by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

Newsmax.com called it an “embarrassing photo.” It was released on June 10, showing Florida gubernatorial hopeful Janet Reno, Clinton’s attorney general from Waco to Elian Gonzalez, and fictional “West Wing” president Martin Sheen kissing each other firmly on the lips at a campaign event in early June. At least one observer compared it to the famous kiss shared by Al and Tipper Gore at the 2000 Democratic Party convention.

Some talk show hosts had a field-day with the picture, but probably a lot of American hearts were melted by it. Here was a fictional left-wing actor/president on the first day of a three-day campaign swing with Reno in a bid to help her dent Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s popularity.

The Democrats really want to beat the current President’s brother, and Sheen is only the latest of a string of celebrities being enrolled in the Reno campaign. For instance, Rosie O’Donnell has already hosted a fund-raiser for her in her posh Florida home, and other Democratic celebrities are waiting in the wings to sway American voters.

The Reno-Sheen smooch picture (reproduced here) is a symbol of how strange the 2002 elections will really be—not just for governors races, but for congressional contests as well. Probably both parties will be calling on celebrities in an effort to win friends and power. But most of the big guns in Hollywood, on television, and in publishing are identified with the Democrats and just about every far-out liberal cause, including gun control.

But celebrity cameos are not the only thing making the upcoming elections so schizophrenic. The really big wackiness comes from re-apportionment. Every 10 years, a census is taken of the American public. The census is non-partisan of course, but its results produce some very partisan results.

Depending of which political party controls the governor’s mansion and the legislature in each state, the census results will be used to advance—or at least retain—that party’s power. True representation of the electorate is not the object; party control is.

Most of the changes take place in the districts for the state legislatures, but population shifts often mean new numbers in a state’s population; some gain seats in the House of Representatives, others lose seats. In New York we are losing again; once upon a time we had 45 House seats. During the last 10 years, we had 31. In the next Congress we will have 29.

While many readers may consider this only just considering the overall voting records of the New York delegation, bear in mind that California will again be gaining seats, and they were already up to 52 before the latest census.

But other states will pick up one or two that used to belong to the people of another state.

In Georgia, for instance, the Democrats are in control of the state legislature and governorship, which means that the Republicans will lose a seat due to reapportionment, and move the Democrats a square closer to controlling the House on Capitol Hill. Pro-gun rights Georgians in particular will lose.

The Georgia Democrats have redrawn the new district Atlanta in such a way that two consistently pro-gun Republican incumbents—Reps. Bob Barr and John Lindner—will have to face each other in a primary where only one can win.

The situation in New York is a little more even, and may be a sort of tossup. The powers that be were counting on cutting one Republican and one Democratic seat. As things now stand, two sometimes-pro-gun, sometimes-not Republicans and two solidly anti-gun Democrats will be forced to face-off against each other.

Only one of two Republican incumbents in the Hudson Valley—Reps. Sue Kelly and Ben Gilman—will survive, although there are reports that Gilman may switch parties and run against Kelly as a Democrat.

In the Western New York area, we will lose the other seat, but in this case the Democrats must take a hit. Two consistently anti-gun Democrats—Reps. John LaFalce and Louise Slaughter—have been tossed into the same new district that stretches from a bit of Buffalo to Rochester, bypassing some solid Republican countryside.

There are major party confrontations elsewhere, and not just for House seats.

In South Carolina’s June 11 primary, a former congressman advanced to a runoff with the state’s lieutenant governor for the Republican gubernatorial nod, while a businessman won Maine’s GOP primary to enter a crowded governor’s race, according to Associated Press.

Former Rep. Mark Sanford and Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler were the top two vote-getters in a seven-candidate field in South Carolina, but although they ran almost neck-and-neck, neither received more than half the vote to avoid the June 25 runoff.

The winner will challenge Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges, whose promise of a state lottery to aid education helped him topple a GOP incumbent in 1998.

Another runoff was set for South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District, where six Republicans battled to succeed GOP Rep. Lindsey Graham, who is seeking the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond. With 99% of the precincts reporting, state Rep. Gresham Barrett led the field with 44%, while state Rep. Jim Klauber led former prosecutor George Ducworth by just 35 votes for second place. The top two will advance to the runoff, and the GOP nominee will be favored over Democrat George Brightharp.

In New Jersey, a successful entrepreneur who spent several millions of dollars of his own money has become the Republican nominee in the effort to unseat Democratic US Sen. Robert Torricelli.

Doug Forrester won about 47% of the June 4 primary vote in a race against two state senators, and will go against Torricelli in November’s general election.

In the June 4 New Mexico primary, Republican voters apparently selected freshman state Rep. John Sanchez to square off in this fall’s race for governor with Democrat Bill Richardson, the former Clinton Administration energy secretary.

Richardson, who is also a former New Mexico congressman, had no serious opposition in winning the Democratic nomination for governor

Sanchez defeated two-term Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley and two other candidates in the race for the Republican nomination. Sanchez had 57% of the vote.

In South Dakota, Gov. Bill Janklow won the Republican primary for South Dakota’s only US House seat, beating former Sen. Larry Pressler by more than 2-to-1 in a field of five candidates.

None of these candidates is likely to garner as much media attention as the fictional president and his Florida candidate. But it’s not surprising that they sealed the political deal with a kiss. Soul mates do that.