[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 30 (Thursday, March 17, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      PIG-PILING ON THE PRESIDENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, every time I hear a Republican come to this 
floor and carp about Whitewater, I'm reminded of the oldest football 
play in the book.
  A play that every losing team employs when they reach the point of 
absolute desperation.
  A play that simply says:
  When you can't beat the other team on offense;
  And you can't beat them on defense;
  You resort to the one simple strategy you have left; you kill the guy 
with the ball. You pig-pile on the quarterback.
  And that's what we're seeing on Whitewater.
  The Republicans have lost the crime issue.
  They have lost the jobs issue.
  They have lost welfare reform.
  They have lost deficit reduction,
  They were wrong about last year's budget.
  In the face of all their doom and gloom predictions, the economy has 
begun to rebound and create jobs.
  And on top of all that, polls show that the American people believe 
that Republicans are doing all they can to block health care reform.
  And now, as an act of final desperation, the Republicans are forced 
to play the one card they have left: they're pig-piling on the 
President * * * and pig-piling on the First Lady * * * and trying to 
distract attention from the fact that Republicans have nothing to offer 
on the issues that the American people care about.
  Don't just take my word for it, Mr. Speaker.
  Read the story that ran in the Wall Street Journal last Friday about 
Whitewater.
  The Wall Street Journal described one high-ranking Republican House 
Member who, and I quote, ``welcomes the controversy as a vehicle for 
blocking movement on Mr. Clinton's health plan'' * * * and quote 
``boasted'' that it's quote, ``kept the President and Mrs. Clinton from 
being able to focus on health care.''
  Another high-ranking Republican was asked about the G.O.P. strategy 
on Whitewater, and he responded, and I quote ``We have to conduct 
ourselves in a way that ensures Bill Clinton is a one-term president.''
  And the same Member adds that he and other Members of the Republican 
Theme Team will now, and I quote, ``hammer on this issue every day.''
  Mr. Speaker, that's what the Wall Street Journal said.
  And Newsweek adds, and I quote, ``the GOP's House and Senate campaign 
committees are turning Whitewater into a centerpiece of their fund-
raising drives.''
  It's clear that Republicans are doing all they can to turn Whitewater 
into a weapon of political assassination.
  The truth is, Republicans know that the President and the First Lady 
have not been accused of a single crime.
  They know the White House is fully cooperating with the special 
prosecutor that the Republicans called for.
  They know the President is being up-front about all of this.
  But still they persist.
  And they'll say anything and do anything just to see what they can 
get away with.
  Let me give you an example of how they're trying to politicize this 
issue.
  Last week, in a letter signed by 81 GOP Members of this body, the 
Republicans charged that the reason Mrs. Clinton delivered speeches 
attacking drug companies last year was not because drug companies 
charge senior citizens five times more for medicine here than they do 
anywhere else, they insinuate it was because Mrs. Clinton hoped that 
her speeches would drive the value of drug company stocks down so she 
could make money on them.
  Their principal piece of evidence is Mrs. Clinton's holdings in a 
Little Rock investment fund, which last year sold health stocks short.
  In fact, last month, Republicans had already asked the Director of 
the Office of Government Ethics, Stephen Potts, to look into the 
charge.
  Keep in mind, Mr. Potts is a Republican, he was appointed by 
President Bush, and he's serving a 5-year term.
  And in a February 10 letter to the Republicans, Mr. Potts flatly 
states that there is no basis for investigating the First Lady's 
investment in the fund under any applicable Federal ethics law.
  Furthermore, the president of the partnership Mrs. Clinton belonged 
to, who is also a Republican, said, and I quote:

       Here we have 81 U.S. Representatives. They represent us. 
     They're supposed to have some idea of justice. But they made 
     not one phone call to check and see if their information 
     might not be false.

  Not one single phone call. And you know why?
  Because they know the charge is false.
  They know there's no truth to it.
  They know it's nothing more than a politically motivated witch hunt.
  And it makes you wonder: if they're willing to mislead the American 
people on this small issue, why should we believe any thing else they 
say about Whitewater?
  The truth is, we shouldn't. It's nothing but a political gambit to 
distract attention away from the fact that they have nothing to offer 
on jobs, health care, crime, or deficit reduction.
  And if there's one thing I learned playing football, whenever you 
play kill the guy with the ball, in the end, it's not the guy with the 
ball that gets killed, it's you.

                          ____________________