Tom Foley: The Price of Pork

Foley brings home the bacon, but voters wonder which Washington he really represents

By Karen Tumulty / Walla Walla Monday, Nov. 07, 1994

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    In his first of half a dozen scheduled debates with Nethercutt, Foley even managed to muster something that resembled a sneer as he suggested that his opponent would help "move the speakership of the House from eastern Washington to Georgia," an allusion to would-be Speaker Newt Gingrich's district, in exchange for "the lowest position on the House Agriculture Committee," Nethercutt's presumed assignment. His face deeply flushed, Foley shouted, "I fight every day with greater influence on issue after issue for the people of this district!"

    Meanwhile, an increasingly defensive Nethercutt keeps trying to steer the debate back to the waste and corruption of the system at large. "Everything that comes from Washington comes with a price," Nethercutt says. But there was almost a plaintiveness in his voice as he reassured a local group that they need not suffer a pork-free diet: "Don't be fearful that the world will come to an end if Tom Foley is defeated."

    For all Foley's newfound energy, it is far from clear that he will win back enough voters by Election Day. Loyal Democrats in the district are demoralized. If the election were held today, even Foley's advisers admit that he stands a good chance of being washed away in the national anti-insider tide. Says Seattle pollster Stuart Elway: "People in the Fifth District have the loudest voice in America if they want to see some changes in Congress, or to send a message to Congress." True enough, admits a Foley campaign strategist, but he warns: "It would be the most expensive telegram they've ever sent."

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