Molly Ivins November 2AUSTIN — In Texas, we say of a lucky man, "They tried to hang him, but the rope broke." One of the greatest running gags in American politics for five years now has been the sight of the Republicans gathered in a lynch mob trying to hang President Clinton with a frayed string. Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate — those strings just keep breakin'. The ol' Republican posse is gathering once more, and this time, they've got a good, stout rope. Trouble is, every time they try to tighten the noose, it turns out to be around their own necks. The latest hilarious wrinkle in their efforts to hang Clinton for campaign fund-raising violations is the cancellation of this past week's Senate hearings on account of that particular noose is around some Republican throats. And there could be no nicer neck to squeeze than that of the pluperfect hypocrite, Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma. I would ask Texas' normally sensible northern neighbors what they thought they were doing when they elected that sanctimonious Uriah Heep, but then I recall Sen. Phil Gramm and decide that it's better to keep my mouth shut. We all have our little lapses. Don "No Administration Has Ever Been This Sleazy" Nickles turns out to be one of the major beneficiaries of a Republican outfit called Triad Management Services. Triad Management is a private, conservative "consulting firm" that helps right-wing donors make contributions to Republican candidates outside the purview of federal election laws. It was started by a former fund-raiser for Oliver North to coordinate election activities between conservative political action committees and tax-exempt groups. Keep in mind that coordinating political campaigns and the activities of tax-exempt groups is illegal. A National Republican Campaign Committee spokesman said: "We do not do any coordination with them. That would be improper." Nickles appeared in a marketing advertisement for Triad, a video promoting the firm's work. Triad may have funneled tens of thousands of dollars into Nickles' political action committee in 1996. Triad works closely with and raises money for three tax-exempt groups: Citizens for Reform (do you love these names?), the Citizens for the Republic Education Fund and the Coalition for our Children's Future (!). These groups in turn run ads attacking Democratic candidates. In 1996, Triad donors paid for a last-minute $400,000 television advertising blitz attacking the Democrat running against Sen.
Time magazine reports on one of the firm's finer efforts: Democrat Bill Yellowtail was in a neck-and-neck race for Montana's only House seat when a TV ad started appearing in the Big Sky. "Who is Bill Yellowtail?" it opened. "He preaches family values, but he took a swing at his wife." Yellowtail lost. Normally, accusing your opponent of being a wife-beater looks really tacky and leads people to think you are slinging mud. But Yellowtail's opponent didn't have to do it; "Citizens for Reform" did it for him, digging up a domestic incident more than 20 years old. Nickles wants to cut off Sen. Fred Thompson's hearings into campaign financing abuses before they get to such subjects as Triad. The latest ploy by the Republicans is to pretend great indignation that Democrats on the committee got hold of a list of Triad's donors, due to a slip-up by the bank that had the records. Naturally, the Democrats are busy leaking the names all over Washington. Also naturally, Nickles' spokesman claims that his desire to end the hearings has nothing to do with Triad. "Sen. Nickles has long thought the hearings should not be a mile wide and an inch deep," the spokesman told The New York Times. "With regard to Triad, this is just a desperate attempt by the Democratic National Committee to draw attention away from their own serious misdeeds." Right. Turns out that one of Triad's donors is Koch Industries, an oil company in Wichita, Kan., the nation's second-largest privately held company. Nickles has received large donations from Koch for many years, and in 1989, he defended the company against allegations that it had illegally taken oil from the Osage Indian reservation and from federal property. A federal grand jury failed to indict, but a Senate study concluded that Koch Industries had shortchanged the tribe. Nickles tried to stop the Senate committee's inquiry. The U.S. attorney who handled the grand jury investigation into Koch was recommended by Nickles for the post. Nickles later nominated him for a federal judgeship. None of this excuses illegal fund-raising by the Democrats. It just makes it funnier that guys like Nickles are posing as Inspector Javert, the implacable tracker of Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables." It's enough to make a hearse horse snicker. *** Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. COPYRIGHT 1997 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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