WHAT'S AT STAKE?

October 4, 1998
	On November 3, Americans will go to the polls and elect members for the 106th Congress. In this Congressional '98 elections special, the NewsHour looks at the issues that will shape the races.

Oct. 4, 1998: Election '98: The National Report Oct. 4, 1998: A look at two open seat contests. Oct. 4, 1998: How impeachment is impacting two races. Oct. 4, 1998: A full report and debate on the politics of impeachment. Oct. 4, 1998: How will the budget and other issues impact Election '98? Oct. 4, 1998: A conversation between voters in Denver and Members of Congess.   The Web site for Vote Smart	JIM LEHRER: Good evening. I'm Jim Lehrer. Welcome to a NewsHour special on the 1998 Congressional elections. In 30 days voters will determine the make-up of the next Congress. The campaign is moving into high gear as the current Congress prepares for the possible impeachment of President Clinton. Will this election be a referendum on the president, or one shaped by policy differences between Republicans and Democrats?
	For the next hour, we'll examine the issues from both within and from without Washington. We'll update activities in Congress, hear from a political reporter, and leading political consultants, go on the campaign trail in four states where issues compete with impeachment politics, and we'll talk with the voters in Denver who discuss it all among themselves and then are joined by Congressman John Kasich and Sen. Patrick Leahy. Officially, the stakes in this election are clear and numerical. The Republicans go into the campaign with a 21-seat edge in the House of Representatives and a 10-member majority in the Senate, where 34 races will be on the ballot in November, 16 currently held by Republicans, 18 by Democrats. We start our look at this unusual election year with brief scenes setting comments -- recorded earlier this week -- by House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
	House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
	REP. NEWT GINGRICH: This election is going to set a lot of key directions for America. Do you want higher taxes with the Democrats, or lower taxes with the Republicans? Do you want us to move forward in a bipartisan way to save Social Security, or do you want to stick with the current system even if it ends up having real problems for our children and grandchildren because we didn't have the courage to save it? Do you want to have us move power out of Washington, or do you want to have us continue to have more and more bureaucracy, more spending, more controls here in Washington? Do you want a stronger national defense, which the Republicans, favor or a weaker national defense, which has been where the Democrats are? I think there are very big, very real choices, and I think they will affect the future.
	House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt.
	REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT: The decision is do you want to elect a Republican majority again in the House and wind up with two more years of investigations of everything and everybody, which seems to be their desire, or do you want the Democrats in control in which case we would address, finally, people's everyday, kitchen table problems? Fixing Social Security, making sure it's there, doing something about expanding our school buildings and refurbishing them and getting 100,000 new teachers in the schools so we improve public education; and third, a patients' Bill of Rights.

REGIONS TOPICS RECENT PROGRAMS ABOUT US FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS / FEEDS:

Support the kind of journalism done by the NewsHour...Become a member of your local PBS station.
PBS Online Privacy Policy Copyright ©1996- MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.