08.20.2004

Driven Deutsch vows to be 'tenacious fighter' in Senate

By KEN THOMAS, The Associated Press

HOLLYWOOD - Peter Deutsch has heard all the adjectives. He's called combative and hard-nosed, tenacious and tough, brash and abrasive. But for Deutsch and his no-holds-barred style, only one word matters: results.

"I'm not running for the United States Senate to win a Miss Congeniality contest ...," the South Florida congressman says. "I'm a tenacious fighter for people I represent. And I make no excuses for that - that's what I want to be."

In a 22-year career in the state Legislature and in Congress, Deutsch has engendered fierce loyalty from his admirers and rubbed plenty of Democrats the wrong way. In his quest for the Senate, Deutsch says his work as an advocate is what makes him worthy of succeeding retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham.

In the primary campaign, Deutsch has accused rival Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas of abandoning Al Gore during the pivotal days of the 2000 presidential election. And he has targeted front-runner Betty Castor, criticizing an organization that helps elect Democratic women.

Deutsch's supporters said he's capable of pulling ahead by Aug. 31, helped by a frenetic 24/7 campaign and money to reach voters on television.

"He'll work five times as hard as anyone else," said Mike Moskowitz, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who has known Deutsch for 20 years.

A true campaigner, Deutsch was born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y., where the baseball diamonds were painted on concrete and "you knew you were tough when you slid head-first into home plate."

He got his first lessons in civics from his father, the son of Belorussian immigrant, who grew up poor but became a successful businessman.

Deutsch first took to politics during his college days at Swarthmore, when gasoline shortages showed him that international affairs affected his everyday life. After lining up a summer job on Ted Kennedy's staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee, he became a mini-expert on energy policy and idealistically vowed "to break OPEC."

Impressed with Kennedy's understanding of the energy crisis, Deutsch later worked on his 1980 primary challenge against President Carter.

During law school at Yale, Deutsch spent several months in Broward County working on behalf of elderly residents. He expected a post-law school life as a staffer on Capitol Hill, but saw his opportunities dwindle with Ronald Reagan's victory in 1980.

So even as he was finishing his last semester at Yale in 1982, Deutsch decided to run for an open seat representing Broward in the state House. Commuting to law school, Deutsch slept on a friend's couch and took courses Tuesdays and Wednesdays so he could campaign in Florida the rest of the week.

In a four-way primary, Deutsch won more than 60 percent of the vote, walking door-to-door in the district, leaving notes and mailing campaign potholders.

Steve Effman, who was a Sunrise city councilman and one of Deutsch's opponents, said the unknown 25-year-old "revolutionized" campaigning in South Florida's condos. "The impression everyone got in that campaign was he never slept, he never ate - he campaigned," Effman said.

In Tallahassee, Deutsch helped pass legislation barring elderly residents from being kicked out of nursing homes. A decade later, he won a seat in Congress, where he has focused on Medicare, Everglades restoration and helping emergency workers injured in the line of duty and the families of missing children.

He has his critics. Deutsch's tactics have annoyed some, who say privately that he bullies and browbeats others to get his way. Early in the primary race, Deutsch was booed at a forum when he railed against Penelas for failing to support Gore in 2000.

His criticism of Castor's connection to EMILY's List drew the ire of Castor's son, Frank, who complained that Deutsch "talks trash" about Castor "behind her back. He's too much of a wimp to confront her and be a man. It just shows how desperate he is."

The Jewish Journal, in endorsing Castor, assailed Deutsch as a combative politician who has been more interested in winning than compiling a distinguished record.

"The only other politician in recent memory who was as ruthless as Deutsch was Richard Nixon," the South Florida-based newspaper wrote, adding, "If you like the Nixon personality type, then you should definitely vote for Deutsch."

An observant Jew, Deutsch does not work during the Sabbath and lives within walking distance of his synagogue. He acknowledges he's "not perfect" and says his beliefs help him realize his fate is not up to him.

"God rules the world. God's going to determine whether I win or I lose," he said. "I still have to put the effort in, but again, it is truly an endeavor that is out of my control."

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