Attacks On First Lady May Backfire, Gop Told

Many Republicans who think their ‘92 convention was a mean-spirited disaster are now warning of a similar backlash stemming from the attacks on Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“It doesn’t do a thing to close the gender gap,” groused GOP strategist Ann Stone, noting that Bob Dole already has huge problems with female voters.

“Whether you like her or not, women understand if she falls down, it hurts all women,” Stone said. “They don’t want to see her bloodied.”

Mary Crisp, a former Republican National Committee co-chairwoman and, like Stone, active in pro-choice circles, said the attacks on the first lady “remind me of Anita Hill … and are very unfortunate.” She said Republicans should remember that after Houston in ‘92, 28 percent of GOP women deserted President George Bush in November.

Jack Kemp last week warned his GOP brethren against coming off like “grumpy old men.” Asked about the first lady for this article, he said through a spokesman that the GOP should leave Whitewater to the courts and the press and worry more about giving voters something positive to vote for.

Lee Cullum, a Republican-leaning columnist at the Dallas Morning News, counseled Republicans to “exercise restraint where the first lady is concerned.”

“She has been set up as the Salem witch of the hour,” Cullum said. “There’s a lot of real animus against strong women, and that’s what could backfire. That’s what working women resent very much.”