Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SUNDAY, June 13, 1993 TAG: 9308250307 SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: D2 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That may prove unfortunate for the Republicans, who in rejecting Agee lost an opportunity to enhance and balance a ticket that seems to have serious liabilities at the outset.
It is more surely unfortunate for the Roanoke Valley and for the state of Virginia, which will be losing, for the time being anyway, a capable and conscientious public servant.
Like Shenandoah Valley Del. Clinton Miller, who ran a poor third at the GOP convention in his quest for the gubernatorial nomination (but is running for House re-election), Agee represents a strain of traditional Republicanism that survives - even thrives - at the General Assembly level but has fared poorly in recent years at statewide nominating conventions.
Agee's opponent for the nomination, Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney James Gilmore, succeeded in painting Agee as the more "moderate" of the two. At this convention, moderate was not a good thing to be or be called. To undecided delegates of the high-leverage religious right, "moderate" sounds suspiciously like "liberal."
The notion that Agee is a liberal would doubtless stun many liberals, not to mention a good many of Agee's Salem-area constituents of all persuasions. Consider, for example, the following list Agee once put forth as "the fundamental tenets that attract people to the Republican Party":
A pledge of fiscal responsibility.
An end of abuse of power and misuse of office.
Practical solutions to social problems based on common sense, not quotas or expensive giveaways.
An all-out effort to keep taxes as low as possible by reducing spending in government.
A commitment always to put the Jeffersonian admonition first: That government governs best which governs least.
The tenets themselves, one should think, would be warmly received by any self-respecting conservative. And the causes championed by Agee over the course of his career - merit selection of judges, tax fairness, nonpartisan legislative districting, toughness on crime, parole reform, among others - seem not out of line with those tenets.
Yet the list is from a 1989 op-ed column by Agee, published on this newspaper's Commentary page, that was used against him at the convention.
In it, Agee noted that Virginia Republicans had lost statewide election after statewide election by playing down those core issues, and instead playing up positions that the public found either irrelevant (such as criticisms of long-gone Democrats) or extremist (such as calls for a total ban on abortions).
Agee's counsel seems no less pertinent this year than in '89. True, Bill Clinton is a here-and-now Democrat, and an increasingly juicy target. But Virginia voters might wonder about GOP gubernatorial nominee George Allen's relevance to the statehouse in Richmond if the heart of his campaign turns out to be criticism of a president in Washington.
Unclear, too, is whether very many Virginians share the interest of Mike Farris, the party's nominee for lieutenant governor, in state subsidies for home schooling.
Limited though he was as a member of the minority party, Agee was a competent and highly regarded lawmaker. House Majority Leader Dick Cranwell of Vinton has given him high praise for his work with Democrats on matters of interest to the Roanoke Valley. The respect of his legislative colleagues was evident in the number who spoke on his behalf at the nominating convention.
Although his party has failed to win a single statewide office during his nearly 12 years in the General Assembly, Agee has seen the Republican legislative contingent grow steadily - to the point that GOP control of one or both houses before long is well within the realm of possibility.
If that happens, and the new majority reflects Agee-style Republicanism, that would reflect well on the party, and could also be good for Virginia.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB