Civic Economics - Page A1
March 26, 1997
Gore Stumbles In China and Back Home
By William Heartstone, Staff Journalist
Democrat Party Refunds SlideWASHINGTON DESK - At a China news conference Wednesday, vice president Gore was defensive about the controversy over allegations that China improperly intervened in the 1996 U.S. presidential election.
Questions were raised about Gore's apparent willingness, described after his meeting Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Peng, to maintain good relations with Beijing despite the allegations of Chinese subversion in the recent election. The vice president made matters worse when his staff attempted to change Gore's account of what he told Li about the issue in their closed door session.
The changed story happened to come just after another gaff at the signing ceremony Tuesday for two large U.S.- China business deals. The sober moment came unhinged as vice president Gore froze when he realized he was participating in a champagne toast with Chinese military strongman Li, who signed the martial law decree that preceded the brutal 1989 crackdown on student protesters for democracy in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are facing debts of $14.4 million and projected legal bills of $4 million in the next year alone, party officials announced on Wednesday. But, there is no money left to cover those debts. The Democrats are bankrupt. The DNC has not repaid more than $1.5 million in illegal or questionable 1996 campaign donations it promised to return.
Democrats said in interviews that it could take many years for the Democrat Party to recover from its financial and political turmoil. The general chairman, Gov. Roy Romer of Colorado, said in an interview on Wednesday that the disclosures about Democrat fund-raising practices in the 1996 campaign had been so disruptive that he found it nearly impossible to get anyone to listen to how the party stood on issues.
He said he has had difficulty obtaining straight answers from the White House about many of the illegal and improper donations.
Amy Weiss Tobe, a Democrat Party official, said the Democrats were in the red by more than the $14.4 million owed to creditors.
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