Increases at the pump drive politicians to act

By Mary Beth Schneider

June 22, 2000 Web posted at: 5:18 PM EDT (2118 GMT)

In this story: Constituents pleased Governor goes national RELATED STORIES, SITES

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (Indianapolis Star) -- Soaring prices at the gas pump and soaring tempers among motorists have turned fuel prices into a high-octane political issue.

If the political slogan of 1992 was "It's the economy, stupid," then the political slogan of 2000 might be, "It's the gas prices, stupid."

The situation could affect the elections if the situation drags out to November.

It has happened before, in 1979, when escalating gas prices translated into long lines of voters angry at then-President Jimmy Carter.

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And politicians, both in Washington and the Midwest, are hustling to show voters they're doing something about those prices. In Indiana, Gov. Frank O'Bannon on Tuesday temporarily lifted the state sales tax on gasoline effective July 1.

Across the border in Illinois, Republican Gov. George Ryan called a special session of the legislature for June 29, asking Illinois lawmakers to do the same.

At least one national politician, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, is watching his political future go down as the prices go up. The gas issue, coupled with those lost-and-found computer disks at the Los Alamos, N.M., nuclear weapons facility, have virtually doomed his chances of becoming Democrat Al Gore's running mate in the presidential election.

And neither party has forgotten that the road to the White House goes through the big electoral-vote swing states of the Midwest, where gas prices are highest.

Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who has been mentioned as a vice presidential possibility, said voters expect answers from both Gore and the Republican candidate, Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

"I guarantee you, whether it is Gov. Bush or Vice President Gore, the minute they step off the plane and onto the tarmac, the first question they hear is, 'What are you going to do about the gasoline prices?' " Durbin told the Chicago Tribune. "And there isn't a presidential candidate . . . that would ignore that political reality."

Or any gubernatorial candidate.

O'Bannon -- in a tough re-election battle -- announced Tuesday that he is suspending the state sales tax on gasoline for up to 60 days starting next month.

Indiana Manufacturers Association President Pat Kiely -- a former GOP lawmaker -- called it a "political gimmick, pandering almost."

But John Price, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination to challenge O'Bannon, called it a good decision -- and said he'd thought so back in March, when he'd proposed it himself.

At the Marathon station at Delaware and St. Joseph streets in Indianapolis, motorists filling their tanks were pleased by O'Bannon's action -- no matter what the motivation.

"I think that everything politicians do is politically motivated," said Lynda Cole, 25, expressing a sentiment echoed by many.

Although Cole is a Republican, she said such responsiveness to constituent concerns made her more likely to consider voting to re-elect the Democratic governor.

Medical student John Hammerstein, 27, said the reprieve would make him look more favorably on O'Bannon in November.

"Anything that saves me money, I can support," he said.

People in both parties said this is one of those issues that proves the adage that good government is good politics.

"Our (state) slogan is 'Crossroads of America,' " said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Robin Winston.

And this issue, he said, is at the crossroads of politics and policy.

"Anybody that says the governor did this only for political reasons is just upset they couldn't do it themselves," Winston said.

Rob Collins, campaign press secretary to the GOP nominee for governor, U.S. Rep. David McIntosh, and Indiana GOP Chairman Mike McDaniel both credited the upcoming election for prodding O'Bannon to act.

But McIntosh said he wasn't going to second-guess O'Bannon's motives and applauded the tax suspension as the right move.

Besides, he's planning to take some action himself. McIntosh, chairman of a House subcommittee that deals with regulations and natural resources, will conduct a hearing, probably July 1. And he'd like to hold it in Lake County, where Indiana's gas prices are highest.

"No politics there," O'Bannon's campaign manager, Tom New, said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

Still, O'Bannon's action had obvious political benefits.

He was on national news shows Tuesday and Wednesday, and his office was inundated with calls for interviews. ABC's morning news show, Good Morning America, showed up at the governor's residence at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday to prepare for a live interview at 6 a.m. Then he was interviewed by NBC's Katie Couric for the Today show.

O'Bannon's picture also was on the front page of Wednesday's USA Today with a story about his decision.

Even conservative radio talk show icon Rush Limbaugh was praising O'Bannon on Tuesday.

The governor was all over cable, and CNN's Wolf Blitzer wants him on his weekend show. So do Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts for their ABC Sunday morning news show.

Wednesday morning, O'Bannon and Attorney General Karen Freeman-Wilson -- who is up for election herself in November -- flew to South Bend and Gary to repeat their Tuesday announcement.

O'Bannon talked about the tax suspension; Freeman-Wilson talked about being a watchdog for price-gouging. And in Gary, every Chicago television station and at least one newspaper were there to record it. That's the kind of coverage a candidate can't afford to buy in that market.

The state Democratic Party paid for O'Bannon and Freeman-Wilson to fly north, New said, to stave off any criticism that O'Bannon was playing politics on the taxpayers' dime.

In addition to the hearing McIntosh plans to hold, several others are in the works. U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, will conduct a hearing on June 29 and plans to call Richardson, Environmental Protection Agency Director Carol Browner and Federal Trade Commission officials. At the same time, the same day, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, will chair Senate committee hearings.

President Clinton has called for an investigation of the soaring prices, and the FTC is launching its own inquiry into rapid price hikes.

McIntosh said there's a good reason for all the hearings -- the public wants answers.

As he greeted voters last weekend in Lake County, one issue was tops on voters' minds, he said -- gas prices.

"They'd say, 'I like what you're doing about property taxes, but let's do something about gas,' " McIntosh said.

Brian Vargus, director of the public opinion laboratory at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said this kind of pocketbook issue is a no-brainer for officeholders to address.

"It is one of those issues that impacts virtually everybody," he said.

Doing something to make it easier to find, he said, "is an issue you just can't go wrong with."

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