ELECTION '90
The
Long
Race
Bill Schuette has been
running up hill after
incumbent Carl Levin.
But he's running hard.
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
t's been a typically long
day for Rep. Bill
Schuette, the Republican
hopeful campaigning vigor-
ously to unseat two-term
Democratic Sen. Carl Levin.
He's been to Detroit, now
he's visiting Adrian, and
he'll soon be on his way to
Washington. Mr. Schuette
started this Sunday early in
the morning in Detroit, film-
ing a television advertise-
ment that goes after Mr.
Levin for voting in 1985
against reactivating the
battleship Wisconsin, the
same ship Mr. Levin visited
during a recent trip to the
Persian Golf.
Then the three-term con-
gressman headed out to a
private parlor meeting for a
bit of schmoozing and fund-
raising.
Now, at 4:45 p.m., his
driver is pulling up in a car
at the Jean and Jack (former
state legislator) Mowatt
farm in Adrian. Mr.
I
Schuette, dressed casually in
a pair of slacks, shirt and tie
and a red short-wasted
jacket, is preparing to shake
hands and give a pitch for
fellow Republicans John
Engler, the gubernatorial
candidate, and State Sen.
Norm Shinkle, who is up for
re-election.
If he wins the Senate seat,
Mr. Schuette, 36, of Sanford,
would be the youngest mem-
ber of the U.S. Senate.
The sun is shining, yet the
air is somewhat chilly. A
band is playing, and the or-
ganizers are pleased. It is a
perfect day for an autumn
picnic, they say.
On hand are about 100
well-wishers cheering on the
Republican team. The party
is all-American, just the way
Mr. Schuette prefers, with
red, white and blue decora-
tions under a tent. The
aroma of home-made coun-
try-style cooking, complete
with apple pies and
chocolate chip cookies, drifts
onto the streets.
A smiling Mr. Schuette
gets out of the car, hugs Mr.
Shinkle's 14-month-old son,
Doug, and makes a dash for
the microphone. His time is
limited — he must catch a
6:45 p.m. flight to Washing-
ton from Detroit Metropolitan
Airport.
He talks about his views,
which he sees as tradi-
tionally conservative. He
opposes increases in taxes
and favors a cut in the capi-
tal gains tax, which is levied
against profits from sales of
such assets as stocks and
real estate.
Mr. Schuette says
Democrats are too lenient on
crime and advocates the
death penalty for many
criminals, including those
convicted three times of sell-
mg drugs to children. He op-
poses bans on sales of
assault weapons. Bearing
arms, he says, is a basic
-
right afforded by the U.S.
Constitution.
Abortion must be banned,
he says, except in cases of
rape or incest. He believes,
too, that Roe vs. Wade, the
landmark ruling allowing
women to choose abortion,
should be overturned by the
U.S. Supreme Court.
Education and the future
of children is of utmost con-
Mr. Schuette says
Democrats are too
lenient on crime
and advocates the
death penalty.
cern, second to none, Mr.
Schuette stresses. And, he
emphasizes, the country
must be equipped with
nuclear weapons.
Mr. Schuette believes the
United States can only
negotiate in the Middle East
from strength. He continues
to support President George
Bush's decision to send
troops to Saudi Arabia.
"We need to prevent an
occurrence in the 1990s that
we saw in Europe in the
1930s," Mr. Schuette says.
"George Bush did in the
1990s what Winston Chur-
chill did in the 1930s when no
one listened. (Iraqi leader)
Saddam Hussein is attemp-
ting to do what Hitler did in
the '30s."
The race between Mr.
Schuette and Mr. Levin has
been filled with mudslinging
attacks from both camps.
"Mr. Levin votes against
all we represent," Mr.
Schuette says. "I think our
state needs a change.
"Carl Levin is engaged in
a personal assassination
campaign," Mr. Schuette
tells the crowd. "It will
backfire.
"Carl Levin is not a bad
guy," Mr. Schuette says.
"This is really about econ-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
53