Pubdate: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: PO Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191 Fax: (619) 293-1440 Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX Author: Bill Ainsworth, Staff Writer CAMPBELL DRUG PLAN DRAWS SKEPTICISM AT STATE GOP MEETING BURLINGAME - Republican activist Sam Crump is willing to ignore U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell's support for abortion rights. He even overlooks the Bay Area congressman's opposition to Proposition 22, which would ban gay marriages in California. But there's one thing this conservative party stalwart can't quite tolerate: Campbell's support for providing drugs to addicts as a way of cutting crime and reducing deaths from AIDS and overdoses. "I don't like the drug program," he said. "The government shouldn't condone something that's wrong to begin with." Campbell's proposal received a resounding thumbs down this weekend among the conservatives who dominated the audience at a debate among GOP candidates for the Senate at the California Republican Party convention here late Friday night. The issue clearly illustrated the gulf that separates Campbell from his two rivals, San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn and state Sen. Ray Haynes, R-Temecula, who are more in sync with the anti-abortion, gun-owner-rights views of those who constitute a clear majority of delegates here. Campbell has a wide lead over his two Republican rivals both in cash and polls, although those surveys show a large undecided vote. He hopes that his mixture of fiscally conservative and socially liberal views will help him win voters who are Independents and Democrats in the March 7 open primary. Incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein has no opposition in the Democratic primary. Campbell's drug policy is so different from the ideas backed by most politicians, liberal or conservative, that it has caused some concern about his appeal to some Republicans. Yet Campbell won big applause from the mostly conservative audience on Friday by stressing his record of cutting the budget in Congress and voting to impeach President Clinton. Campbell told the delegates that his record as a taxpayer's friend was more than mere fiscal policy. "Yes, it's economics, but it's so much more," he said. "It's individual liberty. It's what unites us." And he repeatedly contrasted his tight-fisted ways with Feinstein's record. "I don't spend your money, and she can't stop spending your money. She borders on taxpayer hostile. I border on taxpayer heroic," he said. His rivals repeatedly blasted his drug proposal. Haynes characterized it as government financing of crack houses, while Horn said it showed Campbell was to the left of Feinstein. "Campbell has voted like Feinstein, except in Boxer shorts," Horn said in a jab comparing Campbell to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. "Republicans, do you want your U.S. Senate nominee to be more liberal than the Democrats?" he asked. Many delegates at the convention greeted the drug proposal, which has been criticized by Feinstein, with boos and hisses. Campbell, in an interview yesterday, said his plan is based on a conservative belief that the federal government should not stand in the way of innovative programs to reduce crime. His program would keep all the laws against selling and using drugs, except those given out in a controlled, public setting. The government of Switzerland operates a similar program that he says has cut crime and reduced the number of deaths from AIDS and overdoses. "If deaths are diminished, addiction is diminished and crime drops, why should the federal government stand in the way?" he said. Despite the profound policy differences between Campbell and these moral conservatives, the congressman made some headway among delegates by repeatedly stressing his budget-cutting voting record. His comments resonated with Mark Luce, a Napa County supervisor. Luce will still support Haynes in the primary, but will have no trouble switching his allegiance to Campbell if the congressman wins the primary. "I'm going to give Campbell credit," he said. "His issue of reducing spending is important. It's a very uniting issue that I can get behind." Campbell holds a number of policy views that are not normally associated with GOP officeholders, including support for stronger environmental protection laws, gay rights, gun control and campaign finance reform. Yet he shares some Republicans' pet causes. Campbell wants to gradually eliminate the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax, he supports school vouchers for parents of low-income children and reducing federal requirements attached to education funds. Horn told the debate audience that his No. 1 issue was cracking down on China and rebuilding the military. He claimed that Campbell's votes on China policy made him an "enemy of our national interests" and said the congressman voted like a "turkey in the Democratic Party." Haynes admonished the audience not to run away from the party's principled stances in opposition to abortion and gun control, even though he acknowledged those positions might not be popular among California voters. Campbell urged the Republican delegates to avoid a divisive split between moderates and conservatives. His plea seemed to underscore the uphill struggle of beating a centrist Democrat like Feinstein, who holds a commanding lead in name recognition and money over all the Republican candidates. "I want so much to come out of this party united because that's the only way we're going to end the Clinton/Gore/Boxer/Feinstein legacy," Campbell said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D