GOP LETS HATFIELD OFF THE HOOK

• Share

Senate Republicans will not strip veteran Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) of his powerful Appropriations Committee chairmanship. Some GOP Senators were calling for Hatfield's head as retaliation for his vote against thebalanced budget amendment. TIME congressional correspondent Karen Tumulty says a generational split surfaced in a tense, closed meeting this afternoon, with Hatfield's longtime colleagues opposing the harsh punishment. A handful of Hatfield opponents, notably GOP Senate freshmen Connie Mack of Florida and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, were outnumbered. But Tumulty says their anger touched off a sharp debate on how to punish wayward party leaders in the future. She also warns that Hatfield still may not get off scott-free. "Bob Dole is not going to forget this," she adds. "His whole premise of running for president is leadership, and if you can't get people to follow you, what does that say?"