Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 5, 1994 TAG: 9407080023
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By THOMAS R. MORRIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Thirty years ago, the Byrd organization began to break apart from the pressures of party building. The issue was whether U.S. Sen. Harry Byrd's fabled "golden silence" with respect to Democratic presidential candidates should be maintained.
In 1994, the notion of "golden silence" was resurrected in the form of advice to Sen. John Warner about his public stance in the U.S. Senate contest.
In July 1964, Virginia Democrats gathered in Richmond for a state convention. There were not nearly so many delegates as attended the Republican convention last month. Accordingly, the meeting site was the Richmond Mosque instead of the yet-to-be-built Richmond Coliseum, which was recently filled to the rafters by more than 13,000 Republicans.
The 1994 Republican convention was another painful, yet necessary, chapter in party building played out for all to see.
The challenge for any party striving for a winning coalition is to attract new voters without alienating traditional supporters. Newcomers to the Republican convention, a year ago as well as this year, flexed their political muscle, knowing they represented votes crucial to Gov. George Allen's landslide victory in 1993. They played a critical part in nominating Mike Farris for lieutenant governor in 1993 and Oliver North for the Senate this year.
At the state Democratic convention in 1964, another form of party building was at work. The issue was whether Virginia Democrats should endorse President Lyndon Johnson's candidacy for re-election. Congressman W. Pat Jennings of the "Fightin' Ninth" implored the delegates to "be Democrats from the courthouse to the White House." Byrd, running for a sixth term in the Senate, resisted such an endorsement. But the delegates rebelled and voted 633-596 for a resolution from the floor endorsing President Johnson's re-election.
In the 1964 November election, President Johnson surprisingly polled 53.5 percent of the vote in Virginia with Sen. Byrd easily winning re-election with 64 percent. The strains of party realignment, however, soon became evident. The rebellion of the Democratic delegates against Sen. Byrd's stance on Johnson's candidacy, coupled with the abolition of the poll tax and the passage of the Voting Rights Act, hastened the exit of many conservatives from the Democratic Party. After 1965, the new moderate-liberal Democratic coalition did not win the Virginia governorship again until it triumphed three times in the 1980s.
The Byrd organization is now relegated to the history books, but there are times when echoes of that "political museum piece," as the organization was dubbed, are still heard. Echoes of late include the abysmally low turnout in this year's Democratic primary, the rural-based campaign strategy of state Sen. Virgil Goode, the repeated invocation of fiscal conservatism by candidates, and the calls for party loyalty, or, in lieu of that stance, "golden silence."
Sen. John Warner rejected pleas from fellow Republicans urging "golden silence," openly expressing reservations about Mike Farris' candidacy last year and publicly supporting an independent Republican over the party's nominee this year. The surging popularity of Sen. Warner among Virginia voters may be evidence that party loyalty no longer holds the same sway over voters that it once did.
And yet, in America, campaigns almost always begin and end with political parties. Oliver North and Charles Robb and their respective party chairmen are calling for party unity. The first phase of the 1994 general election for the U.S. Senate consists of the efforts of the two major party nominees to consolidate their party support. The polls and the presence of two well-known independents suggest their task will be more difficult than usual this year.
As was the case in 1964, a Southern Democrat is in the White House. Unlike 1964, the Virginia Democratic senator seeking re-election is closely associated with the president. One of the imponderables for 1994 is the extent to which voters will be influenced by the relationship of the candidates and of President Clinton to their respective political parties.
While one election does not say it all, Virginians in November will render a verdict of sorts on the vitality of the state political parties and the resiliency of party loyalty in the 1990s.
Thomas R. Morris is president of Emory & Henry College.
by CNB