9/13/00 4:40 p.m.
Shareholder News
The new investor class is keeping Bush in the running.

By NR's John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru

here hasn't been much research into the political views and habits of the new investor class. But Investor's Business Daily has added to what little information we have by commissioning a poll from the Technometrica Institute for Politics and Policy. The poll of 1,000 adults confirms previous findings, most notably those of a Rasmussen poll for the Cato Institute taken in January 1999. As a group investors are both more likely to vote and more likely to favor George W. Bush.

Americans who have less than $10,000 in the stock market — the poll's line of demarcation between non-investors and investors — favor Gore over Bush by 47 to 36 percent. Investors, however, favor Bush 47 to 40. They make up 53 percent of registered voters. The result is an overall dead heat: 42.4 to 42.4 percent. Just imagine how well Republicans might be doing with the new investor class were they ever to bother making a targeted appeal to them.

Interestingly, investors rated almost all the issues they were asked about — everything from prescription drugs to estate taxes — as less important than non-investors did. A few they rated higher, such as the Supreme Court, foreign affairs, and limited government. This may offer some explanation for why Bush and Gore are in such a tight race even though voters seem to prefer the Democrat's position on all the issues: Maybe "the issues" aren't the key issues for a lot of voters. And maybe some enterprising pollster ought to ask the public who it thinks would be better for stock prices.

The full story is available at www.investors.com.

Shareholder News II
The American Shareholders Association, a subdivision of Grover Norquist's organization Americans for Tax Reform, has issued a list of "Friends of the Shareholder." Congressmen were so designated if they had voted pro-shareholder on five issues ASA selected: IRA expansion, setting a date for the elimination of the income tax code, Internet taxes, free trade with Africa, and the estate tax. For senators, the votes were on IRAs, education savings accounts, free trade with China, free trade with Africa, and the estate tax.

Not surprisingly, most of the shareholders' friends were Republicans — with the notable exceptions of New Jersey senator Robert Torricelli and Kentucky congressman Ken Lucas, both Democrats.

Next week, the ASA will release a list of "enemies of the shareholder" who voted the other way on all five bills. It's a much smaller list, including: Dick Gephardt, David Bonior, Patrick Kennedy, Barney Frank, Bernie Sanders, Pete Stark, Jesse Jackson Jr., Robert Byrd, Fritz Hollings, and Paul Wellstone.

Flake In
Jeff Flake's GOP primary win in Arizona's 1st congressional district is good news for the conservative movement — and even better news for an emerging force within it: the Club for Growth.

"Jeff's victory shows that if the club gets involved in a race, it can make the difference," says its executive director, David Keating. "There's no doubt in my mind that Jeff won this because of the Club. This sends a message around the country to people who want to run for open seats."

The Club for Growth provided Flake with $138,000 in bundled contributions, spent another $50,000 on radio ads, and sponsored 75,000 phone calls, says Keating. It supports candidates who run on a platform of limited government, economic freedom, and individual responsibility.

Flake took 32 percent of the vote in a hotly contested election between four candidates (including Tom Liddy, son of G. Gordon Liddy). He previously headed the Goldwater Institute, Arizona's conservative think tank.

The Phoenix-area district is considered a safe seat for Republicans. It is currently held by Rep. Matt Salmon, who is keeping his promise to serve no more than three terms. Flake has made the same pledge.