September 11, 1996

 Houston Gordon, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, on Tuesday continued to criticize the voting record of Sen. Fred Thompson, saying the senator's image doesn't fit the reality. Speaking at a noon luncheon of the Public Issues Forum, Gordon said Thompson (R-Tenn.) has portrayed himself as ''a middle-of-the-road, moderate Republican'' like former U.S. senator Howard Baker.

But Gordon, a Covington lawyer, said Thompson has voted like House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the Georgia lawmaker and leader of the ''Republican revolution'' in the Congress over the past two years. ''The man has voted against Tennessee, he's voted against Americans,'' Gordon said of Thompson. ''He's voted against the disabled, he's voted against veterans, he's voted against the elderly, he's voted against schoolchildren, he's voted against the helpless, he's voted against working couples who make $28,000 or less. ''He voted the Newt Gingrich line. He's a Newt Gingrich Republican. I don't care how many pickup trucks he drives or how many times he travels across the state spitting tobacco. That's his vote. I'm not making that up.''

Alex Pratt, spokesman for the Thompson campaign, said Gordon was resorting to a Democratic strategy being used in campaigns around the country: to tie every Republican candidate to Gingrich. ''It's old, it's tiresome and it's inaccurate,'' she said of Gordon's effort to link Thompson to Gingrich. ''It would make much more sense to address the issues and Sen. Thompson's record.'' Thompson was elected in 1994 to fill the seat vacated by Vice President Gore and is seeking election to a full six-year term. Gordon is making his first bid for elected office.