ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605200087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: Associated Press
The split within Virginia's Republican Party reflects differences between wealthy and working classes more than political beliefs, the editor of a political magazine said Saturday.
The rift between Virginia's traditional Republicans and the party's conservative, religious wing illustrates a weakness for the GOP nationally, said Ron Faucheux, editor and publisher of Campaigns & Elections magazine.
``The split you see in the Republican Party is not over political ideology, it's really all about class. It's the wealthy country club Republicans versus the working class - farmers, factory workers and so forth,'' Faucheux said at the annual meeting of the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters.
``The Warner-North conflict - and that's one way to symbolize it - illustrates the class division problem the Republicans have.''
Warner, a moderate Republican from Virginia horse country who is seeking a fourth U.S. Senate term, angered his party's conservative wing in 1994 when he spurned GOP Senate nominee Oliver North and backed independent Marshall Coleman. The former Iran-Contra figure is among conservatives who support former Reagan administration budget director Jim Miller over Warner in the June 11 GOP primary.
Warner is a vivid icon of the establishment Republicans that conservative GOP populists disdain, Faucheux said. Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Robert Dole and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell have endorsed Warner. By contrast, some local Republican organizations, especially in rural areas, have endorsed Miller over the incumbent.
But the split is not necessarily fatal to the GOP this year, Faucheux said. It is easier to reconcile class differences than sharp differences in ideology, and Dole may be the right Republican to do it, he said.
``I think Dole, in a personal way, can bridge that gap. He's not from a wealthy background, he has had to work for everything he has, and he had those war injuries,'' Faucheux said.
Democrats are also divided along social lines, ``but the whole party has been so embattled for the last two years that they have just sort of come together,'' Faucheux said. ``They're saying, `let's just get elected now and worry about the differences later.'''
Faucheux served two terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 1984, then worked as a political consultant before he joined the magazine.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB