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Subject: Republican Leaders Laud Bipartisan Tone; GOP Pledges to Put Up Fight on
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 04:42:00 EST
Message-ID: <40.1992Nov20.044200@AmeriCast.com>

Republican Leaders Laud Bipartisan Tone; GOP Pledges to Put Up
Fight on Deficit<By Helen Dewar and Kenneth J. Cooper<Washington
Post Staff Writers= House and Senate Republican leaders yesterday
gave President-elect Clinton high marks for setting a bipartisan
tone during his debut on Capitol Hill but warned that Clinton
faces trouble from Republicans if he fails to exercise fiscal
discipline and to cut the federal deficit.

In his first visit to the Capitol since his election, Clinton
went out of the way to woo Republicans as he joined leaders of
both parties over lunch and met individually with Republican
leaders Robert J. Dole (Kan.) of the Senate and Robert H. Michel
(Ill.) of the House.

The gesture - along with pledges of cooperation and consultation
from the incoming president - appeared to reap immediate divi-
dends in terms of goodwill from the Republicans, who comprise a
minority of both houses of Congress.

"They are Democrats, we are Republicans. But our common interest
is moving the country forward. I would guess you're going to find
a lot of common ground," Dole said.

"I give him credit for being fairly realistic," Dole added. "I
think he knows he's got some constituencies out there that are
going to have to hold their breath for a while because we have to
deal with the economy and deficits."

Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), the third-ranking House Republican,
said he thought Clinton would have a "long honeymoon" with
Congress, judging by his initial performance. "There's little
doubt that this president-elect is a lot different than the last
president we had from the South," he added in reference to former
President Jimmy Carter's poor relations with Congress.

Michel was more cautious in his reaction, expressing doubts over
several points of possible confrontation, including whether
Republicans could accept an economic stimulus program unless it
is tied irrevocably to deficit reduction. But Michel said he
thought Clinton was seeking "accommodation" with Congress and ad-
ded, "I don't think you're going to have gridlock like you've
known it in the past."

Few were more critical of Clinton during the campaign than Sen.
Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), head of the GOP senatorial campaign commit-
tee and a possible presidential candidate in 1996.  But Gramm
yesterday described the bipartisan meetings as "a smart thing to
do" and said he believed Clinton was off to a good start. "I was
encouraged . . .

But Gramm said Clinton's prospects for bipartisan support in
Congress hinge heavily on whether Clinton decides to live within
existing budget ceilings in developing his economic stimulus and
job creation plan. Only if Clinton accepts this fiscal discipline
will Republicans "be encouraged to believe we can have bipartisan
cooperation," Gramm added.

Dole also struck a cautious note in warning that Clinton could
run into trouble if he insists on attaching conditions to any ex-
tension of favorable trading conditions for China. In the cam-
paign, Clinton said President Bush should have demanded progress
on human rights from Beijing before granting China most-favored-
nation (MFN) status.

But Dole's comments were a far cry from his sharp warnings the
day after Clinton was elected, when he likened himself to a
chaperone at the new president's honeymoon. "I didn't hear
chaperone mentioned - or honeymooon," said Bruce Lindsey, a Clin-
ton adviser who sat in on the meeting with Dole.

At a news conference in the Capitol's stately Statuary Hill at
the end of the visit, Dole put the Republicans's mellow mood in
perspective. He thanked the Democrats for the free lunch and ad-
ded, "When you're a Republican these days, you take all you can
get."

Staff writers Dan Balz and Eric Pianin contributed to this re-
port. 02:31 11-20C9999-----

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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