The robust economy had promised to sweep incumbents easily back into office, but consumers may be looking for scapegoats as the long boom goes bust. As a rule, Republicans love tax cuts, and they want one more than ever. But with the baby boomers readying for retirement, Democrats say that the surplus should be reserved to pay Social Security pensions. President Clinton wants to delay tax cuts until Social Security is safe. The voters can decide November 3.
Immigration is a hot button issue in border states.
In recent years, immigrants have faced a backlash in the US, most notably in California where voters have passed proposals to curb bilingual education and stop public education, healthcare and social services to suspected illegal immigrants. The October budget agreement may stem the tide. The agreement allows almost 50,000 Haitian refugees to stay legally in the United States, increases the number of specialised foreign workers allowed in the country, and earmarks money for the Immigration and Naturalisation Service to reduce its backlog of citizenship applications. Candidates across the board condemn the stranglehold money has on politics, but as the money rolls in, it's politics as usual. Democrats and Republicans have called for reforms, but neither party has been willing to move on an issue that could prove damaging to them both.