Going places?

National Review, Sept 15, 1997 by Christine Todd Whitman, Kate O'Berine

I would like to clear up some inaccuracies in Kate O'Beirne's "Nowhere Girl" [July 28]. First, New Jersey did, in fact, apply for federal money to fund instruction in sexual abstinence, and I do not oppose it "in principle," as Mrs. O'Beirne presumes. We're letting those private, non-profit organizations that wish to make use of the grants do so by providing the matching funds themselves, since our schools already provide comprehensive sex education, including abstinence.

Also, Mrs. O'Beirne refers to New Jersey's transportation-infrastructure investment plan as a "$3.5-billion increase," which it is not. The lion's share of this 5-year plan --$2.5 billion -- is what New Jersey has been spending already. The balance, or increase, is achieved through a constitutional dedication of existing gas taxes and capital-improvement bonds --both prudent and nationally accepted practices. The Cato Institute, cited by Mrs. O'Beirne in her criticism of my fiscal record, raised New Jersey's grade from an F under Democrat Gov. Jim Florio, to a B in 1996. Indeed, under my administration the average annual growth in the state budget has been just 1.8 per cent -- the lowest in fifty years. We reduced the size of government, got out of businesses we should not have been in, restructured our debt to put our liabilities and assets back into balance, and, most importantly, made New Jersey business-friendly again by cutting red tape and taxes.

Mrs. O'Beirne rightly points out that "revenues have increased enough to cover" our tax cuts. They sure have. Revenues are up because we've cut taxes 14 times (saving taxpayers $4.4 billion so far), business is prospering, and the economy is vibrant. I agree that the 190,100 jobs we've created are just a start, but it's a good one. That figure is growing every day due to corporate relocations and expansion, and because we've helped move 73,000 people off the welfare rolls into the workforce -- a number that also continues to grow.

I share a belief in the common principles that bring Republicans together, including a good education for our kids and a safe home and healthy environment for our families. Excess government regulation is also part of my concern regarding the partial-birth abortion legislation that I conditionally vetoed. Whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is a deeply personal decision that I believe belongs to a woman, her doctor, and her spiritual advisor. This point notwithstanding, Mrs. O'Beirne misses the fact that the terms of my veto, if passed by the Legislature, would put New Jersey in the forefront in protecting viable fetuses. My veto called for a law to prohibit third-trimester abortions, except to protect the life of the mother, or where she is at significant risk of serious physical injury or impairment. A pregnant woman is also a human being, whose life and health deserve protection.

There are other issues that not all Republicans agree on, but the principles we have in common are tried and true. And they are made even stronger by something that is prevailing in New Jersey and around the country -- common sense in government.

Christine Todd Whitman

Trenton, N.J.

Gov. Whitman did apply for federal abstinence funding -- hours before the deadline and after "Nowhere Girl" appeared. Her previous recalcitrance prompted a vote in the New Jersey Assembly to urge the application. The New York Times has joined a chorus of Whitman critics who fault her "spend now, pay later" proclivities, stating: "A multibillion-dollar transportation program is being funded by new and newly refinanced bonds that are going to drive up the cost of debt service."

The governor brandishes her gentlewoman's B from Cato as a talisman against conservative criticism of her budget and tax record. The report, which noted that the "economic bleeding" under Jim Florio had stopped, does not grade her two most recent budgets (next year's increases spending at twice the rate of inflation), and criticizes her budget-savings "gimmicks" and her unsuccessful attempts to raise excise taxes. Gov. Whitman can reasonably argue that Florio was worse. But in a re-election campaign, shouldn't she be willing to defend her own record on its merits?

As the governor has recently suggested that golf-club tee times should be regulated in the interest of gender equity, it seems that only abortion absolutists benefit from her deregulatory zeal. A single New Jersey clinic has performed over 1,500 partial-birth abortions in a year, none of which would be prohibited by the governor's cosmetic proposal. These policies may seem like common sense at the country club, but they don't reflect mainstream Republican principles.