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Subject: A Cross-Bay Clash of the Incumbents; Gilchrest, McMillen Hone Their
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 92 04:30:31 EST
Message-ID: <46.1992Oct26.043031@AmeriCast.com>

A Cross-Bay Clash of the Incumbents; Gilchrest, McMillen Hone
Their Rhetoric<By Richard Tapscott=Washington Post Staff Writer=

A week before voters decide the contest, a rare match between two
incumbents in Maryland's 1st District is rattling windows from
the seaside fishing villages of the lower Eastern Shore to the
row houses of south Baltimore.

The battle between Reps. Tom McMillen (D) and Wayne T. Gilchrest
(R) is shaping up as the closest in the state's eight congres-
sional districts, according to political analysts.  For Demo-
crats, it represents a chance to pick up a Republican-held seat
by capitalizing on what is forecast as a Democratic tide in the
state.  Republicans need to retain the seat to have any chance of
improving on their three-out-of-eight standing in the delegation.

Not surprisingly, the candidates' rhetoric is becoming harsher as
the campaign in the cross-bay district nears its end.

McMillen, who lives in Anne Arundel County on the western shore
of Chesapeake Bay, has accused Gilchrest in a recent run of
television spots of targeting the elderly for spending cuts.

"My opponent voted to slash Medicare," McMillen said in a telev-
ised debate last week. "I don't think it's fair to balance our
health-care budget on the backs of seniors."

Gilchrest, a first-term member of Congress who lives in Kent
County on the Eastern Shore, shot back: "I never voted to do any-
thing to Medicare for senior citizens except strengthen it."

McMillen says Gilchrest voted twice in April for amendments, both
defeated, that would have cut Medicare benefits. Gilchrest says
he voted to reduce subsidies for Medicare premiums only for
senior citizens with incomes over $100,000.

The 1st District, which includes the Eastern Shore, much of Anne
Arundel County and a sliver of Baltimore, is becoming a magnet
for retirees. Farms along the bay tributaries that lace the
Eastern Shore are being carved up into large waterfront home
sites, while seaside golf and retirement communities proliferate
nearer Ocean City on the Atlantic.

"Seniors comprise a very important constituency for any member of
Congress," said McMillen's campaign manager, Brad Fitch, explain-
ing the recent line of attack. "They're somebody you pay atten-
tion to."

The three-term McMillen has been constantly on the attack in re-
cent weeks, having been put on the defensive earlier by a widely
praised Gilchrest radio campaign that ridiculed McMillen's fre-
quent out-of-town travels.

One radio ad said McMillen's 30 free trips in the last two years
made him "one of the worst free travelers in Congress." Some of
the trips were paid for by "special interests" in Japan, the ad
said. A female voice is heard on the ad asking, "More sushi, Mr.
McMillen?"

McMillen, saying that much of the travel was taken so he could
make sports-banquet speeches, countered that his travels are ir-
relevant. For five straight years, he said, he missed no votes in
Congress, a record in the Maryland delegation.  After the sushi
ad began running, McMillen made radio spots accusing Gilchrest of
breaking campaign promises not to take contributions from politi-
cal action committees (PACs) and to donate his congressional pay
raise to charity.  Gilchrest says he never made an explicit
pledge not to accept PAC money, but acknowledges he donated only
about half of his raise to charity.

When McMillen challenged Gilchrest recently to join him in the
"lead or leave" pledge - to halve the federal budget deficit in
four years or step down - Gilchrest dismissed the idea as an
election-year gimmick. He labeled McMillen one of the 100 biggest
spenders in Congress for his votes favoring spending programs.

Down the stretch, McMillen apparently has the most ammunition to
fire over the airwaves. According to Federal Election Commission
reports, McMillen started October with $361,276 in his campaign
account. Gilchrest reported having $22,258 cash on hand.

Of McMillen's campaign contributions this year, more than half
came from PACs. About one-sixth of Gilchrest's money was donated
by PACs, which Gilchrest said "pollute the electoral process be-
cause they can effectively buy a congressman." McMillen minimizes
the effect of PAC contributions on his campaign, noting that a
significant part of his money came from individuals and small
contributions.

The battle of incumbents - one of only five nationwide - came
about courtesy of congressional redistricting. When the state
legislature decided last year to carve out a majority-black dis-
trict in the Washington suburbs, it had little choice but to
throw two sitting members of Congress into the same district
elsewhere.

More than half the district is an area that Gilchrest has been
campaigning in since his first unsuccessful race in 1988. The
conservative Eastern Shore, coupled with Republican-leaning Anne
Arundel County, makes it a less than hospitable district for a
Democrat. Although 58 percent Democratic by voter registration,
the district has a history of supporting Republicans in general
elections.

This year, the central issue is much like elsewhere in the coun-
try: jobs. The lower Eastern Shore has high poverty and unemploy-
ment.  Even in Anne Arundel, which is more dependent on federal
spending, anxiety runs high that budget cuts will translate into
layoffs.

"The number one issue is the economy," McMillen said. "People are
really hurting out there. My number one job is to protect jobs."

Gilchrest agrees, to a point, but contends that the real problem
is the Democratic-controlled Congress.  "People talk about jobs,
the economy," he said. "But they also have a sense of rage . . .
about the House bank scandal and the House post office scandal,
all the money in Congress."

For all their differences, Gilchrest and McMillen find some com-
mon ground, both supporting a balanced-budget amendment to the
Constitution and a line-item veto for the president. They both
have solid environmental records and support from environmental
groups.

In a close race, neither is counting on his party affiliation
alone to carry the day Nov.  3. Their campaign brochures make no
mention of party labels. McMillen emphasizes that he is "indepen-
dent."

Although Gilchrest often echoes President Bush's economic plat-
form, including a taxpayer checkoff to help reduce the national
debt, he seldom mentions the Republican president by name.  That
contrasts with two years ago, when he went to the White House to
be photographed with Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle joined
four Cabinet secretaries in campaigning for Gilchrest.

McMillen, meanwhile, refers repeatedly to the Democratic
presidential nominee. "If Bill Clinton is elected," McMillen said
in a debate last week on Maryland Public Television, "I can work
with him."

Tiring of partisan attacks from McMillen on health care, Gil-
chrest sounded exasperated during the debate.

"We should stop talking about Democratic plans and Republican
plans," Gilchrest said. "We should blend them together to come up
with a health care plan for all Americans."<02:37 10-26C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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