A daily dose of online news from beyond the Beltway.

By Ryan Thornburg
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Monday, Feb. 2, 1998

Sure it's popular for candidates to cast themselves as outsiders, but a look at the Texas governor's race shows that the inside track is where the money can be found. During the last six months of 1997, lobbyists and political action committees donated $1.3 million to Republican Gov. George W. Bush III – 16 percent of his total during that time. During the same period four years ago, when Bush was telling everyone he was not part of "the Austin crowd," PACs and lobbyists donated only $30,000 to his campaign. Bush supporters said the donations show he is doing a good job. At least one lobbyist said it is always nice to be on the winning side.

"Racism, in my opinion, is on the same level as abortion. It is destructive to human life." – Cass County, Mich., Republican Party chairman William LaBre, on the overtones of a campaign flyer distributed by Republican state House candidate Kirby Holmes Jr. (Detroit Free Press, Feb. 2)

Austin Has Big Money on Bush (The Dallas Morning News, Feb. 2)

Candidates Release Fund-Raising Numbers
Saturday was the deadline for federal candidates to file fourth quarter reports with the Federal Elections Commission.
Speaker raises more than $3 million in 1997 (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 2)
No Primary Penny-Pinching for Moseley-Braun (The Chicago Tribune, Feb. 1)
Franks Says Dodd's Campaign Coffers Highlight Need for Reform (The Hartford Courant, Feb. 2)
Larson Campaign Tops $125,000 Mark (The Hartford Courant, Feb. 2)

Former Arizona Governor Sentencing Today
Fife Symington, the Republican who stepped down as governor of Arizona in September after being convicted on six counts of fraud, will be sentenced today by a federal judge. He could get more than eight years in prison.
Symington Sentencing is Today (Arizona Republic, Feb. 2)

The Plot Thickens
When the Loose Lips theater company opens its annual satirical review tonight in New York City, it will include a skit on the recent White House scandal. Playing Monica Lewinsky: Ingrid Rockefeller, a granddaughter of the late vice president Nelson Rockefeller. The elder Rockefeller assumed the role of vice president following the resignation of Richard Nixon.
Rockefeller's Grandkid to Intern-Alize Stage Roll (New York Post, Feb. 2)

Mich. GOP Leader Calls Campaign Mailing Racist
Days before a special primary to fill a vacant seat in the Michigan state House, Republican leaders are distancing themselves from candidate Kirby Holmes Jr. The Holmes campaign last week mailed a flier showing a black doctor with the caption, "Was he the best qualified applicant to go to medical school?" The flier is similar to a television commercial on affirmative action run in 1990 by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). The commercial, which showed a pair of white hands crumpling a job rejection letter, broke open a close race with black Democratic candidate Harvey Gantt.
Flyer Puts Candidate in Hot Seat (Detroit Free Press, Feb. 2)

What Else Would a Quarterback Do?
Bronco's quarterback John Elway, known for his willingness to run under pressure, said Friday that he would pass up a Congressional campaign. Rumors had been circulating that Elway was interested in the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Dan Schaefer.
Elway Passes on House Run (Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 31)

High-Tech Tactics in N.Y. Senate Race
Looking for online information about New York Democratic senate candidate Geraldine Ferraro? You won't find it at www.ferraro.org. That Web address has been taken up by a supporter of Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, Ferraro's likely opponent in the general election.
A Tangled Web Links Ferraro and D'Amato (Times Union, Albany, N.Y., Feb. 2)