New York: Senator Alfonse D'Amato
Promises Aside, A Woeful Record For "Senator Pothole"
Stumping for re-election in 1992, Alfonse D'Amato made New York voters a promise:
if he won a third term as U.S. senator, it would be his last. Reminded of that
pledge by reporters on the '98 campaign trail, the unretiring Republican was
characteristically shameless. "I meant it when I said it," he replied.
Whatever else he may be, D'Amato is a born politician. In nearly two decades in
Washington he's staked out a reputation as "Senator Pothole," the man who gets
things done for his hometown constituents-especially, as The New York Times
recently reported, big corporate donors intent more on loopholes than on
potholes. He is a consummate campaigner, ready to do whatever it takes to get
elected, whether it's kissing babies in Harlem, dispensing goodies as chair of
the Banking Committee, or even-if it comes to that-trying to pass as an
environmentalist.
It's come to that.
D'Amato is always abrasive, often mean-spirited, and sometimes downright
offensive-as when he took to the airwaves to crudely mock Judge Lance Ito's
Japanese heritage during the O. J. Simpson trial. That explains why, despite his
strategy of what one analyst calls "staying in favor by doing favors," his
approval ratings were dismal coming into the 1998 campaign. This was particular
cause for alarm given the prospect of a general-election matchup with Geraldine
Ferraro, the CNN star and 1984 vice presidential candidate whose high
name-recognition made her the favorite going into September's Democratic primary.
In response, D'Amato has sought to soften his hardball image, embracing causes
like breast cancer funding and, yes, even environmentalism.
From D'Amato's Senate Web page: "The American people have overwhelmingly
indicated that they do not wish to see the environmental achievements of nearly
three decades wiped out." Never mind that the senator was among the most
enthusiastic supporters of the agenda of the 104th Congress' top leadership,
which attempted to do just that. His votes to weaken the enforcement of clean-air
and -water laws, and his opposition to citizens' right to know about chemicals in
their communities, had special resonance for residents in and around the
PCB-laden Hudson River. Now, his career in the balance, he's suddenly trying to
paint himself green.
In short, D'Amato is what Rhea Jezer, chair of the Club's Atlantic Chapter, calls
"an election-year environmentalist." Considering his 17-year record, that's not nearly enough to merit a fourth six-year term.
