Tracking the Great Persuader

By Ellie McGrath

Or, how to tell an arm twist from a back scratch

It was countdown to roll call in Congress, and the vote on the tax bill in the House, according to all predictions, was going to be close. The White House knew that a little salesmanship was in order, and so the Great Persuader went to work. After it was over and Ronald Reagan had once again stunned the House leadership by picking up 48 Democratic votes for his bill, the President insisted: "There hasn't been any arm twisting of any kind." Shucks, no. But there are ways, all sorts of ways ...

Take a Democrat to a Picnic. Three days before the House vote, the President invited 15 pivotal Democrats to Camp David for an all-American afternoon of hot dogs, hamburgers and homily. Among them was Glenn English, a fourth-term Congressman from Oklahoma. Reagan followed up the hamburger with a handwritten note to "Dear Glenn," promising to veto any bills that would authorize a windfall-profits tax on natural gas. English later showed the note to colleagues of his with natural gas interests among their constituents. They, like English, voted Reagan's way.

Follow Up Those Interviews. Everyone likes to shuffle his feet in the Oval Office. Reagan invited a score of Congressmen to visit him there on Monday, and 43 more on Tuesday. Some came alone, others in groups of six or seven. After Democrat Ralph Hall of Texas affirmed his commitment to his party's bill, the President followed their chat with a telephone call to a radio talk show in Hall's district. So many constituents called Hall's office afterward that he begged party leaders to release him from his commitment to the leadership bill. When it came time to vote, Hall backed the President.

Play Let's Make a Deal. Armed with a list of Congressmen and their pet projects, the President spent hours on the phone. "What can I do to help you make up your mind?" he would ask the reluctant Democratic dragoons. Angry about windfall oil taxes? Worried about Cuban refugees? Just tell me what you want. Reagan won New York Congressman Mario Biaggi's backing when he promised to support legislation that would preserve minimum Social Security benefits for the truly "needy."

A few days before his TV address, Reagan called Texas Democrat Charles Stenholm into the Oval Office to ask for his support. Stenholm agreed and pointed out that one way the President could win some Southern Democrats would be to stop opposing a peanut-crop allotment scheme. Taking his advice, Reagan later assured the ten-man Georgia delegation that the matter was not peanuts to him. When former President (and sometime Peanut Farmer) Jimmy Carter called Congressman Bo Ginn, it was too late. Carter was Ginn's 405th caller that day --and only the fifth to support the Democratic bill. Ginn and seven other Georgians had decided to back Reagan.

A Little Help from Big Friends. What is good for General Motors may be good for the country, after all. Reagan invited more than 200 business leaders to the White House on Monday to push his program. Executives of GM made calls to Congressmen, and Dow Chemical urged its employees to contact their Representatives. At the heart of the corporate effort was the "No Name Group," a little-known gathering of Washington lobbyists for the Chamber of Commerce and similar business associations. At their weekly breakfast at the Sheraton Carlton Hotel last week, the lobbyists had been supplied by the White House with the names of 43 Democratic Congressmen whose votes might be winnable. No Name was ready. Since the Chamber of Commerce is a presence in cities and towns of any size, the wires started humming in critical congressional districts. Result: 29 of the 43 targeted Democrats supported the President. Admits David Franasiak, director of tax policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: "It was the business community working for its best interests."

Send in the Clowns. DoALL Company, a Chicago-area machine tool distributor with nationwide offices, hired the Eastern Onion Singing Telegrams company of Bethesda, Md., to bring its message to 74 undecided Congressmen, DoALL's local branches had been hurt by the business slump, and they favor the President's tax plan. Their ditty, sung to the tune of The Yankee Doodle Boy, concluded: "You'll have a job for every man/ So just say 'Aye'/ Don't be a slob/ Someday you might have Reagan's job/ So please vote for Reagan's tax-cut plan." Six singers, dressed in top hats and tuxedos, invaded three congressional office buildings Wednesday morning, armed with kazoos and cymbal-playing mechanical monkeys. Only Bonzo was missing. Some Congressmen, however, were not amused. Los Angeles Democrat Edward Roybal, 65, took to the House floor that afternoon to denounce the stunt. Said he: "We are dealing with serious economic issues, and some of our loyal opposition seems to think it is time to send in the clowns."

Take to the Airways. It worked beautifully against Jimmy Carter. When all else fails, the Republican trump card is television, as practiced by Ronald Reagan. During his 22-minute speech to the nation, the President told the American people to keep those cards and letters coming in to their Congressmen. Although the hot dogs at Camp David did not convert Maryland Democrat Beverly Byron, a thousand calls to her after the speech did. She, like so many others, went the President's way after a nudge from the voters. --By Ellie McGrath. Reported by

Douglas Brew and Hays Gorey/Washington

With reporting by Douglas Brew, Hays Gorey

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.