ON POLITICS

Cellucci putting key issues on ice for Bush presidential drive

By Frank Phillips and Scot Lehigh, Globe Staff, June 14, 1999

Paint a political profile of Paul Cellucci, and a handful of issues leap instantly to mind: opposition to new taxes, support for abortion rights, advocacy of gay rights, and promotion of gun control.

Those are policies Paul Cellucci has passionately advocated during a 22-year political career that has seen him rise from Hudson selectman to state representative to state senator to lieutenant governor and to claim the ultimate prize of the governor's office.

But now, with a chance to play on the national political scene -- and possibly advance his career even further -- Cellucci is putting those issues on ice.

That will be especially clear tomorrow when the Bay State chief executive throws a fund-raiser and media show for his presidential candidate, Texas Governor George W. Bush, who is coming to Boston as part of his first presidential campaign swing.

The Massachusetts governor is rolling out the red carpet for his Lone Star colleague. When Bush heads back to Texas, he should take $400,000 in contributions, courtesy of the Cellucci fund-raising operation. Plus, of course, a glowing political endorsement from the Massachusetts governor.

But beneath all the Austin-to-Boston campaign hoopla lingers a nagging question: How can Cellucci brush aside the causes central to his political identity to endorse a man who has taken starkly different stands on those matters?

Consider: Cellucci strongly supports abortion rights. Bush, who opposes abortion, just signed a parental notification measure, one of 14 antichoice provisions he has agreed to, according to abortion-rights advocates.

Cellucci is a longtime advocate of gay rights, having, along with former governor William F. Weld, forged a strong alliance with the gay community. Using the governor's office, the two advanced a cutting-edge agenda to promote inclusiveness and battle discrimination against gays.

Bush comes down more with the Christian Right. He opposes "special rights" for gays and lesbians, even when those rights are only stepped-up penalties for those who commit crimes based on sexual orientation. And in 1994, Bush vowed to veto any attempt to repeal Texas's vestigial sodomy statute, which criminalizes homosexual behavior. That law, Bush said, was "a symbolic gesture of traditional values."

Cellucci has been a strong advocate of gun control, pushing an entire array of gun-control measures, including an assault-weapons ban and strong licensing requirements.

Bush, on the other hand, has sided with the National Rifle Association on some of its favored legislation. In 1995, the Texas chief executive signed into law a measure overturning Texas's 125-year-old ban on carrying concealed weapons -- a policy Cellucci strongly opposes.

Another interesting difference comes on taxes.

In 1991, governor Weld and then-lieutenant governor Cellucci waged a dramatic fight to repeal the state law extending the sales tax to professional services. Such a law would prove a disaster to the state's business climate, they said.

But in 1997, George W. Bush proposed a sales tax increase and a tax on professional partnerships as part of a broader plan to offer property tax relief.

On several of those issues -- specifically gun control and abortion -- Cellucci's positions seem to be closer to those of former Cabinet secretary Elizabeth Dole. Overall, his stands are probably closer still to those of Democratic Vice President Al Gore.

So why is Cellucci with Bush?

Cellucci downplays the differences, saying that though he and Bush diverge on the social issues, they share common ground on fiscal and economic issues.

"There is a lot more we agree on than we disagree over," Cellucci maintained in an interview. He cited their mutual support for programs to overhaul public education, to fight crime, and to promote free trade.

And, Cellucci added: "We are both big tax cutters."

Even on the issues they disagree over, Cellucci said he finds Bush acceptable. On gay rights, he noted, Bush has expressed tolerance and respect for homosexuals. On abortion, he said Bush's position is that the issue has been settled by the courts and that the battle should be over how to reduce abortions.

As for gun control and gun ownership, Cellucci dimissed their differences as a geographic and cultural divide. He said Texas is a "much different culture than Massachusetts."

Still, the best clue as to why Cellucci is putting his policy passions on hold comes when he talks of his long-standing relationship with the Bush family, both the governor and former president.

"I go back a long way with the Bushes," Cellucci said. "They are the best we have in this country."

Fair enough. Still, it's worth noting that in this case, friendship and loyalty -- and, possibly, Cabinet ambitions -- seem to have trumped fidelity to Cellucci's defining causes.