[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 18, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    THOUGHTS ON A NEGATIVE APPROACH

  (Mr. LINDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may proceed.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry.
  Mr. LINDER. Regular order, Mr. Speaker. I have been recognized in the 
well of the House. Do I have the floor?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Linder] is 
recognized for 1 minute.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, sometime just before the campaigns got in 
earnest, a former majority whip of this House, Tony Coelho, was brought 
in to help the Democrats win. He said this:

       Ideas are not the issue. Candidates can't get reelected if 
     they run on who they are and what they stand for. They have 
     to go in and put negative ads out. The only way you can win 
     races today is with negative advertising.

  It seems to me that the minority has decided to continue the campaign 
and absent an ability to compete with the Speaker's ideas, they have 
chosen to tear down the Speaker personally. There are far more things 
to be done in this House than to make personal attacks. I do not 
recall----
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. A point of order, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. LINDER. Do I have the floor, Mr. Speaker?
  Mr. Speaker, I do not recall these questions being raised about a 
former Member of the Senate----


                             point of order

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. A point of order, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the gentleman suspend, and will the 
gentleman from Massachusetts state his point of order?
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Tentatively as to the Chair's ruling, the 
gentleman is impugning the motives of Members of this House. The 
gentleman at the microphone has just said he has imputed inappropriate 
motives to things that have been said, but the tenor of the Chair's 
ruling is that no personal references to other Members ought to be 
allowed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). The Chair will state that the 
gentleman from Georgia has not made a personal reference to any one 
Member. The gentleman from Georgia may continue.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to further ask if any of these 
ethical questions were raised about the book, ``Earth in the Balance,'' 
which yielded a $100,000 advance to its author, a former Member of the 
other body, and $670,000 in royalties. Where were the questions of 
impropriety there?
  Mr. Speaker, it seems to me these questions are very selective.


  

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