DANFORTH'S "GOOD COP"
According to a story in today's Washington Times, the former federal prosecutor John Danforth has tapped as his deputy to investigate the Justice Department's actions in the Waco assault and its aftermath is under investigation by the Justice Department. Missouri Republican senator Kit Bond and others have complained about Edward L. Dowd Jr.'s efforts, as a Clinton-appointed U.S. Attorney, to defeat a Missouri referendum that would have permitted the carrying of concealed weapons. Dowd sent out appeals to oppose the referendum on Justice Department letterhead. He also set up a toll-free number, manned by Justice Department employees, to distribute anti-referendum materials. In April, the referendum narrowly lost. Bond's complaint that Dowd's activities were a prohibited use of federal resources is under investigation by the Department's Inspector General.

It seems that former senator Jack Danforth, in a typical Republican move, has decided to establish his bipartisan intentions by appointing a Democratic partisan - in this case, one whose own professional future depends on the conclusions reached by the DOJ's investigation of him. Worse, as an anti-gun activist bent on denying Missouri citizens a right enjoyed in 31 other states, Dowd shares the mindset of those federal officials responsible for the initial, unjustified raid and the final deadly assault. Perhaps he'll play the "good cop" in the interrogation of his former colleagues in the Justice Department.

The assistant U.S. Attorney in Texas who alerted the Justice Department to the undisclosed evidence about incendiary devices has been removed from the Waco litigation by Janet Reno to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. DOJ's investigation of Dowd presents an actual conflict, and if he remains as deputy of the investigation, Danforth's efforts will only add to the dark suspicions about federal law enforcement.

CHOICE MADE
Michigan Gov. John Engler and Sen. Spencer Abraham believe a school choice ballot initiative in their state will fail. "It has no hope of passage," said Engler at a Republican event on Mackinac Island last weekend. "There's not enough understanding or enough money to gain an understanding of this," he told reporters. Abraham said he agrees with the governor.

A recent Detroit News poll shows 47 percent of state residents favoring the initiative and 43 percent opposed. That's a lead, to be sure, but an awfully shaky one: Referenda typically peak early and then grow weaker. Successful efforts usually begin with support in the 60- to 70-percent range.

Most Michigan Republicans back the initiative, and both Gary Bauer and Steve Forbes signaled their support this weekend at the Mackinac Island conference. Yet Engler and Abraham worry that it will boost Democratic turnout. Engler is close to George W. Bush and wants his home state's electoral votes to show up in Bush's column next year. Abraham is in a tight race against Rep. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) and is widely considered one of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents.

When NR last reported on Engler's skepticism toward the school choice drive, many of the initiative's supporters thought he would ultimately come around. "He'll endorse it in a few months. He's waiting because he wants his endorsement to be appreciated," said one of them. But now it looks like Engler has meant what he has said all along.