WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- Daily news notes, political rumors, and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.
Triangle shorts --A memo from the Republican Leadership Council's Scott Reed is taking Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to task over the Senate's failure to take up the Bush energy proposal. "Tom Daschle is already on his way to earning a reputation as the leader of The Bermuda Senate," Reed writes.
Of particular interest, as far as the politics of the thing goes, are the dangers Daschle faces from the unions if he keeps the bill off the floor. "The AFL-CIO, the building trades, the maritime trades, the Teamsters, the mine workers, the operating engineers, the seafarers, the sheet metal workers, the marine engineers, the carpenters, the plumbers and pipefitters, the laborers, and the iron workers collectively expended a great deal of effort, resources, and political capital in passing an ANWR provision in the House bill," Reed writes. "This means that even if unions working on the energy bill decide not to hold Daschle accountable for pulling it down, their members probably will. This dynamic was most recently demonstrated in the 1994 elections. Many within the labor movement still believe that their success in convincing their members to oppose NAFTA irreversibly soured them on the Democratic president, House and Senate that passed it. ... In short, no energy bill means no new ethanol, no new incentives for wind power, no new nuclear plants, and no new jobs in the energy sector."
Trying to get Brown to bag it -- The politicking in Ohio's 3rd Congressional District has turned ugly thanks to a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission against newspaper publisher Roy Brown, who is currently seeking the Republican nomination for Congress.
On Thursday, former Dayton Mayor Mike Turner's campaign filed a compliant accusing Brown's newspaper chain of violating the FEC rule requiring newspapers to give "reasonably equal coverage to all opposing candidates."
The Turner campaign is alleging that 66 of 70 stories that have appeared in Brown's chain of weekly newspapers between mid-January and mid-March were about or for the benefit of Brown.
The two men are competing -- along with Gregory Hunter -- for the Republican nomination for the congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Tony Hall, who is assuming a post at the United Nations. Although the National Republican Congressional Committee is officially neutral in the race, Turner is said to have the support of NRCC Chairman Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.
And the award goes to... -- Historian David McCullough's recent and best-selling biography of America's second president, John Adams, is the winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize "for a distinguished biography or autobiography by an American author." The $7,500 prize that accompanies the award is likely a tiny fraction of what McCullough has earned in royalties from the book, which has spent 44 weeks on The New York Times' bestseller list.
McCullough, who previously won the award for his biography of former President Harry S. Truman, beat out "An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood" by former President Jimmy Carter and "Grant" by Jean Edward Smith.
One way to stay out of the principal's office -- Mossi W. White, a school board member from Provo, Utah, has been elected the 55th president of the National School Boards Association. White, who calls herself a crusader for an excellent education for all children, was chosen at the NSBA's annual conference in New Orleans.
"We as school board members must stand up for public education and be the best advocates ever on behalf of children and our public education system," said White. "Every school board member must take on the energy and leadership role of increasing student achievement by implementing the key work of school boards." White has been a member of the Provo City School District Board of Education since 1987, holding the position of president for three terms. She was elected to the Utah School Boards Association's board of directors in 1988 and is the only person ever to serve twice as the organization's president.
Another winner, for Schorr -- Veteran news commentator Daniel Schorr will be honored on Wednesday with Washington State University's 2002 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcasting during the 28th annual Edward R. Murrow Symposium. This award is especially significant as Schorr is the last of Murrow's legendary CBS team still fully active in journalism. Schorr currently interprets national and international events as senior news analyst for NPR.
Good times bad times at Verner, Liipfert -- The streamlining and reorganization of the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, home to former Senate Majority leaders George Mitchell, D-Maine, and Robert Dole, R-Kan., has been doing rather well with its international clients according to O'Dwyer's Washington Report, a public relations trade publication.
The report says that Ethiopia "spent a whopping $5.6 million in lobbying fees/expenses" at the firm during the recent six-month reporting period. "India, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Mexico, China, Montenegro and Slovenia combined for another $1 million.... On the downside, VLBM&H was terminated by Yemen's Ministry of Foreign Affairs," so it isn't all gravy.
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