A New Front
The proposed MCI–WorldCom deal has aroused substantial opposition on the Left, with Jesse Jackson, John Sweeney, Ralph Nader, and the Communications Workers of America siding with GTE (the next suitor in line should the merger fail) in asking the Justice Department to block it. They claim to be concerned about the impact on consumers, but it is also true that the merger would produce a non-unionized giant while GTE would unionize. Conservative pollster Kellyanne Fitzpatrick and omni-activist Grover Norquist have raised the possibility that the Right ought to do something to counter their efforts. An additional concern is the possibility that GTE, whose general counsel is William Barr, an Attorney General under President Bush, is working with these left-wing groups. Ending the flow of taxpayer dollars and coerced dues to the Left is a top objective of Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform; using state power to get corporate money should not be an available fallback.

Waite to Exhale?
Vying for the Congressional seat previously held by her late husband, Sonny, Mary Bono (R., Calif.) won easily, garnering 64.1 per cent of the vote as one of seven candidates. Her closest opponent in Calif.-44, Democrat Ralph Waite, obtained just 28.7 per cent and acknowledged that, without more financial support from the Democratic Party, it will be extremely difficult for him to run a strong campaign against Bono in the fall. (Bono's campaign outspent Waite's 2 to 1 in the special election.) In an April 8 conference call, NRCC Chairman John Linder (R.,Ga.) described Rep. Bono as "a very smart lady who knows what she believes," and said he doesn't yet know whether she will take her husband's seat on the Judiciary Committee.