WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- News, notes, political rumors, and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.
NPR vs. TVC -- Another round in the war of words between National Public Radio and the Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative group that is demanding a retraction and an apology after being cited on the Jan. 22 broadcast of NPR's Morning Edition in a story about the anthrax-laced letters sent to Capitol Hill.
On Morning Edition's Jan. 30 broadcast, NPR made the following statement: "And a story last week about the ongoing anthrax investigation mentioned the Traditional Values Coalition. Reporter David Kestenbaum contacted that group to ask if it had been contacted by the FBI. The TVC said it had not, since there is no evidence that it was or should be investigated. The TVC said it was inappropriate for it to be named on the air. The NPR editors agree."
Asked about the statement, TVC's Andrea Lafferty said, "That's not an apology and our lawyer says it's not a retraction. Since the correction aired, we have heard from NPR ... they seem to be very scared and they should be. We are still proceeding with legal action because," Lafferty says, "they are not sorry and we will not allow them to do this to someone else."
A spokesman for NPR told United Press International Monday: "We have discussed with a TVC representative our willingness to run another correction with different language and are awaiting their response."
How now, brown cow -- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer outlined the president's agenda for members of the press corps on the plane to Denver Friday.
"The first event will be the Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade show ... The president is going to be there to give a news-making speech where he will describe his farm policy. Moo, moo, baa, baa."
Indeed.
How now, Brown cash cow -- Former Colo. GOP Sen. Hank Brown is taking over as president and CEO of The Daniels Fund, a philanthropic institution founded by the late Bill Daniels. According to the conservative magazine National Review, the fund is worth close to $1 billion and may, under Brown's leadership, become an important source of funds for American conservative political organizations. Daniels, who died two years ago, was a former member of the Republican National Committee and an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Colorado who made his fortune in cable television.
In -- New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, has officially entered the race for U.S. Senate. Shaheen represents the best chance the Democrats have had to win a Senate seat in New Hampshire since the mid-1970s. She will face off against the winner of the GOP primary between incumbent GOP Sen. Bob Smith and U.S. Rep. John Sununu, son of the former governor.
Lagging indicator? -- The congressional campaign of Florida GOP State Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite has, according to end-of-year financial disclosure reports, out-raised her likely opponent, incumbent Karen Thurman, D-Fla., in both overall contributions and cash-on-hand.
Especially worthy of remark is the fact Brown-Waite has out-raised Thurman by a 14-to-1 margin among individual contributors. In the end-of-year numbers, Brown-Waite reported $236,485 in cash-on-hand while Thurman showed only $212,546.
Collapsing? -- It looks like the gubernatorial campaign of former Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno may be heading south -- quickly. Several weeks ago attorney Bill McBride snatched the endorsement of the Florida teacher's association out from under her, jump-starting his campaign. Then Reno landed in the hospital for an overnight visit after fainting during a speech in Rochester, N.Y. Now, according to the St. Petersburg Times, the state AFL-CIO may also be headed toward a McBride endorsement -- leading Reno supporters to push for and win a 20-day delay of the endorsement convention.
Personnel notes -- Chris Bowlin is leaving the U.S. Department of Labor for a job as senior vice president for federal and public affairs at the Health Insurance Association of America.
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