Morella

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Constance A. Morella of Montgomery County found herself in small company yesterday when she became one of just a scattering of Republicans -- and the only one from Maryland -- to vote against all four impeachment counts facing President Clinton.The state's three other House Republicans voted to impeach Clinton on two counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett of Western Maryland, the state's most conservative congressman, also voted for the fourth and final article, which alleged abuse of power.

WASHINGTON -- Call them the bookends of House Republicans.Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett of Western Maryland came to Washington this year as an unabashed conservative. According to a new analysis, he lived up to his billing while becoming one of the most reliable Republican votes.Meantime, his GOP colleague, Rep. Constance A. Morella of Montgomery County, was the most unreliable, opposing her party more often than she supported it.The annual analysis of Capitol Hill votes by Congressional Quarterly, a respected weekly journal, also makes it clear that Maryland has sent to Washington two of the most partisan Democrats in the Senate.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Constance A. Morella of Montgomery County and four other moderate Republicans bucked their party's House leadership yesterday, joining a Democratic effort to force an early vote on campaign finance reform."

As Del. Mark K. Shriver goes door to door in his race for Congress, he sometimes is asked who he's running against. His response: Connie Morella. The answer shows confidence but may be premature. Shriver has to win the Sept. 10 Democratic primary before he can run against Rep. Constance A. Morella, the popular Republican who holds Maryland's 8th District congressional seat. Political observers say the race is by no means a lock for Shriver, a lavishly financed member of the extended Kennedy family.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Constance A. Morella's autumn of indecision ended late last night as the moderate Montgomery County Republican declared she would vote against impeaching a popular Democratic president whose policies she has often supported."

WASHINGTON -- Put aside the policy papers and pick up the phone. Everyone working on Capitol Hill has become a receptionist this week, as the pressure builds toward a House vote on impeaching President Clinton.The tension is particularly acute in the offices of the dwindling number of House lawmakers who have yet to say how they will vote at tomorrow's meeting of the House. Republican Rep. Constance A. Morella of Montgomery County is the only Marylander whose position remained in doubt, although her peers widely expect her to vote against impeachment.

WASHINGTON - President Bush praised Maryland Republican Rep. Constance A. Morella yesterday as an "independent soul" with a respected voice in Congress, throwing his weight behind her campaign and affirming the importance the Republican Party has placed on winning the fight to retain her House seat. The public embrace by Bush is unusual for Morella, one of the most liberal Republicans in the House, who downplays her party ties in her left-of-center Montgomery County district. Facing a tough race, she accepted Bush's offer of help, the first time a president has campaigned for her during her eight-term congressional career.

KENSINGTON - Local members of a national handgun-control organization are protesting the group's decision to stick with its endorsement of a Republican, Rep. Constance A. Morella, in the 8th District congressional race. Montgomery County members of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence question the group's support for Morella in a year in which Democrats, more aligned with gun control than the GOP, have a chance to gain a majority in the House of Representatives. In a letter sent yesterday to the Brady group in Washington, three leaders of the organization's local rank and file said Morella's Democratic opponent, Christopher Van Hollen Jr., "has not only voted right on the issues, but has led the fight in the Maryland Assembly for sensible gun laws."

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Constance A. Morella, a moderate Republican from Montgomery County, said yesterday that she has ruled herself out as a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat of Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes and will run instead for re-election to the House next year.Coupled with the decision of other prominent Republicans to pass up the 2000 Senate race, Morella's choice almost certainly ensures Sarbanes a smooth path to a fifth term.Morella had started to raise her profile around the state in recent months as she considered running against Sarbanes, a cerebral lawmaker often criticized for his seeming detachment but who has repeatedly won by wide margins beginning in 1976.

Republican Rep. Constance A. Morella said yesterday that she will vote against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, a wrenching decision - particularly in an election year - that again placed her between the wishes of her party and the sentiment of her liberal Maryland district. Morella becomes the third of 223 House Republicans to formally oppose President Bush's plan, on which a House vote is expected today. Reps. Ron Paul of Texas and Jim Leach of Iowa are the other two. On the House floor yesterday, she said every other option should be exhausted before voting to subject Americans and others to "the horrors of war."