Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 3, 1994 TAG: 9501050009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DAVID REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
North had accused Democratic Sen. Charles Robb of trying to make race an issue in the increasingly rancorous campaign that polls show remains a statistical draw.
``We cannot be dividing people into special-interest groups,'' North said after blasting Robb on Tuesday for a Democratic Party phone bank last week that compared North with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
``They knew playing on the fears of African Americans was one way, however ugly, to save their sinking ship,'' North said in a speech to about 300 State Farm Insurance Co. employees in Charlottesville.
But in a question-and-answer session, insurance underwriter Corey Walker asked why he and other blacks should support North after the GOP nominee in September defended flying the Confederate flag at a city-owned museum in Danville.
Walker also noted that North had declined an invitation to address a statewide conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in October.
North acknowledged that the Confederate flag is offensive to many blacks.
``But I would suggest to you that for the U.S. government to come in and tell us what kind of flag to fly above a building that does not receive federal funds is not the purview of the U.S. Senate,'' North said.
North noted that 17 of the 23 people who work at his bulletproof-vest factory in Virginia are minorities and said he has spoken at black churches during his campaign.
``The press has tried to describe me as coming late to the minority community here in Virginia,'' North said. ``I find it personally offensive.''
Robb's campaign offered no immediate comment on North's remarks.
Hecklers and North supporters tried to shout each other down during another North appearance Wednesday at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Young Republicans held blue-and-white North posters and chanted, ``Ollie, Ollie.'' Others chanted, ``Truth Yes, Lies No, Ollie North has got to go,'' and some wore T-shirts saying ``Virginia is for Lovers, not Liars.''
Earlier in the day, North criticized Robb as an ineffective slacker in the Senate, saying Robb has steered only five bills through Congress in six years, including a commemorative measure honoring ham-radio operators.
``This is hardly a record to be proud of,'' North said.
He spoke at the site of a planned memorial to Virginia patriot George Mason. One of Robb's bills secured the memorial site in Washington, but lack of money has delayed its construction.
``I don't want you to miss the symbolism here, folks,'' North said. ``Virginians ought to have more to show for Chuck Robb's Senate service than an empty lot, a lot of empty promises and empty pockets and pocketbooks,'' as a consequence of the Clinton-administration tax bill last year.
Robb responded with a lengthy list of legislation he either sponsored or helped to pass. Robb's list included at least five bills North did not list.
Most of the legislative accomplishments Robb listed are amendments to defense and other bills, including legislation benefiting Virginia shipbuilders and defense installations.
Other measures cleared the way for Northern Virginia's commuter railroad and extended family-health benefits for a year after a soldier's death.
During a visit to an elementary school in Woodbridge on Wednesday, Robb blasted North's pledge over the weekend not to support any new federal taxes. He said such a pledge is unrealistic.
``Voters want to hear that rhetoric,'' Robb said, ``but it's not responsible rhetoric.''
Robb supported President Clinton's economic plan in 1993, which included a tax increase on wealthy individuals, and said it is not credible to rule out tax increases if a candidate is serious about cutting the federal deficit.
Also in Charlottesville on Wednesday, independent candidate Marshall Coleman proposed a $500-per-child tax credit for families if he is elected.
``Let families keep more of their money to buy homes, pay bills, educate children and save for the future,'' he said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB