The Gortons and Slades - Washington Secretary of State

218 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
Meese’s deputies learned that Dwyer and his wife had attended a Mondale
fundraiser, they urged Gorton to forward three names for consideration.
“I will send them three names,” he replied icily: “William L. Dwyer,
William L. Dwyer and William L. Dwyer.” 8
Intent on punishing Gorton, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee
stonewalled a vote on Dwyer. There was no hope of confirmation before the
general election—more red meat for Adams. Gorton was under fire left
and right. “The question in terms of the general public is why it is that a
Republican senator would be blocked by a Republican Department of Justice
and a Republican White House and require him to engage in this type
of behavior,” observed Arval Morris, a professor at the University of Washington
Law School. Prodded by a Post-Intelligencer reporter, Gorton snapped,
“I can’t understand why you and your newspaper have failed to appreciate
what I achieved in getting (Dwyer) nominated to the federal bench.” 9
The campaign attempted to defuse the issue with a commercial that
emphasized Gorton’s access and independence. The president and the
senator are seen conferring intently in the Oval Office. “Slade and I don’t
agree on every issue,” Reagan looks up to say, “but you can always count
on Slade’s dedication and care for the people of Washington State. I urge
you to re-elect my good friend Slade Gorton.”
the 1986 cAMpAign, from Seattle to Sarasota, is remembered by veteran
reporters and politicos as “the year of the 30-second war.” Reporters
were galled to find themselves covering commercials—“free media,”
in campaign lingo—laced with exaggerations and emotional images.
When Gorton called a press conference to preview three new spots set
to air during the last two weeks of the campaign, R.W. “Johnny” Apple Jr.,
the bigger-than-life correspondent for The New York Times, was on hand,
sizing up one of the nation’s tossup congressional races. As the videotape
began, he rolled his eyes and exchanged weary glances with the local
scribes. Had reporting really come to this? “For most senators, incumbency
is a tremendous electoral asset,” Apple wrote, “but for Mr. Gorton
it has proved a mixed blessing. It has helped him raise a lot of money for
television advertising, more than any candidate in this state’s history. He
will probably spend $3.3 million overall, as opposed to $1.7 million for Mr.
Adams. * But it has also kept him out of the state while Mr. Adams . . .
rebuilt his networks of supporters here.” 10
* Roughly double that to get 2010 dollars.