Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503100034
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK E. RUSH
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
For anyone keeping score over the past few years, tracking the Virginia GOP has not been easy.
Back in 1991, the party seemed unified and on the brink of statewide dominance as it managed to overcome a vicious partisan gerrymander and increase its share of seats in both houses of the state legislature. Then, while the Democrats offered Mary Sue Terry their most lukewarm support, George Allen convincingly won the gubernatorial election.
Since, the party's fortunes have slid downhill. Instead of learning from the Democrats' internecine battles, the Republicans seem hell-bent on following suit with their own - and Virginia stands to suffer greatly for it.
It would not be inaccurate to describe Virginia currently as a place of ``no-party'' politics. This was no better manifested than in the 1994 campaign for the United States Senate.
Instead of touting their partisan credentials, the cast of characters spent most of their time making personal attacks and defending themselves against the same. Charles Robb was not unscrupulous; Doug Wilder was not vindictive; Oliver North was not a felon, or a liar, or (as it turned out) a Reaganite; Marshall Coleman was none of the above; John Warner was neither a Republican traitor nor a supporter of North; and Jim Miller was not nominated.
Now, Warner's a traitor, Robb's a senator, Miller is the Republican hope for the future and President Bush is not welcome - at least in the Republican Party headquarters.
What is missing from Virginia's political agenda was also missing from George Bush's failed re-election campaign and seems to be missing from Bill Clinton's meandering tenure in the White House: the vision thing.
Like their congressional counterparts, Virginia's Democrats have held power so long that they have lost sight of the common visions that once held them together as a party. As a result, Dick Cranwell manages to whip them into line just long enough to frustrate the governor's initiatives.
While this may appear to be the war cry of a rejuvenated Democratic Party, it sounds very similar to what turned out to be the swan song of the congressional Democrats. Sooner or later, the people will tire of the politics of frustration and seek a more responsible alternative - as long as one exists.
As Newt Gingrich's occupation of the speaker's chair indicates, the Republican Party managed to present the people of the United States with just such an alternative to ``politics as usual'' that was attractive enough to end the tenures of congressional mainstays as powerful as Dan Rostenkowski.
Unfortunately, their Old Dominion counterparts are ignoring the lessons to be learned from Gingrich.
Like it or not, the Contract with America worked. Republicans of all stripes - pro-life, pro-choice, Bull-Moose, Ripon Society, etc. - were willing to put aside interpersonal differences and offer their constituents a new set of policy alternatives grounded in a coherent vision. The result was one of the most stunning political turnarounds in American history.
Needless to say, the Virginia GOP has a much easier row to hoe. They have a governor in waiting - and with the acquisition of a small number of seats in both houses, they will be able to wield even more power on a statewide level than their congressional counterparts now hold.
They won't do so, however, if they keep trying to kick people out of the party. Sadly, the battle between the Warner and McSweeney-North camps stands to destroy the party as well as the opportunity that it now has to realign the state's political landscape in the wake of the Democrats' collapse. While the Democrats have forgotten their unifying principles, the Republicans have failed to develop any.
As a minority party, it is easy to stick together in the face of adversity visited upon you by the majority. However, if a party aspires to majority status, it must mend fences, expand its membership and manage the conflicts that will naturally arise as a result of increasing numbers.
Instead, the party's leadership has chosen to try to put an end to the conflict engendered by North's candidacy and Warner's refusal to support him by disowning the senator and branding his friends and supporters - including President Bush - personae non gratae.
Instead of learning from the Democrats' mistakes and the national party's successes, the Virginia GOP seems intent on following in their Democratic counterparts' footsteps. Sadly, neither camp in the GOP seems to realize that this could be the party's finest hour.
Rather than wasting his breath on North, Sen. Warner might instead explain what ``being Republican means to him,'' and why it is good for Virginia (and, yes, why he thinks North did not live up to that Republican vision).
Instead of mixing tar and feathers for Warner, McSweeney might better spend his time putting together a ``Contract with Virginia.'' Most likely, Warner and McSweeney would discover that ``what it means to be Republican'' has little to do with North.
Such a partisan statement of vision would be a welcome breath of fresh air in Virginia politics; perhaps the Democrats would respond in kind. Instead of voting for candidate A because he or she is not candidate B, Virginians would finally have the opportunity to vote for candidates and parties that actually stand for something, and they would have the Republicans to thank for it - if the Republicans don't wipe themselves out first.
Mark E. Rush is an assistant professor of politics at Washington and Lee University.
by CNB