Nethercutt, Foes Trade Challenges

Rep. George Nethercutt and a local term-limits group exchanged pointed challenges Wednesday over campaign contributions.

The head of the Eastern Washington Term Limits Action Committee said Nethercutt should donate money he’s received from the National Rifle Association to charity.

Nethercutt said the committee’s parent organization, U.S. Term Limits, should reveal as much about the source of its money as he does about his.

Neither is likely to take the other up on the respective challenges.

The exercise in gauntlet-tossing began at a news conference that committee co-chairman Michael Fagan called to announce the group’s latest publicity gimmick: a large board it calls the Nethercutt Credibility Countdown Clock.

Fagan took exception with Nethercutt’s description on Tuesday of his parent organization. The Washington, D.C.-based group has spent more than $100,000 on ads to convince Nethercutt to retire after three terms, something he said he would do in 1994 but is now reconsidering.

During a session at Central Valley High School, the Spokane Republican said he wished U.S. Term Limits would stop creating “a poisonous atmosphere.” When a network news reporter noted that was one of the groups that spent large sums to help him defeat Democrat Tom Foley in 1994, Nethercutt replied he had asked the group and the NRA to stay out of that campaign.

Fagan accused Nethercutt of acting as if Eastern Washington was his “personal kingdom.”

“You have zero rights to tell Americans how to exercise their rights,” Fagan said.

Although Nethercutt calls U.S. Term Limits outside extremists, he has no such criticism for the NRA and continues to accept campaign contributions from them, Fagan said.

“The NRA headquarters is also in the Washington, D.C., area,” he said. “I challenge you to publicly apologize for the statement that U.S. Term Limits are outsiders, or write out a check to the charity of your choice for the amount the NRA has contributed to your campaign.”

Nethercutt said he wasn’t going to do either.

“My challenge back to them would be, quit being sneaky and report who’s giving your money. Do the same reporting I do.”

Anyone can find out how much the NRA, or any other donor, gives him because he must report it to the Federal Election Commission, Nethercutt said.

For the record, the NRA has given Nethercutt $21,800 - a figure slightly higher than Fagan cited at his news conference. Information on all congressional candidates’ funding sources is available on the Internet at www.tray.com/fecinfo/.

U.S. Term Limits, which is a private nonprofit organization, does not have to report its sources of funding because it sponsors ads classified as “educational” - they talk about an issue but don’t urge voting for or against a candidate.

The group has refused to discuss the size or source of its funds, other than to say it has hundreds of donors.

The local term limits organization has a much smaller bank account, as was evident from the “clock” it unveiled. The large piece of painted plywood - which is actually more of a calendar because it counts days, not hours - is based on Nethercutt’s statements that he will decide this spring whether to seek re-election.

Spring ends on June 21, Fagan said. Wednesday the clock listed 19 days left for Nethercutt to decide if he would keep his pledge to retire.

Nethercutt said he hasn’t decided if he’ll run, or set a date for his announcement. But he indicated it might be a little longer than June 21 - perhaps around July 4.