296 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
buy new planes. Murray’s office developed a reputation early on for being
officious and overly protective of Patty. When her press secretary threat-
ened to resign, Murray consulted Norm Dicks for a reality check, then
fired the chief of staff and another flinty aide.^2
After their hospitalizations, Murray invited Gorton to her office to dis-
cuss ways they could work together to advance the state’s interests in the
new session. Their committee assignments were advantageous, and he
was now not only back in the majority but a confidant of Trent Lott. She
supported Gorton’s vigorous efforts to defend Microsoft against antitrust
allegations. They were also united on protecting the Bonneville Power
Administration.
While they remained poles apart on most environmental issues, Gor-
ton backed her attempt to derail a bill lifting the ban on the export of
Alaskan oil to foreign refineries. When it was clear she lacked the votes
to kill it outright, he helped her extract concessions from Alaska Repub-
lican Frank Murkowski to protect the environment and jobs at domestic
refineries.^3
Most controversially, both voted for the Defense of Marriage Act—
Gorton on the grounds that “for a thousand years marriage has been
defined as a joining of one man and one woman,” Murray because “I’m
willing to fight for gay rights, but I’m not willing to debate over the defi-
nition of the word ‘marriage.’” Clinton signed the bill and caught the
most flak from liberals who accused him of selling out to boost his
chances for re-election. A poll found Americans opposed to same-sex
marriage 2-to-1.^4
Most emphatically, they teamed up with John McCain to tighten regu-
lation of the nation’s oil and natural gas pipelines. The legislation was
spurred by a tragedy that could have been a full-scale disaster.
A 16-inch pipeline delivering gasoline from Cherry Point to facilities at
Renton and Seattle ruptured on June 10, 1999. About 240,000 gallons of
fuel spilled into a creek less than two miles from downtown Bellingham.
Two 10-year-olds playing with a lighter they’d used earlier to set off fire-
works unwittingly ignited the fumes, producing a massive fireball. The
explosion occurred a block from the middle school where Senator Mur-
ray’s twin sister taught. Together with a teenager who was fishing nearby,
the boys died. They were hapless heroes. If the fuel had ignited closer to
town, authorities said the loss of life and damage would have been far
greater.^5
Gorton signed on as a co-sponsor of Murray’s Pipeline Safety Act of
- The Bellingham explosion was but one of 5,700 pipeline accidents