King tells MBA GOP 's majority could end in a heartbeat

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 28, 2001 by Doug Miller

Peter T. King, the Republican congressman from Long Island, should be bringing Strom Thurmond fresh orange juice every morning.

Thurmond, the impossibly old GOP senator from South Carolina who has held his seat since there were 48 states, represents the Democrats' best chance of capturing their first senate majority since 1994. He is reportedly in failing health, as ninetysomethings often are, and his death would open the possibility of a Democrat replacing him.

This is the type of thing Republican lawmakers must worry about nowadays, as King explained it to the New York Chapter of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America at their monthly luncheon Feb. 20 at the Yale Club. King readily admitted he was not an insider in the George W. Bush White House; his endorsement of Arizona Sen. John McCain in the New York Primary took care of that. But he is a ranking member of powerful House Financial Services Committee (nee the House Banking Committee), so sticking to what he does know gave the crowd of about 50 their money's worth.

He recently had a sit-down with The Most Powerful Man in the World - Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan but regretted he was offered no great insight into the future of the economy.

"He came to my office, and I tell you, I wish my staff showed me half the respect they showed him," King said. "They were running around for a week beforehand trying to find out what kind of diet soda he likes, what kind of chocolate-chip cookies to get: as if giving him too much caffeine would cause him to say the wrong thing and collapse the economy. After our meeting all these reporters called me, and I have to admit I was terrified to talk to them. If I said something that was even slightly off, I was sure Singapore or Japan would collapse.

"But the truth is we spent the first 20 minutes talking about the Giants stealing signs in the 1951 playoffs."

In all seriousness, King said the lesson he learned from his meeting with Greenspan is that the new economy can be judged on just one indicator: consumer confidence.

"It's the strongest indicator, and it's really the only indicator," he said, but admitted the new leadership had to be careful not to send mixed signals about the proposed $1.6 trillion tax cut. The message should be that we're getting a tax cut because we deserve a tax cut, not because we somehow need one.

"We have to be careful that the tax cut [which King said he mostly supports] will be seen as strengthening the economy, even though the economy is strong enough..."

The battleground that has been chosen over the cut in congress speaks volumes about how surprisingly powerful Bush has become just a month into his presidency.

"In 1997, we wanted an $800 billion tax cut, and the Democrats tore us apart. Now that we're proposing $1.6 billion, the Democrats are counter-offering $800 billion.

"I support the Bush proposal, I just don't expect it will all make it through."

However, he said the new leadership in Washington was both comfortable to work under and taking the nation in a welcome direction.

"Washington under Bush is like a Catholic School, whereas before there was a real lack of discipline under Clinton and Gingrich," he said. "Bush has a strong agenda and has brought in the right people. Colin Powell, for in stance; nobody with any interest in a political career will take on Colin Powell, while nobody even knew if Warren Christopher was alive or dead.

"[Speaker of the House] Dennis Hastert can work with this White House. He is really underrated and a decent, honest guy who can build partnerships and get things done."

New York's junior senator, however, has not yet turned into the firebrand he expected.

King claimed to have been present when the Marc Rich pardon was cemented, although he said he had no idea what was happening. He was with President Clinton and Rich's attorney Jack Quinn aboard Air Force One when the president made his final trip to Ireland. Quinn at the time was representing Vice President Al Gore's appeal of the election, and the day the Supreme Court ruled against him, he said Quinn was in surprisingly good spirits.

"My father is a cop, and thank God I didn't become one," King said. "Because obviously those two made the deal right under my nose and I had no idea what was going on."

As to whether the pardon was illegal or merely unsavory, King said he doubted any action would be taken against the former president. "Quid pro quo is hard to prove. I think the deal has hurt Clinton. And I think it was wrong to give the pardon, especially to a fugitive and to such a despicable person.

"I was surprised Hillary won by as much as she did," he added. "And I really thought that by this point she could have been like a shadow government, where she could be the Democrats' focal point and they could use her to take on Bush on all the issues, but because of all of this she has sort of been forced to go into hiding."

King's question-and-answer period with the audience lasted nearly as long as his prepared remarks.