Word: murray
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This is only the third time in history that two women have squared off in a general election for the U.S. Senate. But that subject barely surfaces in the daily yin and yang of the campaign. The more interesting story is that while Murray and Smith are both somewhat offbeat, they are polar opposites politically. And at a time in which President Clinton has broken the needle on the country's moral compass, we're about to find out whether one of the nation's largest groups of independent-minded voters goes for the moderate suburban mom who speaks softly...
Richard Young, an associate professor of political science at Seattle University, said Murray's moderation seems more in sync with the state's voters. "The alliance of Christians and Libertarian Republicans has taken over the party, and their candidates fall into the category of being extreme...
Polls have shown Murray ahead by as many as 13 points, but both camps say the gap has closed. And although Murray has more money, Smith's followers, whom she refers to as "Linda's army," are generally more rabid. Plus, she has a history of coming from behind. There's also the thorn-in-the-side-of-the-party factor, which in distant Washington State could work in her favor. Her D.C. colleagues can't stand her. "She's impossible to deal with. She's nuts. Totally bonkers," says a senior House Republican. That's probably because...
...Both 48, Murray and Smith raised families and then were drawn to politics for some of the same reasons, including an interest in families and education. There the similarities end, and they are definitely not using the same hairdresser. Murray, known as the mom in tennis shoes in 1992 when she won office in the year of the woman, could be in a Wheat Thins commercial or an Eddie Bauer catalog; Smith looks like she's just come from Talbots and is on her way to accept the Dry Cleaning Woman of the Year award...
...Murray is pro-choice; Smith once voted against Medicaid funding for abortion in cases of rape and incest, explaining, "We don't kill children because their father is a jerk." Murray, a former instructor and school-board member, boasts about her role in last week's budget agreement and the planned hiring of 100,000 teachers to reduce class size; Smith, who once managed a tax-preparation business, accused Murray of raiding the Social Security trust fund and said she doesn't want bureaucrats or politicians in D.C. "wrapping my school district in red tape...