By Andrew Dys The Herald
(Published October 30‚ 2004)
Touting both independence and momentum, Democrat Inez Tenenbaum claimed Friday that opponent Jim DeMint is a weak candidate who needs big-shot Republican buddies to try to win a spot in the U.S. Senate.
DeMint's campaign retorted that Tenenbaum distances herself from the national Democratic party but doesn't mind national Democrats spending millions to get her elected.
Tenenbaum spoke at York Technical College's Institute for Manufacturing Productivity as a guest of the school's political science Jacobin Society. DeMint was invited but did not attend, said Rick Whisonant, Jacobin Society advisor. DeMint plans to talk to York County voters today at the Tega Cay Fall Festival at 11:30 a.m.
DeMint has consistently been ahead in the race, but polls have tightened and Tenenbaum claims the momentum has shifted leading up to Tuesday's vote.
The latest salvo of DeMint television ads blasting Tenenbaum feature Republican Gov. Mark Sanford and sitting Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham with DeMint. Another ad features President Bush lauding DeMint.
The ads "show how weak his (DeMint's) candidacy is," Tenenbaum said. He "has to have his party drag him across the finish line."
DeMint's staff says he retains the lead and Tenenbaum shuns the national Democratic presidential ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards, said Kara Borie, a DeMint spokesman. Bush is expected to win big in South Carolina.
"This shows the strength we have," Borie said of the help from Bush, Sanford and Graham. "Jim DeMint is proud to stand with them."
Tenenbaum has "run away from the Democratic Party during the election," Borie said.
Tenenbaum appeared with Democratic 5th District Congressional candidate Rep. John Spratt on Friday, but says her ads show only her because she's an independent candidate running on her own record like late Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond did.
Tenenbaum addressed the issue of 200-plus York County Celanese workers advised of layoffs this week, saying she backs streamlining the process of federal dollars that could be used for scholarships to retrain displaced textile workers. Further, she'll fight trade agreements that cost jobs to overseas competition. DeMint supports free trade agreements -- which Tenenbaum brings up in almost every campaign stop across the state.
"It's a tragedy to watch those companies fail," Tenenbaum said of companies like Celanese that are losing jobs.
The transition from textiles to other industry and manufacturing will be difficult but is already paying off in foreign investment and companies, Borie said. At the same time, DeMint continues to fight for workers who have lost jobs through training programs already in place, she said.
"Jim DeMint has more than a plan for displaced workers. He's done things in Congress," Borie said.
Tenenbaum also continues to blast DeMint as she travels the state over his sponsorship of a Congressional bill that would abolish the IRS and replace federal and payroll taxes with a national sales tax. DeMint claims the tax change would help ease the regular Joe's burden, but Tenenbaum claims the plan would hurt the poor and middle class while only easing the tax burden of people making more than $150,000.
Andrew Dys •329-4065