Republicans cry "carpetbagger" in New York Senate race

Thinking up ploys like sending a New York map to the White House and proposing a fund-raiser in Arkansas, Republicans are wasting no time making carpetbagging an issue in the likely race against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Senate.

The first lady's lack of roots in New York has become the predominant theme -- some say the only theme -- to emerge among Republicans in the nascent race to an election still 18 months away.

Not only does New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the probable Republican candidate, mischievously don Arkansas jackets and joke about vacationing there, but his handlers now say he will visit Little Rock to raise money on her home turf.

His supporters note on the HillaryNo.com Web site that Clinton has ``no connection of any kind to New York.''

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a tourist guide to Clinton, suggesting she ``learn as much as possible about the highways, major roads and interesting places to visit in a state you can not even call home.''

As clever as it might be, experts advise caution.

``This has been so far a one-note song,'' said pollster Lee Miringoff. ``The risk it runs is that it grows stale.''

Insiders say to expect an interesting counterattack from the Democrats -- Giuliani's very own words.

During the 1964 Senate race, they note, when Robert F. Kennedy ran under carpetbagger criticism, Giuliani wrote in his college newspaper that the issue was ``truly ridiculous.''

``Let us hope that cosmopolitan New Yorkers can rise above the ridiculous, timeworn provincial attitude that has so disunified our nation,'' he wrote.

Democrats point to the victories by Massachusetts-born Kennedy, and by Connecticut lawyer James Buckley for the same seat in 1970, as proof that New Yorkers will not be deterred.

But others note Kennedy enjoyed the coattails of Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory; he ran less than a year after the assassination of his brother President John Kennedy; he won heavily in New York City which now accounts for less of the state vote, and rival Kenneth Keating did not make it a key issue.

Buckley worked in New York as an attorney for 14 years and won in a three-candidate race where the vote was splintered.

``Carpetbagging is a legitimate issue, but it won't carry much weight,'' said former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who predicted it will retreat as the race heats up.

``Giuliani is such a low-blow guy,'' said Koch, ``that this particular issue will fade away as he engages in other loathsome attacks on her of a personal nature. That's the way I see this campaign.''

Clinton -- who was born in Illinois, lived in Arkansas and Washington as an adult and has never worked in New York -- will be aiming to mute the carpetbagger trumpet with plans to travel widely across the state in July and August.

She said last week she will form an exploratory committee enabling her to raise campaign funds for a possible run to replace Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who is retiring after four terms.

Polls show the carpetbagging issue carries weight, with roughly half of respondents in recent surveys voicing concern.

``Will it hurt her? Probably. But it will hurt her less in New York than it would in 49 other states,'' said pollster Maurice Carroll.

Behind the issue of carpetbagging, a contemptuous term referring to northern opportunists who headed South after the Civil War, is the lack of a strict residency requirement that would demand that a candidate actually live in New York while campaigning.

Watch also for Democrats to fight back with the heavy artillery of political advertising, said leading Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf.

``Paid media cures a lot of problems,'' he said. ``This is a $15 million to $20 million race.''

Democrats caution too that beating up on the first lady could backfire. Witness, they say, how her popularity rose when she was seen as a victim of her husband's philandering.

And Clinton's role as first lady, obviously, gives her a larger image than most political hopefuls could dream of.

``She comes from TV. She's not from anywhere,'' said Miringoff. ``This is a little different from someone moving into the state to run.''