABORTION: Banning partial-birth abortions with an exception for when it is necessary to save the life of the woman. Sanders no; Sweetser no; Long no. AGRICULTURE: Phasing out the sugar price support program over five years and prohibiting federal loans to sugar producers after 1999. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long yes.

AGRICULTURE: 1995 farm bill overhauling federal farm programs. Sanders yes; Sweetser yes; Long yes. BUDGET: Line-item veto. Also contained provisions to increase the debt limit, increase the amount people ages 65 to 69 can earn without affecting their Social Security, and allow small businesses to take government regulations to court. Sanders no; Sweetser yes; Long yes.

CRIME: Deleted provision making it harder for prisoners to appeal to federal courts when sentenced to death in state courts. Sanders yes; Sweetser no; Long yes. Host ordered to keep shelters address secret saw the show. But he was threatening to hold a demonstration in front of the shelter, Mello said. So Mello sought, and won, the restraining order.

We dont believe there is any danger to the women who are there now, as long as he obeys the order, Mello said. Moore said he had planned to demonstrate for mens rights, but decided to cancel it before the restraining order. location of the shelter during a live program that aired on Oct. 7. Women Helping Battered Women keeps the location secret so abusers cant find their victims.

The show that featured Moore broadcasting the shelters address caused one of the biggest uproars Adelphia programming manager Lori Murphy has seen, she said. The show is no longer carried live. Moore must submit a tape of his show in advance so it can be reviewed for content. Moore said Adelphia was punishing him unfairly. My belief is he shelter address is common knowledge, particularly in the penal institutions and on the street.

Anyway, I did it inadvertently, Moore said. An attorney for the shelter, Robert Mello, said he thought few people knew the location even after Moore blurted it out on Oct. 7. We dont think many people BURLINGTON (AP) The host of a cable television show has been ordered by a judge to stop divulging the address of a battered womens shelter. The Women Helping Battered Women shelter went to Chittenden Superior Court Friday asking for the restraining order against Edward Moore.

He is the host of the Adelphia Channel 15 show Let the People Speak. He told his audience the Vermont Republican platform calls for end to abortion form convention. Conservatives disagree and cite the platform plank as a victory. Were really pleased. Its a barometer of where the party is, said Mary Hahn-Beerworth of the Vermont Right to Life Committee.

down any proposed amendments which attempt to restrict reproductive rights and divide us all. Stokes downplayed the importance of the platform. She said it represented only the interests of the 80 people who attended the convention. Only 1 percent of the eligible delegates to the platform convention voted on this, she said. The people who had an interest in this particular issue were the ones who chose to participate in the plat Conservative movements have been sweeping across the nation advocating what they describe as family values policies, including banning abortion and prohibiting same-sex marriage.

That conservative trend has largely bypassed Vermont. The state has no restrictions on abortion; efforts to pass parental notification and other restrictions have repeatedly failed in the Legislature. The Legislature approved a gay rights bill several years ago and last year approved adoptions by same-sex partners. But Vermont conservatives said they believed that was beginning to change because of growth in the membership of the Vermont Right to Life anti-abortion group; an increase in the number of conservative candidates for the Legislature; and the creation of conservative alternatives outside the Republican Party. Some of the partys statewide candidates have distanced themselves from the anti-abortion stance in the platform.

Congressional candidate Susan Sweetser urged the platform convention to avoid disrupting party unity over abortion. "We are a party of divided opinions on abortion, she wrote. Please keep the platform focused on the issues that unite us and vote Top GOP candidates back abortion rights BURLINGTON (AP) Vermonts Republican platform for the first time includes a plank that calls for an end to abortion. A conservative bloc of delegates to the platform convention approved the new language and some of the people who succeeded in getting it included said it reflected a growing conservative movement in Vermont. The platform is a good measure of where the base of the party is, said the Rev.

Craig Benson of Cambridge. The conservative church voice is becoming more heard, more articulated. However, Vermont Republican leaders said the partys candidates not the platform illustrate the beliefs of the state GOP. The top Republican candidates -for Congress, governor and lieutenant governor support abortion rights. Your party is measured by your candidates, said Ruth Stokes, executive director of the Vermont Republican Party.

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