Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 23, 1993 TAG: 9310230059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Long
Harry Truman's come-from-behind whistlestop train tour from 1948 is remembered for the voter who shouted out the famous advice: "Give 'em hell, Harry!"
By contrast, the difficulty Mary Sue Terry faces in duplicating the same feat in this year's race for governor may have been summed up by Geraldine West, the Amherst County woman who hollered this advice as Terry's train pulled out of the Lynchburg station Friday morning:
"Explain about vouchers!"
Somehow, it hardly has the same ring, as West herself lamented after the Democrats' campaign train had rolled on to its next stop.
"A lot of people don't know what vouchers are," West said. "If more people understood, they'd vote for her."
Of course, the dying days of a political campaign are not well-suited for a complicated public discourse on the technicalities of school reform.
Nevertheless, Terry and her Democratic running mates are giving it the old school try. This week, she's zeroed in on Republican George Allen's willingness to allow localities to experiment with tax-funded vouchers that parents could cash in at private schools.
And while she may not be explaining the issue to West's satisfaction - "I've run into people who heard them in the debate and want to know `what's this about vouchers they're talking?' " West said - Terry is pulling out all the stops.
Six of them Friday, to be precise.
Terry and her running mates, Lt. Gov. Don Beyer and attorney general hopeful Bill Dolan, charted a passenger train from Norfolk Southern Corp. - cost: $14,400 - and rolled from Roanoke to Alexandria on their own Trumanesque tour.
Terry's message to crowds of supporters at stops in Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Culpeper and Manassas: "We can't let Virginia be railroaded to the right."
Terry homed in on the issues she hopes will convince voters that this year's Republican ticket is in thrall to what she terms "the radical right" - guns, abortion, and schools.
Terry is for a five-day waiting period on buying handguns; they're not. She's for abortion rights; the Republicans favor certain restrictions. And on schools - Terry's issue of choice the past few days - she kept up her charge that vouchers would "destroy" the state's public schools by draining away tax dollars from schools that are already underfunded.
For the record, Allen's position on vouchers is highly qualified: Allen would allow vouchers only if localities said they wanted them, if parents somehow indicated they backed them, and if the state certifies they'd help improve academic standards.
Nevertheless, the Republicans-are-for-vouchers and vouchers-will-destroy-public-schools line was one Terry and her ticket mates were pushing hard Friday.
"We don't improve public schools by telling any private school family they can go down to the treasurer's office and get back every penny they've paid," Beyer said.
In Lynchburg, Dolan held up an apple - to symbolize education, he said - and targeted his opponent, Jim Gilmore, for receiving a $50,000 contribution from religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.
"Mary Sue Terry understands - and so does Pat Robertson - how the attorney general has an opportunity to influence so many of the issues on education," he said. When many Virginia localities start electing school boards next year, that will open up "a whole new area of the law" ripe for interpretation, Dolan said.
At every stop, the Democrats evoked the obligatory comparisons with Truman's comeback win.
"Truman was behind in the polls and took to the rails," Dolan said. "The same thing is happening to us."
"You've heard the story of the little engine that could? Well, folks, here she is," Terry said. "We're coming back. The reason is voters are focusing on what kind of change they want. Both of our tickets represent change."
The difference, Terry said, is that the Democrats represent a "ticket of moderation" while the Republicans are part of "the radical right."
For the most part, the mood among the supporters who came out to see her was upbeat, despite the recent polls. "Starting about a week ago, I've seen a surge for her," said former state Sen. William Hopkins, who was among the 100 or so people who saw the ticket off in Roanoke. "I would bet by the end of next week, the polls would be in our favor. There's that much surge."
He credited the voucher issue with turning things around for Terry. "It looks to me like people might be getting scared about education."
The Rev. Carl Tinsley, who chairs Roanoke's Democratic Party, said he believes Terry is also gaining momentum among black voters, a constituency where she's been noticeably weak. He said her efforts to distance herself from Gov. Douglas Wilder had dampened enthusiasm among blacks.
"Every time she tries to fight Doug, she's fighting black people," Tinsley said. "There's been some hesitancy. People in the community have been calling me, saying they don't want to vote for either one. I've been telling them, she may not be everything they like but at least she's a Democrat."
University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato, who turned out to watch Terry's train stop in Charlottesville, agreed Terry has picked up steam, but questioned whether that's enough to overtake Allen. "It's basically Democrats coming back home," he said.
by CNB